GRAVE TALK by Nick Spalding

3* Was on track to be a 4* read but for that forced, faux-feeling 'fight' scene that added nothing, post the reveal that added nothing, and did no one any good.

This, I'm pleased to say, is not an out-and-out sad book. It's one in which 2 characters are grieving but the humour and quips made it enjoyable, not really sad. Tbh, the author told us about the grieving but it didn't really come alive, no pun intended, on the pages. I mean, the theory, the telling was there but we didn't really have scenes with Alice or Ben breaking down.

Was it plausible? Not really, especially after she moved to Australia and Covid19 came along, but Harry's SOH made it fun to see who Ben would be each year. But, it began to drag after year 5. Too same-same, too not-moving-on-enough. 

Ben's woes with Katie felt fabricated. I think by then he'd begun to sink into some kind of depression but that wasn't expressed clearly and his excuses felt flimsy and a bit wet, tbh. Thankfully she wasn't the jealous type to take issue with him and Alice. 

Still, it made me smile. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my reading pleasure.

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