You Then, Me Now by Nick Alexander

You Then, Me Now Reviews

• 
  Sarah

  This was a beautifully written story and one that didn’t disappoint. Transporting me across the sea to Greece, I felt fully immersed in the Santorini sunshine and could not put this down at all. 
  
  Written as a dual narrative, we learn about what happened to Laura when, as a young woman in her early twenties, had the opportunity to go to Santorini with her then “boyfriend”. In alternating chapters, the viewpoint shifts to Laura’s daughter, Rebecca, in the present who accompanies her mother back to Santorini for a holiday. The narrative of the two women was equally captivating and I loved learning how each of them created their memories, then and now, on this Greek island. 
  
  So well constructed, it was effortless to imagine the beautiful scenery that Alexander describes. The idyllic, romantic and peaceful setting was totally enticing, making this a great summer read. However, this only juxtaposes with the darkness of Laura's story; the horrors that she experiences, coupled with her naivety, made for rather tense reading. The writer takes Laura's story in an unexpected direction and as a reader, I just wanted to intervene and help out Laura. Her lack of worldliness and desperation to escape her extreme, religious Grandmother, created a vision of Conor and her Greek holiday that just didn't match the reality.
  
  Whilst we learn what really happened to Laura when she was in Santorini and how different it is to what she has related to her daughter, I found it fascinating to compare how the two women carved their identities in this beautiful location. The subtle parallels between mother and daughter signify that they are not as far apart as Rebecca believes. Certainly, the desperation to "prove oneself" and not depend on another was striking and, as Rebecca begins to discover more about her mother's past, she starts to see the reasons for Laura's ambiguous and sad behaviour.
  
  Conor was as disgusting a character as much as Leif was beautiful. The antithesis of these characters created such tension for me when reading Laura's story that, when it switched back to Rebecca's narrative, I was almost more interested to read about the past, rather than the present. I found it difficult to predict how the story would eventually conclude and I feel that Alexander does the plot justice and allows it to follow what I feel would be a natural ending.
  
  I loved this story and the escapism it provided. It was so well-written and enthralling that there is no way I can find fault with the plot! The summer sunshine, coupled with the magic of Greece, made for a plot that was a little bit different from my recent reads. This is a true gem of a read and I can assure you, this is definitely not one to be missed.
  
  
  
• 
  Abril Camino

  Me ha ocurrido con este libro lo mismo que con todos los demás de Nick Alexander. Que tienen cosas que no acaban de gustarme (en este caso, una serie de casualidades demasiado casuales hacia el final del libro para cerrar un final perfecto), pero... me enganchan. Terriblemente. Me lo he leído en dos noches y, literalmente, no podía parar. En este caso es una historia bonita, entre dos tiempos, con dos narradoras, madre e hija, con temas muy duros y un puntito de esperanza. Lo recomendaría.
• 
  Adele Shea

  After reading Nick Alexander's The Things We Never Said, and loving every page of it, I just had to get stuck into You Then, Me Now.
  It is a beautiful story of, love, loss and finding yourself.
• 
  Jessica

  ”In that instant, I was a tiny grain of life gifted with being able to observe the inexplicable vastness of the universe, and the only thing that mattered was the excruciating beauty of being there. Of being there to experience it all.
  
  I read this on a whim as it was free on Amazon Unlimited and I wanted something on my Kindle/phone app to read alongside a physical book I received for Christmas.
  
  Well I was totally blown away! Nick Alexander definitely knows how to tell a story and with a perfect amount of description I was able to really feel like I was in Santorini.
  
  I devoured this as quickly as I could and haven’t even started my other book yet. And I’m now looking at other books by this author.
• 
  Ceecee

  Amazon Kindle First Read for April.
  
  To quote the football commentators cliche this was a game of two halves. The story is told via mother Laura and daughter Becky. I enjoyed Laura’s story on the whole but not so much that of Becky. I think that was partly to do with the fact that I didn’t particularly like Becky as a character as I felt she acted like a brat a lot of the time. She had a real chip on her shoulder that she grew up without a father and said on more than one occasion that she was the only one which perhaps was true of her friendship circle but its obviously nothing unique. Then when she did meet her father her behaviour then also left a great deal to be desired.
  
  I didn’t think the male characters came across as well as the female ones. Leif was very nice and kind but Conor seemed a boorish caricature although of course that was probably partly the point. There was quite a bit of repetition of some of the story and I thought some of the dialogue was awful.
  
  Overall, not a bad read but not that amazing either.
• 
  Libros Happy Sany

  Una historia de amor inconclusa e inolvidable, secretos, verdades contadas a medias, el pasado que regresa una y otra vez sin dar un respiro, con Las Islas Griegas como telón de fondo.
  
  El resultado no podría haber sido mejor. Es una novela bonita y especial, escrita con mucha sensibilidad y delicadeza, lo que demuestra una vez más, la gran capacidad de este autor para ponerse en la piel de una mujer y ser capaz de transmitir en pocas palabras, su forma de pensar, sentir y reaccionar en cada momento. Es una historia sencilla pero cargada de sentimiento.
  
  Reseña completa en:
  https://libroshappy.org
• 
  Jane

  Sattusin mina siis esimest korda kohalikku raamatukokku ja raamatusõbrale omaselt pidin ju ometi lisaks tütarde raamatutele endale ka midagi haarama. Uuema, tagastatud kirjanduse kastist jäi mulle pihku see teos, mille sisututvustus esialgu mulle rohkem krimka mulje küll jättis... Pisut sellist kriminaalset tegevust siin küll oli, kuid krimkast või põnevikust vms jäi see teos siiski väga kaugele. No ikka VÄGA kaugele. Pigem on tegemist teosega, kus ema ja tütar üksteist pisut teise nurga alt tundma õpivad.
  Mõned aastad tagasi oleks ma selle teose ilmselt üsna ruttu pooleli jätnud, kuid praegu ta mulle sobis. Ei tea, kas hakkan vanaks jääma? 🤪Midagi siin oli, et ma ta sisuliselt ühe jutiga oma niigi loetud ja hakitud unetundide arvelt läbi lugesin, kuid mis see midagi oli ... jään vastuse võlgu.
  Ma ei ole kunagi Kreekas käinud ja praegu pisikestega koos või isegi ilma nendeta nagu ei taha ka minna, kuigi Alexander kirjutas Kreekast, täpsemalt Santorinist väga paeluvaid kirjeldusi. Kirjeldusi, mida ehk oli kohati isegi liialt, kuid samas minule nad meeldisid.
  Aga need tegelased ... no kohati tahaks neil õlgadest haarata ja raputada ning hüüda: "Võta ennast kokku", aga samas tuleb ju asja ka mõistusega võtta ning mõista, et see ei olegi alati nii kerge kui tundub. Aga vot sellest, miks ema kunagi tütrele mitte kui midagi tema isast ei rääkinud, ma aru ei saanud. Aga samas nagu sain ka ... Sellised kahetised tunded. 😛
• 
  John Gilbert

  Having read and enjoyed 'Things We Never Said' by Mr Alexander, I was expecting some link with the books as they were grouped on Amazon. Nothing similar at all, and some very confronting drunken physical and sexual violence as well. All couched in a love story based on an idyllic Greek Island. Some lovely bits, some really unpleasant bits that only occasionally worked for me.
• 
  Alex Silivestru

  I would like to start by saying that I will definitely read more of Nick Alexander's novels. He writes in a way that easily transposed me in Santorini - which, because of this novel, I can't wait to travel to so that I can see all the shades of blue so beautifully described and to try all the seafood his characters were eating. Also, let's not forget about the most beautiful sunrise on Earth.
  I really liked how the two stories were written in parallel, with each of them having a chapter at a time. I also appreciated the reality of nowadays - easily noticed there has been good research done to get everything so accurate (history, geography, culture, etc.).
  It's one of those novels that you want to live at some point in your life.
• 
  Lynne Spreen

  Laura is finally on her way to Santorini, 25 years after her first visit. On that first horrific trip, undertaken with a violent drunk, naïve Laura meets the love of her life, but in the craziness, she loses his address. Returning home, she discovers she's pregnant. She does her best to raise her daughter well, but life is tough. Now an adult, Becky insists on accompanying Laura to Greece, where the two of them argue over the secrets Laura has kept. Then, a shocking discovery in Santorini leads to all the answers, and a delightfully happy ending.
  
  I love Nick Alexander's writing. He tells such good stories, and his characters are varied and complex. He also sneaks in little existential tidbits that I find satisfying:
  
  ‘Oh, I try not to regret things too much,’ Mum said. ‘Unless you’re God and you know everything, including the past and the future, most of life is pretty much a question of closing your eyes and stabbing at a map. You have to try not to give yourself a hard time when things turn out to be not as good as you’d hoped.’
  
  This is a coming of age story for Becky and, told in flashbacks, for Laura. In addition, it's a midlife awakening for Laura, who is forty-nine in the present day. I enjoyed this novel very much.
• 
  Jennifer

  trigger: domestic abuse. alcoholism and rape.
  
  So I have been on this Greece, Italy kick lately because I am supposed to go to Italy and Greece in the Spring (we will see... I am looking at you COVID) but alas I discovered this one while searching Greece.
  
  I was expecting heart warming and loving in Greece but boy oh boy...
  
  I hope my Greece vacation is NOTHING like the vacation in this book.
  
  THAT BEING SAID....
  
  This is a damn good book. I enjoyed very much. I could NOT stop reading this book... and would I couldn't read I would switch to the audio version... thank you Kindle Unlimited.
  
  I def recommend this book. It does have some rough subjects in it but honestly... It is good. Really good.
• 
  Shirin

  This book is written from two perspectives in two different timelines. You get to know the pov of a mother (past and present) and a daughter in her 20s. The personality of the mother in her young years remind me so much of my own mom. Her thought process and general submissive and naive behavioral patterns were so draining to read as a woman in the 21st century which shows me how strong and powerful young women today are. I really enjoyed this book even though it’s a heavy read and I wanted to stop reading it out of frustration multiple times. The end is cheesy but it had to be to heal the pain that this book had caused in the first place.
• 
  Lynn Halliday

  Charming read with an edgy side.
  I chose this book purely based on the Iocation given that I am getting married in Santorini next year. Having been to the island before I was aware of just how beautiful a place it is and the way the author describes it in this book certainly does it justice.
  The story had me gripped from pretty early on and I found it hard to put down (a sign of a great book). Additionally a certain character had my blood absolutely boiling to the point I felt real hatred towards them, despite them being fictious (again another sign of a good book - not necessarily the hatred but just evoking that level of any emotion towards a character).
  I felt the story was beautifully written and
  I enjoyed the alternating dual narratives. I found the characters, although irritatingly naive, very engaging and realistic.
• 
  jocelyn • thelitficagenda

  I dunno, this was not executed well at ALL and I just found each circumstance to be so completely over the top and unrealistic. I didn’t connect with the characters and found them both to be annoying. I didn’t like the way the dialogue was written. This book just irked me, although I like the title and general premise.
• 
  Marina Johnson

  A page turning read about life, love and second chances and one of the loveliest romance novels that I’ve read in a long, long time. Only the second book that I’ve read from this author so I’ll definitely be looking to read more. Highly recommend.
• 
  Brianna

  Easy read
  
  I read this for a book club to read about a place you want to go. Santorini has been on my wishlist for a long time. The author’s descriptions of Santorini makes me want to go even more now.
• 
  Karen Hurley

  Great story. Although I had some idea of how it was going to end up, I didn’t get it quite right and I had to keep on reading. Beautiful setting, interesting characters. I enjoyed it!
• 
  Abra Smith

  A novel set in Santorini. A very light read, it moves quickly though I think it's a bit too long. There's two stories - one of the mother and a long-ago love affair and the other story is the daughter's story. The two stories merge at the end. It's kind of a summer beach read.
• 
  Twobchelm

  A different twist to the story but enjoyable .
• 
  Emma Blanchet

  This was my first Nick Alexander novel and it won’t be my last! I felt completely immersed in Santorini and loved the storyline. Can’t wait to read more from him!
• 
  Rach Crisp

  When life goes from lemons to lemonade
  
  This is the second book I've read by Nick Alexander.I really like his writing style and the way his storylines work. This one was different to the first book of his i read (Bottle of Tears), think holiday romance but with a much,much deeper meaning. It is written from two viewpoints; Mother and daughter. Part history, part present day. I found it a great read and made me feel a bit soppy in parts!
• 
  Alice Pearson

  Great love story
  
  Overall a great read with believable characters and plot. Takes you to Greece and Santorini which personally are very special to me. The place and charm of the Greek people are very well portrayed and give the book substance and beauty.
  The opening chapters with doubts about Connor the new boyfriend, keep the pages turning to find out what happens. Many highlights in this story and a depth of understanding of the frailties of human nature that is remarkably well expressed in an thoughtful , enjoyable way.
  A good read , especially in the winter, the blue skies and sea of Santorini will banish winter greys for the reader , exactly as it did for the characters , in a beautiful magical way.
• 
  Paige Eades

  I found this following some reviews on another book on Amazon, and decided to give it a shot. I was initially a little skeptical within the first few pages and wondered whether or not I would be able to get into it, but that soon changed and I fell in love with the world of Santorini.
  
  You Then, Me Now follows the story of young Laura travelling to Santorini, Greece having decided she wants a break from the strict Catholic lifestyle she lives under with her mother, and then the story of Becky; her daughter whom with she is returning with 25 years later. This book is multi narrative between Laura and Becky; alternating between chapters, which works well to see the time frame jump, and allows us to clearly distinguish between past and present.
  
  I grew to love the characters; and Alexander does a great job of portraying two real, likeable female characters. There are some really sweet, emotional moments but also features some more dark scenes where Alexander doesn't hold back; which I feel adds to the depth of the novel and gives it some substance. The twists are not expected, and I love the way Alexander expertly withholds the final clues until the end, but not in a way that is frustrating - clever!
  
  Would very happily read again, and plan to in the near future. I would say it's aimed at a mature YA audience, there are themes which may be inappropriate for some, but it's a read well worth it. Will definitely be downloading some more of Alexander's work.