March is Reading Wales Month, hosted by Booker Talk. I have several books I intended to read for this event, but the first book I read has meant that I’ve only read a few of Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected (I’m hoping to write about them in the next few days). But first here is a book by Ruth Jones.

Transworld Digital| 2022| e-book| 502 pages| I bought it| 5*

Last year I read By Your Side by Ruth Jones because I loved the TV series Gavin and Stacey which Ruth Jones co-wrote with James Corden. I loved it. So when I saw Love Untold I knew I had to read it. And I loved it too. In fact I think this is one of the best books I’ve read this year so far.

Description from Amazon:

Grace is about to turn ninety and she doesn’t want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants a quiet celebration: her daily swim in the sea and a cup of tea with granddaughter Elin and great-granddaughter Beca. More than anything, she wants to heal the family rift that’s been breaking her heart for decades.

And to do that she must find her daughter, Alys – the only person who can help to put things right.But thirty years is a long time.And many words have been left unsaid. So is it too late now to heal the pain of the past?

This is a story about mothers and daughters: the love inherent in that bond and the heartache that miscommunication can bring. More than anything, it’s about the importance of being true to oneself. Meet Grace, Alys, Elin and Beca – a family you’ll come to know, and to love.

Once I started reading I just didn’t want to put this book down. It is so very readable, Ruth Jones is a great storyteller and I read it quickly despite it being 502 pages long. It is perfectly paced, alternating between each of the four women and showing their love for each other, as they each find their own way through life. They are all so well defined that there is never any doubt about who is who and where they fit into the story.

Theirs is a story of mother/daughter relationships, their ups and downs. Grace, a feisty independent lady almost ninety, who swims in the sea daily and enjoys life to the full is adamant, she doesn’t want a surprise party to celebrate her birthday; Elin, super organised and efficient, her granddaughter and a headteacher, is just as determined to give her one; Becca, Elin’s daughter is struggling at school and is sure is going to fail her exams much to her mother’s disappointment. Meanwhile, Alys, Grace’s daughter is estranged from the family, blaming Grace for what has gone wrong with her life.

It’s funny, both heartwarming, and at times a heart-breaking and emotional story, full of love. Grace longs to find out where Alys is and for her to come back home. It’s been thirty years since she last saw her after a breakdown in their relationship. Elin doesn’t want to know Ayls at all and as far as Becca knows, her grandmother died years ago. The history of the family is gradually revealed as the story progresses and I was completely bowled over by the depth of Ruth Jones’ writing. It’s not just about the female characters’ interactions, but also about their relationships with the men and lovers in their lives and the hurt and pain they all suffered. When I’m reading such an engrossing novel I wonder how it could possibly end. And when it arrived in line with the rest of the story the ending was both terribly sad and yet uplifting too.

So, the characters are great, the plot is complicated and complex covering their lives in depth and the setting in Wales is vividly described, bringing the scenes to life.The text is dotted with Welsh words and idioms, bringing back memories of the few words I remember my Taid (grandfather) saying to me when I was a child. As I said at the beginning I loved it and now want to read all of Ruth Jones’ books

Ruth Jones MBE is well known for her television work, most notably BBC One’s multi-award-winning Gavin and Stacey, co-written with James Corden, in which she played Nessa Jenkins. Ruth’s novels have sold over a million copies. Never Greener was a Sunday Times bestseller for fifteen weeks, three weeks at number one, as well as WH Smith Fiction Book of the Year 2018, a nominated Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards, and a Zoe Ball Book Club pick. Her second novel, Us Three, and her third novel, Love Untold, were also instant Sunday Times bestsellers. Love Untold was a Waterstones Paperback of the Year, as well as a Richard & Judy Book Club pick. Ruth’s latest novel is By Your Side.