This book has made me want to discover Midsummer Eve the Swedish way! So much so I’m even considering hosting a Swedish themed Midsummer Eve party. To find out why you’ll need to read the book. 🙂
As soon as I was invited to take part in the blog tour of Bonnie and Stan, I jumped at the chance. When I was told that Bonnie and Stan is a contemporary love story with the two characters meeting during the Swinging Sixties in the heart of the Merseybeat scene, I was so excited to read this book.
Call me naive, but what I hadn’t realised when I was offered to review the novel that when the story opens, Stan, now in his 70s has just received a cancer diagnosis. If I had realised that cancer was going to feature in this book I would have shied away from it. I know that is not everyone’s choice but for me and close people around me, cancer is everywhere and it scares the hell out of me.
But you know what – Bonnie and Stan is not scary or depressing at all, rather it is a celebration of love and life. It is beautiful and touching, with real, relatable characters. So much so that I’m very pleased that I did read it because I loved it. In fact, the plot only took a few pages in to grab me – and believe me, I was totally grabbed!
The story is juxtaposed between the Merseybeat scene in the heart of 1960s Liverpool when Bonnie and Stan meet; and present day when the couple are on the brink of achieving their life dream together.
The 1960s story is told from the point of view of Bonnie, a young architect student struggling for gender equality on her uni course (go Bonnie!). She also meets the Best Boys, a group of young lads desperate to be the next Beatles and keen to catch the eye of Brian Epstein. I wasn’t born in the 60s but I’ve always been fascinated by this era, so I loved this part of the story which featured The Cavern Club and even Cilla Black when she worked a cloakroom girl there.
The present day part of the story is told from Stan’s point of view. Following his terminal diagnosis, he is petrified of leaving Bonnie all alone when he passes. Hence, he comes up with the mad idea of finding her a new partner and goes online dating.
Bonnie and Stan is a touching novel with a charming and unique stance. It truly celebrates love, family and life – and as I say, now makes me want to celebrate Midsummer Eve the Swedish way! 🙂
Thank you to Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be involved in the blog tour of Bonnie and Stan. Thank you also to Trapeze (Orion Publishing) and NetGalley for arranging my advance copy.
Last but definitely not least, thank you to Anna Stuart for writing such a beautiful and atmospheric novel!
A few days ago I also featured Bonnie and Stan in my Top Summer Reads You Shouldn’t Miss! blog post – so go, take a look if you haven’t read this already.
To read the reviews from my fellow book bloggers also taking part in the Bonnie and Stan blog tour, please see below.
Bonnie and Stan was published on 30 May 2019, so is available now for you all to read.
Happy reading everyone! 🙂
