BookBrowse Reviews This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

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After the death of her husband, Joe, Tilly Nightingale receives a surprise from a local bookshop: Joe has left her twelve books to help her get through her first year alone.

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Six months ago, Tilly Nightingale's husband, Joe, died after a brief battle with cancer. In her grief, Tilly's world has narrowed to work and survival; she's lost touch with most of her friends, and her love of reading deteriorated along with Joe's health. But a call from a local bookstore conveys a surprise: Joe handpicked one book for Tilly to read each month during her first year without him. As she reads Joe's picks, Tilly rediscovers herself, and is inspired to explore the world and chase the dreams she'd let die. Told over the course of one year, This Book Made Me Think of You is an emotional journey of grief and hope, love and loss, bravery and adventure.

It is also a love letter to books. The twelve titles chosen by Joe provide comfort to Tilly, spark her imagination, and serve as reminders of the life she and Joe were just beginning to build together. Her reading slump after such a profound loss is realistic, as it's hard to focus on books during a time of grief. The books that Joe chose serve not only as a reading list for Tilly but also for readers who might want to go on this journey along with her (see Beyond the Book). In addition to the twelve picks, each month's section begins with a small, themed selection of titles from Book Lane, the store where Tilly picks up her gifts, giving readers more recommendations from a variety of genres. In the acknowledgements, Libby Page declares that "this is wholeheartedly a bookish book," and readers will feel that love for books, and the shops that sustain reading communities in Tilly's story and the descriptions of Book Lane.

Grief is another significant theme. At the beginning, Tilly is struggling deeply, having essentially lost her purpose without Joe beside her. Tilly's emotional state is a painful but true testament to grief's ability to hollow you out and make you feel alone. As the story continues, small things spark memories, triggering flashbacks to Tilly and Joe's life together. These scenes help readers feel the depth of Tilly's grief as they flesh out the couple's relationship and reveal more about the struggles the two faced. But as Tilly receives Joe's books month after month, she begins to share her grief with others and, in doing so, finds connection. Inspired by one of Joe's picks, Tilly travels to Paris, where she connects with a group of individuals who have dubbed themselves the "Paris Grief Gang." United by the loss of loved ones, these individuals have bridged their differences with their shared grief and with the support they provide one another. The Grief Gang aren't on the page for more than a few scenes—a shame, since they're fun despite their minimal character development—but they understand what Tilly is going through. This is especially crucial because other relationships have faltered—Tilly's friend Rachel, for instance, fell out of contact after Joe's diagnosis.

"People can be crap at knowing how to deal with someone who is grieving," one of the members of the Paris Gang says, noting that grief makes people uncomfortable and leads them to disappear, or to do or say the wrong things. Tilly's sister, Harper, tries to help in an entirely unhelpful way: she not only keeps an important secret to avoid hurting Tilly's feelings, she also tries to push Tilly back into the dating scene before she's ready. Harper means well, but she hasn't been where Tilly is and she doesn't understand. Although the two do eventually reconcile, the ups and downs are reflective of how relationships can be damaged when grief is involved. For Tilly, and for others suffering from loss, finding support and connection with people who have experienced something similar is essential.

Aside from the Paris Grief Gang, Tilly connects with Alfie, the owner of Book Lane, who lost his father several years ago. Joe's gift and their shared grief initially connect Tilly and Alfie, but their connection grows over their shared love of books. Unlike Alfie, Joe was not a reader, and it's interesting to contrast these two men who play important roles in Tilly's life. Page does a great job of developing the slow-burn romance between Tilly and Alfie: Tilly is absolutely not in a place to look for a relationship when they first meet—something Alfie is aware and very respectful of—but after many months, they come to realize how much they mean to one another. The romance is not the main aspect of the story—Tilly's healing and growing as her own person is certainly the spotlight—but it's a nice addition and creates a lovely ending, particularly when her growing feelings for Alfie push Tilly to share her experiences online in order to help save Book Lane from closure.

Tilly's decision to share her story on social media, which begins a grassroots effort to save the shop, shows how much Tilly has grown. Page demonstrates Tilly's personal growth, starting slowly but then moving by leaps and bounds as she regains her confidence and pushes past previous limitations. Through his book selections, Tilly can see Joe's confidence in her, and through her new and repaired relationships, Tilly receives the support and encouragement she needs to become a new person.

Blending grief, humor, romance, and self-discovery, This Book Made Me Think of You is a heartwarming and optimistic novel that will have readers turning the page to see what Tilly will read and experience next.

This review first ran in the February 25, 2026 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.