Me without You

by Kelly Rimmer

[Leah]

When I spotted Me Without You up for requests on Netgalley, I was intrigued! The cover is a very beautiful affair, and I thought the synopsis sounded really intriguing. I requested it and was super pleased to be accepted to read the book! It sounded like a super emotional novel, and it’s been a while since I’ve read a book that requires tissues that I WILL actually use – I’m a sensitive person, telly shows make me cry all the time, but it takes a lot for books to make me cry. It happens, but not as frequently as books make others cry. (If it did, I would re evaluate the books I’m reading.) I thought the book was an emotional rollercoaster, and it surprised me more than I expected!

Kelly Rimmer is a brand new author, and as far as I know Me Without You is her debut novel. I’d like to tell you off the bat that it will draw inevitable conclusions to JoJo Moyes’ novel Me Before You, as their plots are quite similar, although it takes ages before you learn exactly what Lilah is keeping from Callum, but the title of the novel rather gives away what happens, not that it lessens the impact any less, let me tell you. I liked both Kelly and JoJo’s novels equally, and I just think it will be the horrible nasty bitter people who will say they’re exactly alike – they’re not, at least I didn’t think so, but there are similarities and I just think that’s inevitable about any novel dealing with death.

What I liked best about Me Without You is it’s the purest love story I have ever read. Callum and Lilah meet on the ferry ride home, with Callum noticing (and disliking) Lilah’s dirty feet and that, as they say, was that. Love at second sight (because Callum hates bare feet). One of my biggest wants when I read a book is a love story that’s just a love story. It’s not about anything else, but the passion and love between two people and this is that novel. Of course there are obstacles – Lilah’s secret, and the fact she keeps trying to push Callum away, but Callum never goes far and there’s reason behind Lilah’s actions. It’s very unselfish of her, actually. I was hooked right from the start, and it was just the most beautiful portrayal of falling in love I’ve ever read. It’s the type of love you dream of and want for yourself. It’s wistful and easy.

The narrative is very easy, very fluid, with long, long chapters from Callum’s perspective allowing us a glimpse into their lives and then we get diary entries from Lilah which peel away her layers, until we fully understand why she acts like she acts. How she came to be an environmental lawyer unafraid of shouting in a restaurant for false advertising of MSG, and how she refused to allow her and Callum to be anything other than a day by day thing. It reminded me of the HIMYM episode where Barney & Robin are lying about being boyfriend and girlfriend, lying to themselves, not their friends.

Kelly Rimmer has done an outstanding job with Me Without You, it’s engaging, it warmed my heart to the very core, and then tore it out and stomped all over it. (Quite meanly, may I add?) I knew it was coming, I knew the ending was inevitable before the first page, but the depth of Rimmer’s writing and Callum’s narrative slated me, and I ended up in tears. It was both sad and beautiful at the same time, and I admire Lilah for living her entire life on her own terms. I will miss Callum and Lilah. They stole into my heart, their story is one I will long remember and Me Without You is an unforgettable tale that I couldn’t recommend more…