This Book Made Me Think of You
By: Libby Page
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 416
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel/
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…
The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?
First Impressions
I love the cover of this book. Give me a book about books and I will immediately pick it up. When I read the summary it reminded me of PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern which I loved (both the book and the movie). The concept immediately spoke to me and I knew I needed to read this book.
What I thought
This book was exactly what I expected it to be and was wonderfully executed.
Tilly lost her husband 6 months ago. In January, she received a call from the local bookstore letting her know that her husband’s birthday gift to her was a year of books after he was gone. Tilly has to come to the book shop each month to pick up the book. While doing so, she slowly starts to crawl her way out of grief as well as rediscover herself.
I loved the concept of this. Having lived through grief, I can be a little critical of books here that is s central plot point. I felt like the way Page wrote about grief and Tilly at the beginning of the book was more relatable and realistic. As the book went on it felt a little too picture perfect. I wish there had been more conflict of Tilly dealing with her grief and less about her dealing with love. Even though I know in this story they’re intertwined. There were moments I loved, like when she went to visit her in-laws. But then that fell by the wayside and was never mentioned again.
I also loved the book recommendation throughout the book as well as the books that Joe leaves for Tilly. Each one is thoughtful and I liked seeing how they influenced Tilly to move forward in different ways. Alfie was one of my favorite characters. I enjoyed how his story connected with Tilly’s but that he had his own things he was dealing with. There was a minor miscommunication trope towards the end of the book I feel we could have easily done without, but I did appreciated how things worked themselves out.
Is this my favorite book I’ve read that has dealt with grief? No. But did I enjoy the story regardless? Absolutely. It doesn’t mock grief or deal with it poorly. I just feel like it occasionally faded to the background.
This book was so cute and well written. I feel like it would be a great book club book. If you enjoyed PS I Love You, I think you will enjoy this book. I also would say if you’re a reader who likes books about readers, this would be the book for you. I’m curious to look into more of Page’s books because I did enjoy her style a lot.