To The Moon And Back by Jill Mansell
Contemporary Romance
Paperback
September 1, 2011
Sourcebooks Landmark

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “Logically you knew it wouldn’t happen, but there is always that deep down niggling feel that you might gaze into the camera and start shouting, “Fuck, fuck, bastard-bollocks, fuck!”

When Ellie Kendall lost her husband Jamie in a car accident, she thought her life was over. Her father in-law, a famous actor, moves her to a posh London neighborhood- Primrose Hills- to help her start over. She begins to slowly heal as she makes new friends and forgives old ones. Through it all she has her beloved Jamie to “talk” to. When she is hired as a personal assistant for the handsome Zach McLaren, one of the requirements is that she NOT be attracted to him. Easier said than done though and soon Elle is caught between trying to keep hold of the past and letting go to embrace her future.

To The Moon And Back is a sweet romantic contemporary about love, loss, and second chances. Ms. Mansell’s dry wit, comical romantic entanglements, and crazy characters are back in force as we are once again transported to the other side of the pond and become entangled in the crazy escapades of Marsell’s mad, mad Brits. The biggest draw of Ms. Mansell for me is her characters. She infuses a sense of realism into their personalities and situations; allowing you to connect intimately with them. They make bad decisions, say dumb things, and act inappropriately at times. Just like all of us. Your never really sure what these engaging people are going do or where they will end up till the end.

Ellie, our protagonist, tugs at your heart strings as she tries to rebuild her life after her husband dies. You can feel her pain as she often visualizes and talks to Jamie, her deceased husband. While you don’t see Ellie and Jamie while they are married, you see their time together through Ellie’s eyes and heart in her conversations with him. I enjoyed watching her slowly piece her life back together, gloriously clueless to the man beside her who is in love with her.

Zach McLaren saw Ellie for a brief moment in traffic and felt as though he had come home. Fate let her disappear from his life until she applies for a position with him as has PA. Zach has a firm rule that you don’t mix business with pleasure and figures it’s just his luck that the woman of his dreams wants to work for him. Zach stands back and watches as Ellie dates, always lingering on the edges of her life waiting for the impossible. I liked Zach. His inner monologues cracked me up. It was quite funny watching him lament on the sidelines, always a day late and dollar short when it came to Ellie. He grows to care for her deeply but fears rejection so he works up little situations for them to be together.

The secondary characters add depth, humor, and continuity to the storyline that leads back to Ellie. Tony Weston, Ellie’s father in law, finds himself head over heels in love again at the age of 55. Unfortunately, the object of his affections is embroiled in a delicate situation that creates much sadness on both sides. Roo, Ellie’s friend, has also found love, but in the arms of a married man. When she finds him cheating on her with someone else, Roo decides that her life needs a make over and channels her inner Mother Theresa. She does go a tad bit over board but that is her character. With Tony and Roo Ms. Mansell probes the ramifications of adultery and the circumstances of why someone might betray their spouses. She also uses it to show how going on after the death of a spouse can feel like adultery.

While I overall enjoyed the story, I didn’t get the same feeling from this one as I usually do. I found myself more of an observer then a participant and that made it hard for me to connect with everyone. The main conflicts and over all plot line aren’t very exciting and I didn’t see any of the over the top antics that we usually find in Ms. Mansell’s books. I would have liked to have seen more of Ellie and Jamie’s relationship while he was alive so that her transition back into life without him would have made more of an impact with me. There were also some misunderstanding scenes with Zach that read flat to me. I didn’t understand Ellie’s reasons for some things she did. Roo was annoying in her quest to redeem herself and I found it took to long for her to finally accept and forgive herself.

The ending is sweet and fulfilling as Ms. Mansell uses her trademark light hearted comedy to wrap up the loose ties and gives everyone what they need rather then what they wanted.

Overall Rating: C+

Recent Reviews:
ChikLitReviews – 3/5
Hanging With Bells – 3.75/5
Alpha Reader – 5/5

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