#Review – Right Here Waiting For You by Rebecca Pugh (@RebeccaPAuthor) @HQDigitalUK

We used to be best friends…

Magda used to be the girl everyone wanted to be – most likely to achieve her every wish. That is until suddenly her perfect life seems to be anything but!

Sophia has never regretted her life, sure it isn’t perfect, but being a single mum to a daughter she loves is pretty great. Perhaps she never moved away from home, or got to live out her dreams, but what she has right now isn’t so bad.

That is until an invitation to their school reunion arrives, throwing both their lives into a spin – because these two used to be friends and it might finally be time to face up to that one big mistake that happened all those years ago…

What does TWG think?

Rebecca Pugh is known for writing feel-good, romance novels (you only need to read her previous novels to confirm that!) and because I wanted something über light-hearted to curl up with, I couldn’t wait to get stuck into her latest book after reading a heavy storyline beforehand.

‘Right Here Waiting For You’ has a storyline which is pretty much centred around a ‘best friend’ style relationship. Magda and Sophia were, once upon a time, sisters from another mister, but due to growing up and making wrong choices, their friendship went from 100-0 in a flash.

Sophia is a single mother with her whole life dedicated to her daughter; some might say that she hasn’t lived her life as she didn’t move away like the others did, or make comments about her dreams having drastically changed. But then there’s Magda; married with a lifestyle to envy. However, are the lives of the two women as they seem? Or is there more to it that meets the eye?

Sophia and Magda’s friendship broke apart due to miscommunication and a sense of feeling betrayed. Sophia had her reasons as to why she felt hurt about the situation, yet Magda seems to see things differently.

I am going to sound like a right youknowwhat here, BUT, most of the novel was spent describing the rawness of the betrayal, Sophia’s emotions, and her black and white outlook at the situation; yet when the situation arose for the two women to come face to face, those emotions remained for all of five minutes and it was as though Sophia turned into a ‘yes person’. Before you start thinking I am a judgemental person who holds grudges (cough), let me explain; Sophia had her views and seemed to chisel them in stone, yet when she was able to have a conversation with Magda, Sophia’s views remained with such urgency I thought she was going to be all Peggy Mitchell-esque. What surprised me was the drastic change oh so suddenly. Don’t get me wrong, I know that its unhealthy to harbour grudges and moving forward is the mature thing to do, but bosom buddies two seconds after being at loggerheads?

For me, Sophia went from bulshy and black and white, to sickly nice and a yes person in such a short space of time. It was TOO nice. Like I said above, I don’t mean to come across  like a youknowwhat myself, but I really wanted to tell her to woman up and grab a pair of balls! I didn’t like the fact that Sophia lost her edge and her individuality towards the end. I would love to see her come back in another storyline with some fight, but that is just my opinion on the character, not on the author’s style of writing.

I enjoyed the overall concept of the novel as it covered such modern, and relatable topics which, in my opinion, a lot of readers of different ages will most likely be able to associate with. Rebecca Pugh’s light-hearted and unique sense of humour, gave the storyline the entertainment factor, making it a good book to sit and curl up with.

Even though the storyline didn’t blow me away, it warmed my heart and made me extremely envious of anyone with a best friend. I could definitely see what Pugh had set out to do with this novel, especially as the world is full of such hate and divide, the authors storyline tried to fill the world with happiness and life. I can’t really fault the author for writing a storyline with other people’s happiness at the forefront of her mind.

An entertaining and heart-warming novel, ideal for putting the smile back on your face.
Never mind ‘Right Here Waiting For You’, Pugh has delivered a ‘sunshine on a rainy day’ style novel.

Thanks HQ!

Right Here Waiting For You by Rebecca Pugh, will be available to download from the 31st May. You can pre-order your copy right now from Amazon.