A Year Of Finding Happiness by Lisa Hobman (Audiobook)

Greg is struggling to come to terms with the death of his girlfriend 5 months previously. When Mallory moves to the small Scottish village Greg is immediately attracted to her but accepts he's not ready for a new relationship. Tragically Mallory's fiance is killed in a road accident and Greg decides that he can offer support since he is well aware of the emotions she must be feeling.

I much prefer male-centric romance novels, added to which we have the gorgeous Scottish lilt of Greg Miller Burns narrating the story. You are immediately gripped by events and feel very sympathetic towards Greg. His struggle with grief comes across very clearly, particularly as he's generally a loner and doesn't appreciate support. Being set in a small community there's nowhere for Greg to hide and those around him keep an unobtrusive eye on him.

Having lost his girlfriend 5 months earlier in a climbing accident Greg immediately feels sympathy towards attractive newcomer Mallory. Unfortunately all he manages to do in his initial interactions with her is come across as grumpy and rude. Obviously this is a romantic trope but it works well in this situation since both characters are struggling to come to terms with their grief.

Eventually Greg and Mallory form an uneasy friendship. Greg is determined to support Mallory in any way he can. Greg is constantly consumed by guilt that he finds Mallory attractive and regularly withdraws from her as a form of punishing himself. The guilt he feels results from a lack of closure since his girlfriends body was never found.

Time works wonders (hence the title of the book) and with patience and support, along with a couple of hazards along the way, the couple eventually find happiness.

Music plays a huge part in this story. Greg struggles to say what he means and puts his foot in it more often than not. By using music he's able to convey exactly what he wants to say. The choice of music referenced throughout the story is fantastic.

I did feel the story dragged a little bit. At more than one point Greg and Mallory almost give in to each other but fate throws a spanner in the works. I'm not sure so many interventions from fate were really needed to make this an enjoyable story, especially when we all know exactly how it's going to end.

A Year Of Finding Happiness by Lisa Hobman will be published in audio format on 20th October 2022. The paperback and ebook formats are available now. My thanks to NetGalley and Saga Egmont for a review copy.