Book Review: Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell

Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London-life, but everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he going to cope leaving his hedonistic life behind for a new start in the Cotswolds?
Comic strip artist Molly Hayes lives in Briarwood, the village that Dexter moves to. She's not had a great history with men even though there's a connection between them it looks as though this isn't going to change.
But lots of the village residents have secrets to discover and it soon becomes clear that Dexter sin't the only one who is going to have to adapt once these are revealed. 

I am a big Jill Mansell fan. I think Don't Want to Miss a Thing is her best book yet. Dexter Yates is a seriously likeable character; the book begins with tragedy when his beloved sister Laura dies, leaving him the sole guardian of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. Dexter loves Delphi but he also loves his life, working crazy hours, drinking, staying out late and bringing home random women. At first, Dexter doesn't think he can give that up but ultimately he knows that he can't let Laura down and he would never abandon his beautiful niece.
To avoid any distractions, Dexter moves to a Cotswold village to begin his new life with Delphi. Molly is his new neighbour, he instantly likes her and she is very supportive of him and Delphi. Molly has been single for a while, she likes Dexter but as usual things don't go to plan and they begin doing everything they can to avoid each other.
Briarwood is full of interesting characters. Frankie runs the local cafe and has just learnt some terribly shocking news about her husband. Their daughter Amber has secrets of her own, secrets that could lead her to a lot of trouble. There is also Lois, the village barmaid who is a lot more conservative than she looks and her father Stefan who lives in a caravan. Stefan has never got over his first love from many years ago and he has no idea that the lady in question has thought about him every single day.
Don't Want to Miss a Thing is such an enjoyable read. I loved watching Dexter and Molly's relationship develop. He soon realises that he can't live without his niece; giving up his old life is actually the best thing that Dexter has ever done. Molly is a genuinely nice character too; she wants to help Dexter without any complications so why does she feel so jealous when he sees other women?
There was so much packed into this book but Jill Mansell ties it all together perfectly.
Don't Want to Miss a Thing is my favourite read of all Jill Mansell's books and I highly recommend it.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Headline for sending me a review copy, Don't Want to Miss a Thing is out now!