What do you get the light of your life on Valentine’s Day? Red roses, champagne, chocolates?

How about a book instead? And if the person is a romantic, this story will win their heart, last longer than roses and, as a bonus, not contain any calories.

When Abbie first meets Oz, she is a young worried student and he is about to return home to Istanbul to take his place in the family firm, but after he catches her as she faints at a march, they have one marvellous evening together.

Throughout the next fifteen years their paths keep crossing but they only spend fourteen days in each other’s company in locations across Europe. But as much as they are drawn to each other, fate, in the form of family, friends and work, keeps pushing them apart.

Then just as Abbie gets engaged, Oz comes back into her life. And she has to make a choice, but fate hasn’t finished with them yet.

This is a sweet story, told in unfolding flashbacks, with a very real and sympathetic heroine, that explores all sorts of love, not just romantic, but between family and friends as well. I loved the depictions of her relationships with her best friend, her sister and her mum. The female characters were perhaps more fully drawn than the male characters. And after a slow build-up, possibly the ending was a little too rushed, but sometimes a whirlwind is what a romance needs.

Altogether, a nice gift for Valentine’s Day, whether for someone else or just to treat yourself! (And perhaps get champagne as well).