ARC review: The Lido by Libby Page

4/5 

When your eyes are glassy and your nose is dripping and your heart is full - you know you just finished a good book. 

I honestly don't know what drew me into this book? The drawn cover with cheery blue waters and skies? The description? Or the fact that this book is marketed in the likes of A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman? Probably all of them combined - and boy am I happy that I picked it up.

Despite picking it up because it was similar to A man Called Ove I was astonished at just how similar the two books actually were. 

---

There was an elderly grieving person, there was an unlikely friendship, infertility, heartwarming romance, a wedding, a gay couple and a strong community. Check, check, check. This is honestly my only grief with this book - it was just way too similar. 

I especially liked the anxiety representation in this novel - it was real and relatable and it brought  a great dimension to the story. I also think that I am a sucker for unlikely friendships and this book has got one of the best ones.

But I am even a bigger sucker for a tangible, soft and oh so romantic love story. Rosemary and George's love was so real I could feel it pouring over the pages. Their relationship was the most beautiful thing I've ever read about in a book. I adored them and I aspired to be like them - they were so unapologetically in love and it showed in everything they did. 

I cannot wait for July so this book gets published and I could post some quotes from it - I highlighted a lot of them! There were some true gems there. I definitely recommend this book, especially because the story is about a lido (an outdoor pool) and it's almost  summer time - you won't find a more perfect book! Also, get our your swimsuits out because this book WILL make you want to swim. 

Big thanks to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for a complementary arc copy provided for a review. All opinions are my own, honest and come from the heart.