Synopsis from Beautiful Books:
When human beings don’t talk about love, things go wrong.
If a mother had told her daughter that she loved her, they might not have spent years apart. If a man had found the courage to tell a woman that he loved her she might never have married another man. And if a father had told his daughter that he loved her when her mother died, she might not have suffered the breakdown that caused the rift with her own daughter.
But if you are born into a family that never talks about love, how do you learn to say the words?
SPEAKING of LOVE is a novel about what happens when people who love each other don’t say so. It deals passionately and honestly with human breakdown. And it tells of our need for stories and how stories can help make sense of the random nature of life.
This is Young’s first novel, and in my opinion it is a success. The book follows three people: Iris, Vivie and Matthew. Iris is Vivie’s mother and suffers from mental health issues and suffers a devastating break down. Vivie is only young when this happens and it emotionally scars to the point she feels like her life is collapsing around her. Matthew is a few years older than Vivie and they grew up as next door neighbours. Matthew is in love with Vivie but cannot tells her how he feels. In fact, none of them can voice their feelings; leading to heartbreak and separation. But in a special twist of fate, a storytelling event where Iris is speaking brings all of them together…will feelings be voiced and hurts mended?
This was a beautiful book. It took a little while to get going, and to be honest I did think about stopping reading it; however I am so glad I pushed on. As the story unfolds it is gripping and real. I would not class this as chick-lit or romance fiction because the main theme alongside love is mental health. Most of the consequences in the book arise from Iris’ illness and Young honestly explores therepercussion of being so ill and having a breakdown.
One aspect I really enjoyed was the fact Iris was a story teller. Not just that but some of her stories are published in the book, and they were lovely to read.
The book flits between Iris, Vivie and Matthew; and it flows easily between the three. Alongside that, they all slip into memories gracefully and this explains how they were feeling, recalls events that changed their lives and gives an insight into Iris’ illness.
This is not a fast read, however it is a wonderful book and I recommend it for everyone.
8/10
Published by: Beautiful Books
RRP: £7.99
BCF Book Reviews 
I have just read your review of Speaking of Love Katie, and wanted to thank you for it. (I clicked on your name to get directly in touch with you, but nothing happened … .)
Many people have had the same experience with Speaking of Love you had – thinking about stopping reading shortly after they began – and I know that’s because the structure I adopted (to reflect the nature of a breakdown) makes the beginning hard going. But thank you for persisting and for writing your review.
Angela Young