First of all, my apologies to the author and publisher for taking so long to read this. It has been on my Netgalley list for far too long, but I am so glad I finally got the chance to read it as I have really enjoyed it.
Ben is by far my most favourite character. He is so lovely and really made me giggle at times with how so straight to the point he is. It was so lovely how his total honesty leads to such a change in another person’s life. Someone he had never met before and may never meet again. This someone is Alice, who seems to spend her life surrounded by awful people (her mother included) who seem fixated on the fact that she’s overweight, rather than who she is as a person. It’s no wonder she gets so low. She does also have her funny moments too though. I did laugh out loud on more than one occasion.
People really can be horrible at times and some of the characters in this book are quite unbelievably insensitive. They are not people I would want to associate with. I did like her Dad though.
Anyway, when Alice meets Ben in the park he tells her straight out that he thinks she’s beautiful. Naturally this makes her day, but she needs to accept this for herself and truly start to believe it.
Ben is also trying to find his place in the world and I really enjoyed his story. We need more Bens in this world.
As they say, be kind always as we never know what someone might be going through in their lives. The chance meeting between Ben and Alice changes both of their lives, for the better, forever.
A heart-warming and sometimes funny tale with a powerful message.
I very much recommend.
Many thanks for my review copy.

Via AmazonUK…..

‘And in that instant, he knows in his heart that today is a momentous day; come what may, he and Alice will meet again, and life will never be the same.’

Alice is stuck in an internship she loathes and a body she is forever trying to change.

Ben, also in his early twenties, is still trying to find his place in the world.

By chance they meet one day in a London park.

Day 1
Ben spots Alice sitting on a bench and feels compelled to speak to her. To his surprise, their connection is instant. But before numbers are exchanged, Alice is whisked off by her demanding boss.

20 minutes later
Alone in her office toilets, Alice looks at herself in the mirror and desperately searches for the beauty Ben could see in her.

Meanwhile, having misunderstood a parting remark, Ben is already planning a trip to Glasgow where he believes Alice lives, not realising that they actually live barely ten miles apart.

Over the next 31 days, Alice and Ben will discover that even if they never manage to find each other again, they have sparked a change in each other that will last a lifetime. In 31 Days of Wonder, Tom Winter shows us the magic of chance encounters and how one brief moment on a Thursday afternoon can change the rest of your life.

About the author…..

Tom Winter’s debut novel, Lost & Found, was published in five languages. In August 2013 it was chosen as the Book of the Month by the Mail on Sunday’s You Magazine book club. That summer, the Kindle edition was also a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon UK. In Germany, Apple iBooks called it one of the ten books that everyone should read over the holidays.

Tom’s second book, Arms Wide Open, was published in 2014. Hello! magazine called it ‘a bittersweet joy of a book’, while Saga magazine said it is ‘utterly compelling… Winter has a lethal eye for family tensions.’

The hardback edition of his third novel, 31 Days of Wonder, was released in August 2017. Hello! magazine called it ‘A wonderful read’, and Cosmo magazine remarked ‘Read when you’re in need of comfort. This is the bookish equivalent of eating a doughnut.’ The Daily Mail said ‘A poignant, bittersweet and heart-warming story… I loved it.’ The paperback edition will be released in summer 2018.