The Notekeeper by Hannah Treave

The cover and the blurb attracted me to the book. The story itself comes in three almost separate parts. We have Zoe and her personal arc, with some of it overlapping with the rest of the plot points. Then we have the note-taking. Zoe is a hospice nurse who takes down any last messages people might want to send anyone. This section is in the title, but it fades into the background once she is allowed to keep doing it. The final section is that of the hospice itself and the different people who are connected to it. I found it slow going to begin with because of the feeling of different parts. I had to set it aside and come back to it at a later time. There is a seriousness that accompanies even the most romantic of times, and usually, that would appeal to me, but for some reason, however, this was not a book for me. I cannot pinpoint the exact reason, but I was not able to become invested in the story as I generally tend to. Without giving away any spoilers, I think some of the eventual events and certain behaviour from certain people seemed too abrupt and not in keeping with the rest of the story. I tend to gravitate towards such narratives and read a chunk of them in any given year. Therefore I am a little too picky when it comes to the ones I actually prefer. There is nothing wrong with this book. The author has dealt with some very deep issues in the course of the story, and I think it was a valuable part of the plot. I think people who read this genre might get more out of it than I did. I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.