The Bench

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What to expect

'With echoes of David Nicholls's One Day, this romance has just the right mix of heart-melting moments and heart-rending near misses'
Good Housekeeping

'A wonderful, heart-tugging romance'
Prima

Perfect for fans of One Day and Me Before You, this is a poignant love story spanning three decades that starts and ends on a bench, by the Richard & Judy bestselling author of The Twins.

It begins at the end.

It begins on a bench, on a heath, where a woman waits for a man.

Ten years ago, they made a pact:

On this bench, on this day, they will end a love affair that's spanned three decades, or start again.

They should never have met. They should never have fallen in love.

But they did, until a lie separated them for a lifetime.

Can they fix the mistake, forgive the lie, erase the years in-between?

Can what was lost ever truly be found?

'A raw, emotional book about love in all its guises' The Sun

'A quirky and intensely romantic tearjerker' Sunday Mirror

'Read it if you liked One Day . . . Have tissues to hand' Best

'An unforgettable story about once-in-a-lifetime love. Powerful, timeless and moving'
Holly Miller

'Poignant and heart-wrenching . . . This is one of the best love stories written'
Mary Chamberlain

'A wonderful, life-spanning novel with real heart and depth. I didn't want it to end'
Lisa Ballantyne

'A beautiful, very special, love story about what can happen when life gets in the way'
Cecilia Ekbäck

'Real. Complicated. Irresistible'
Jemma Wayne

'A sweeping love story rich with honest, tender moments'
Emma Rous

'A book that the world really needs right now . . . I certainly fell head over heels in love with it' Fiona Mitchell

Critics Review

With echoes of David Nicholls's One Day, this romance has just the right mix of heart-melting moments and heart-rending near misses
Good Housekeeping
A raw, emotional book about love in all its guises
The Sun
A wonderful, heart-tugging romance
Prima
Fans of David Nicholls's One Day will love this heart-tugging read
Hello!
A quirky and intensely romantic tearjerker
Sunday Mirror
Read it if you liked One Day . . . Have tissues to hand
Best
Heartbreaking
Bella
Captivating . . . this beautiful love story is touching, relatable and gloriously romantic. It found it impossible to put down
The Press and Journal
An unforgettable story about once-in-a-lifetime love. A heartfelt and emotional depiction of two people thrown together by destiny then torn apart by circumstance. Powerful, timeless and moving - I loved it
Holly Miller
A beautiful portrait of love. Real. Complicated. Irresistible
Jemma Wayne
A wonderful, life-spanning novel with real heart and depth. I didn't want it to end
Lisa Ballantyne
A sweeping love story rich with honest, tender moments
Emma Rous
A beautiful, very special, love story about what can happen when life gets in the way. About how love can endure the impossible. About how some people are meant to be. Saskia Sarginson is such a talented writer. Her characters are so human with their shortcomings and virtues, they could be us - they are us. And thus, their moments of grace are ours. I loved this book.
Cecilia Ekbäck
A poignant and heart-wrenching love story, tender and suspenseful and exquisitely written. The characters are painted with such compassion and sympathy: we enter into their longing, into their passionate and aching worlds, willing the story to end well for them, not wanting it to end, but to go on forever. This is one of the best love stories written, engrossing and utterly immersive. Saskia Sarginson never disappoints.
Mary Chamberlain
Saskia Sarginson is a gifted and versatile writer. She can turn her hand to just about any genre - be it thriller, historical or literary. This is the fourth novel of hers that I have read and for me, it's right up there with her best work. The Bench feels like a book that the world really needs right now. Packed full of surprises and kindness, I certainly fell head over heels in love with it.
Fiona Mitchell
A beautiful romance with likeable characters you invest in wholeheartedly . . . an intriguing, thought-provoking, uplifting tale of love, loss, deceit, and destiny
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