Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson Narrator: Katharine Lee McEwan, Helen Lloyd
Published by Penguin Audio on August 30, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Length: 9 hours, 35 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck.
Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance, as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.
More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness—before it’s too late—in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways.
I was excited to read The Lost Ticket based on the premise and some friend’s reviews. My heart was on board for Frank to find the love he has searched for 60 years. He also wants to keep living in his own home with the help of his carer, Dillon. I expected his plight to bring together a plucky group who was helping him. I was rooting for them all the time. It happened but somehow not the way I thought. Our point of view is Libby’s thoughts and world.
Libby has lots of issues and no support. Her family is crap. Her supposed boyfriend is crap. To distract herself, she babysits her nephew and takes on Frank’s search. The search fills her time and lets her get to know Dillon and his friend, Esme. More problems arise for Libby, causing her to have to come to some decisions and make some plans. I liked her, understood her issues, and hoped she would figure out her path more quickly.
The search goes along tediously slowly. Maybe to combat that, the story jumps a few weeks or a few months at some points. I did not like how these transitions were handled. It did keep us from boring days where nothing important happened I guess but the jumps were jarring. Some details were left hanging.
In the end, it is satisfying to see the growth of Libby, her family, Dillon and Frank. I did keep trying to figure out how the search and their lives would end up and I wasn’t able to even make a guess. The journey they each make is realistic in that while things don’t go smoothly, they make their way. I found that sometimes sad, but also inspiring.
Narration:
The narrators were new to me. I was absorbed enough in the story to feel all the accents and tones in the character voices were comfortably appropriate.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Katharine Lee McEwan
Katharine Lee McEwan is an award-winning British actress, writer, and producer committed to creating quality, hard-hitting and issue driven content. Her films have been invited to over a hundred film festivals world-wide, including screenings in New York, Moscow, Sydney and Los Angeles. Katharine’s feature film “Solitary,” which she wrote, produced and starred in, won sixteen festival awards and opened both the Chelsea Film Festival in New York, and the London Independent Film Festival, where it won Best UK Feature.
Katharine was born in Redcar, Cleveland and spent her early years being home-schooled by her parents and acting in local productions. Deciding to forgo university and seek overseas adventure instead, Katharine traveled through Europe, Asia, South Africa and Australia. It was on these journeys, inspired by the stories of the many unique people she encountered, that she decided to return to her love of storytelling. Arriving in Los Angeles with a renewed passion and an even greater desire to study her craft, she enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Upon graduating, Katharine started working in theatre and independent film, but soon realized that creating her own material would give her the opportunity to play the dynamic, rebellious women she most identified with.
In addition to her on-camera work, Katharine is also an award-winning narrator, having lent her voice to numerous titles spanning genres such as fiction, fantasy, and drama, and including works by New York Times best-selling authors. As a writer, she has created and performed stories with Snap Judgement Live and the Road Theatre in Los Angeles.
About Freya Sampson
Freya Sampson works in TV and was the executive producer of Channel 4’s Four in a Bed and Gogglesprogs. She studied History at Cambridge University and is a graduate of the Faber Academy. She lives in London with her husband, two young children and an antisocial cat. The Last Library is her debut novel.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 22-COYER
I actually bought a copy of this and started reading but I had to stop and read review books. So far I’m enjoying it!
I hope you love it.
The friendship between Libby and Frank sounds like a fun one.
I really like how kind they are to each other.
This sounds like a good one. I like a story that is more inspiring than sad.
I’d say it is a balance between inspiring and sad.
I’m looking forward to this one as I just got it. Thanks for the warning about the tedium. Excellent review, Anne💜
Maybe it’s just me but the middle seemed to not move along very well. Once things got going it was good.
I really enjoyed this book, too. It’s so swee
I found it just a little sad too but it’s good read.
Ah! Sad and inspiring, interesting combination.
It’s sad some of the things which happen to them. Libby’s boyfriend and family being so cruel to her. I felt badly Frank searched for 60 years for this woman and now he’s getting old and his daughter wants to put him in a home. There are other things too, which happen to Dillon. But how they – Libby, Frank and Dillon – work to make things better and care for each other is inspiring.
Libby’s situation does sound pretty crappy. Glad to hear she was able to focus on something else by helping Frank. Nice to hear the story ended up being a win despite some niggles. Great review, Anne!
Thank you Rachel. I cared about the characters and it was good, despite a few odd things.
I liked this one more than you did, but I’m still glad to hear you enjoyed it overall even if parts were a bit tedious.
I’m not expressing it well but the transitions were a problem for me. The overall story was good.
Despite the lag time this sounds cute.
yes I did really enjoy the book. It’s a style issue perhaps, I’m sure I’m not describing it well, but it had to do with some transitions. It’s a minor issue.
I listened to the sample. Sounds good.
It is an inspiring story and just a little sad.
This sounds lovely, but I would need to know how it ends if I were to try it. I feel like it would make an incredibly cute Hallmark movie!
You need to know the ending first? Really? Well I liked the ending. It’s a good read. I just had a minor style issue with some transitions in the story.