Eleven Days in June
Devon, 1985. Dan is 20, lives in a sleepy village and works in a small DIY shop. He likes numbers and hero worships Lord Nelson. But he finds ordinary people difficult to understand and he’s certainly never kissed a girl. His mother mocks him, and he misses his father and he pines for Ollie, his only childhood friend who truly understood him.
But, despite it all, Dan thinks he’s happy enough. Until one June day, the beautiful and mysterious Libby walks into his shop – and into Dan’s life.
Libby’s sudden appearance turns Dan’s ordered existence upside down. But Dan soon realises that Libby isn’t who she seems. Who exactly is she? What is she hiding, and, more importantly, who’s that threatening man always looking for her?
In trying to help Libby, Dan comes to realise what’s missing in his own life, and, in turn, appreciates what’s really important…
My Thoughts
⭐⭐⭐ / 5
This book certainly is one of those that does exactly what the title implies! In this story we follow Dan and eleven days of his life in June. Dan is a twenty year old man who lives in little leaf with his mother in a house they share, which is only around the corner from Dan’s workplace in the local hardware store.
Unfortunately not everything is smooth sailing. Dan has a learning difficulty, and this has sadly impacted on his relationship with his mother. It is safe to say their relationship is far from easy, mainly due to the fact that his mother simply does not understand who he is as an individual, so she often talks down to him.
When a new face arrives in their little village, Dan immediately takes a shine to their latest resident. Libby seems lovely and carefree on the outside, but it is abundantly clear that there is most certainly more than meets the eye when it comes to this woman, especially when a man arrives in the village shortly after Libby’s arrival looking for her.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read overall. Dan was a lovely, very likeable character – who, despite being extremely un-streetwise and somewhat awkward when it comes to interacting with others, is a lovely, caring man. I found it much harder to warm to Libby though, as I found her character to be rather lacking in personality from the off.
The story was well written and flowed wonderfully from beginning to end, and the book in itself was a short, quick read which I easily completed in one sitting. I did however find the story itself to be rather mundane at times, as there did not seem to be all that much going on, and it didn’t particularly seem as though the story was heading towards a definite ending at any point. Despite this, I did enjoy the story and learning more about the characters and the village they lived within.
You can purchase a copy of this book via the links below:
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QLLHH2Y/
US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QLLHH2Y/
I was born one Christmas Day, which means, as a child, I lost out on presents. Nonetheless, looking back on it, I lived a childhood with a “silver spoon in my mouth” – brought up in a rambling manor house in the beautiful Devon countryside. It’s been downhill ever since.
I was a librarian for a long time, a noble profession. Then I started a series called History In An Hour, “history for busy people”, which I sold to HarperCollins UK.
I now live in London with my wife, two children and dog (a fluffy cockapoo) and write historical fiction, mainly 20th-century war and misery, and humorous books set in 1980s England.
- Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and R.P. Gibson Colley for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review. *
Victoria Wilks 