From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman

 

When Ben Church receives devastating news about his life expectancy he flees Yorkshire and heads to London where he meets the enigmatic Vita Ambrose. Vita is an expert on Leonardo da Vinci and believes his works contain the secret to everlasting life. Has fate brought them together so that Vita can help Ben, or does she have another motive?

From Now Until Forever from Rowan Coleman is a love story with a twist featuring two engaging characters, and some lovely minor characters too. Ben is a no nonsense Yorkshire man who has devoted his life to engineering. When he discovers that he has months to live he feels cheated. Ben has never had any great ambitions but when he is told that he only has a limited time let he feels that he should have experienced more from life. My heart went out to Ben, it's easy to assume we have all the time in the world, seeing things from the point of view of this character really brings you up short and makes you reassess things.

Vita's voice is completely different to Ben's, you get a sense that she is ethereal, mystical, of another era or universe. Vita's obsession with unearthing the secret to everlasting life she believes da Vinci has hidden in his paintings could be just what Ben needs. Pure chance, or fate, brings the pair together and the spark between them is immediate. 

The historical details are fascinating and you become immersed in the quest to discover the hidden secrets. I enjoyed the descriptions of the age old connections between science and alchemy and how they could have a bearing on the information Vita was seeking. 

There aren't many additional characters in the story as Ben and Vita are the focus, but those that do appear really add depth and some humour. Ben's sister and mother want to wrap him in cotton wool but accept that he needs to follow his own path. Vita's neighbour, Mariah, offers some light relief but also shows how heartbreaking it is to grow old when those we love die.

As we reach the conclusion there is an intensity, I felt that everything was a constant race against time, a desperation, a hope that fate would deal the couple a winning hand. I certainly felt bereft by the end of this bittersweet love story.

From Now Until Forever by Rowan Coleman will be published on 3rd August 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy.