I’d like to welcome Clare Swatman to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her latest novel, Before We Grow Old. 

When seven-year-old Fran first met Will they knew instantly that they were made for each other. For eleven years they were inseparable, but then, at the age of eighteen, Will just upped and disappeared.

Twenty-five years later Will is back.

Is fate trying to give them a second chance?

Still nursing the heart break from all those years ago, Fran is reluctant to give Will the time of day. The price Will must pay is to tell the truth – the truth about why he left, the truth about why he’s back…

And Fran has her own secrets to hide. The time has come to decide what Fran and Will really want from life – before it’s too late.

*****

Will was the love of Fran’s life. Having been friends since childhood, she thought they would always be together.

When Will then leaves, leaving Fran a letter, she’s heartbroken, thinking she will never see him again.

So, bumping into him twenty five years later is a shock.

Can they pick up where they left off? Is Will hiding something? Worse still, will he find out Fran’s secret?

From the moment I started reading, I knew this book was going to make me cry. I can’t give you a solid reason how I knew, but I did.

Fran is a relatable character in many ways. She’s a single parent, trying to do the best she can for her son and when Will returns, she gives herself hope that she can be happy. Of course, life sometimes has other plans. I really felt a lot of love and empathy for her and Will at multiple points in the novel.

The other characters in the novel are wonderful; Kieran and Elodie especially. Clare Swatman does a really good job of pulling the reader into the story and making them feel like they are a part of this family, going through all these adventures and emotions.

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