Still Me--A Novel

September 15, 2017

A late January title I've just confirmed, this new work from blockbuster author Moyes stars the beloved Louisa Clark from Me Before You and After You. She's working for the wealthy Gopnicks in New York, swearing to maintain her relationship with Ambulance Sam back home, when the Gopnicks' social whirl introduces her to a man reminding her of her past. Now what?

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December 1, 2017
Master of cheerful uplift Moyes brings her British Everygirl heroine, Louisa Clark, back for a third go-round, this time sending her on an adventurous year in New York City.After the death of Will, the wealthy paraplegic with whom she fell in love while working as his caretaker in Me Before You (2012), Lou found the promise of new love with paramedic Sam in After You (2015). Now she's ready to take on the kind of adventure Will always encouraged and Sam agrees she needs to experience, even if it means they have a trans-Atlantic relationship for a year. Her friend Nathan has found her a job as an assistant to the wife of his New York employer, Leonard Gopnik. Lou moves into the Gopniks' huge apartment at a prestigious Fifth Avenue address, and the novel's strong early pages record her dizzy fascination with Manhattan. But the job is harder and New York lonelier than expected. Agnes Gopnik, who's recently arrived from Poland and was Leonard's masseuse before becoming his second wife, finds navigating Upper East Side society a strain, to say the least. She leans on Lou as a purported friend, but Lou will learn to her dismay that a friendship between employer and servant can be slippery to maintain. So can long-distance romance. She suspects Sam's relationship with his new partner at work might be growing more than professional, while she herself is pursued by an up-and-coming businessman who is not only charming, but bears a disconcerting resemblance to Will. Unfortunately, Lou no longer seems as fresh or endearing as she did in the earlier books. Her wit feels strained. Even her eccentric fashion sense has grown a bit annoying. Secondary characters--like the Gopniks' elderly neighbor Mrs. DeWitt, devoted to her dog and not as mean as she seems; or Ashok, the doorman whose chaotically happy marriage provides contrast to the Gopniks'--end up more engaging than the protagonists.There is something lackadaisical about the writing here that makes getting through all the plot twists a slog.

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February 12, 2018
Moyes’s beloved Lou Clark returns (following Me Before You and After You) in a crowd-pleasing work that follows the irresistible Lou as she travels from her home in England to New York City. Lou has been hired by the ultrawealthy Leonard Gopnik to be an assistant and companion to his much younger wife, Agnes. As Lou adjusts to being apart from her paramedic boyfriend, Sam, she becomes accustomed to the mercurial moods of Agnes and the dreary fashion of her new staff uniform, in direct contrast to her own quirky vintage wardrobe. She attends social events with Agnes to help her weather the vicious gossip from the New York society duennas, who are friends of the previous Mrs. Gopnik, and Lou and Agnes start to become something like friends. Lou is a magnetic protagonist whose humorous yet touching interactions with ever-friendly porter Ashok and acerbic neighbor Mrs. De Witt highlight her humanity and desire to fully live her life. As Lou is exposed to the lifestyle of the very rich, she maintains her integrity and discovers that the trappings of wealth cannot guarantee real happiness. Moyes’s many fans and newcomers alike will be satisfied by the humor, riveting story, and realistic and well-developed characters.