Don't Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon

Don't Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another.

Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't...

And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister.

But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in motion, leading Robin and Sarah to fight for much more than their relationship...


This was the second Holly Seddon book I have read and I really enjoyed it.

We follow the story of two families who come together, in perhaps not a way you would expect. Robin and Sarah are twins and as a reader you jump back from the past to the present day to understand their lives and how they have become the people they are today. The format is of short chapters alternating between Sarah and Robin, to begin with I was so pleased there were short chapters, I thought this would allow me to dip in and out of the book easily, however this gave me that 'just one more chapter' feeling and I ended up staying up late at night to finish it.

I felt that I was living in the family with the twins and I felt the heartache they felt. I couldn't believe what I was reading at times and had no idea if that was me, how I would feel about it. I also enjoyed the side plot with Callum, their stepbrother.

I didn't guess most of the story, I had worked out what had happened to Sarah while she was in Atlanta before it happened, but I didn't see anything else coming. I think I was more shocked about Callum than I was by the twist at the end. I did feel a little let down at the end because of this, it had built so much memento and I thought something else was going to happen, which personally I think would have been more shocking. Don't get me wrong, it is a good book and if you like psychological thrillers you will enjoy this like me, but I thought it was a little underwhelming.

This book though is a quick read and one that I really enjoyed, I loved all the drama between the families and reading about their different lives. I felt that it was a book I could really get into, which I haven't been able to in a long while.

This is a good read and one you should give a go if thrillers are your thing, I am glad I had the opportunity to read it and I certainly would pick up more Seddon novels. For me the only thing letting it down was the ending, which is why I have given it 4* and not 5.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Pocketful of Dreams by Jean Fullerton

Pocketful of Dreams by Jean Fullerton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's 1939, and the Brogan family of London's East End are ready to show Hitler what for. But things don't seem so rosy when rationing, evacuation and air-raids start to put this larger-than-life family to the test.

When a mysterious young man arrives at the Brogans' local parish church, he provides just the dazzling distraction they need - and for eldest daughter Mattie, the promise of more than she'd ever wished for. But as the pair fall deeper in love, they are drawn into secret dangers, rife on the very London streets they call home.

As the young couple race to protect the East End as they know it, can their dreams survive the darkening backdrop of war-time...?


Set in 1939 in the East End of London we mean the Brogan family who are fighting Hitler and poverty while trying to come to terms with the horrors and deprivations of a world at war. When a mysterious man arrives at the local church he provides the distraction that they need especially for Mattie the eldest daughter. Predictably they fall in love but Mattie's war duties throw up political MI5 secrets, real problems with Mosley and the Fascists and some very difficult anti-Jewish actions in London. Very likeable characters in the Brogan family with a real feel for the cockney East End and what war time in London must have felt like.

Although this was not my normal type of read it was an enjoyable historical novel - easily worth 4 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You went to bed at home, just like every other night.
You woke up in the back of a taxi, over 250 miles away.
You have no idea how you got there and no memory of the last ten hours.
You have no phone, no money; just a suicide note in your coat pocket, in your own writing.
You know you weren’t planning to kill yourself.
Your family and friends think you are lying.

Someone knows exactly what happened to you.
But they’re not telling…

The second book I've read by this author, the first one I read, You Sent Me A Letter, starts off with a good hook first chapter and turned into a page turner; Everything You Told Me sits in the same place.

A cleverly woven complex plot this is a slow burner building to the crescendo of an ending. The pace was constantly climbing through the novel and at one point it's not certain who Sally can trust. Just when you think you've sussed it Lucy Dawson throws another curve ball into the mix.

I do have a few criticisms however and although they didn't detract from the story it was immensely frustrating that Sally although desperately sleep depraved and exhausted from carrying the burden of a new baby and 4 year old almost on her own she doesn't really take control until page 190 Chapter 14 and this really was a bit unbelievable. Up to this point she hadn't even tried to find out who booked the taxi, trace the taxi company or do anything to help herself. I also found Matthew her husband a bit self obsessed and the fact that Sally was constantly making excuses for his (quite frankly) lazy and selfish behaviour I found this to be a bit much and something that most people in her place would not have put up with. Lucy Dawson sets the scene well and it was easy to see how confusion, auto suggestion and tiredness can mess with the best of our minds leading Sally down a path of self destruction.

You will enjoy this little minefield of mind games and it was satisfactory how it all came together in the end. A well deserved 4 stars for this one.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Did she leave or was she taken?



The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before.

To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...



Wow, what can I say about this book? I was hooked from the first chapter, this is the type of book you think, oh it's ok I can dip in and out of it but no, I didn't want to put the book down. When I had to put it down I spent all my time not reading it, thinking about it! It has been a long time since this has happened when reading a book.

Adam and Sarah have been together for 10 years, Sarah, the bread winner has been supporting Adam while he has been writing a play, he is a screenwriter and waiting for his big break. Sarah heads off to Barcelona for work, but while she is only way for about 5 days, Adam starts to question their relationship, prompted by Rose - Sarah's best friend. Suddenly Sarah's parents can't get in contact with her and she isn't answering her phone. Adam starts to question everything, especially when she doesn't appear at the airport after her flight.

There were different parts to this story with different peoples points of view, it switched from the past and into the present. Although for a long while I couldn't understand how the two were connected, this didn't bother me as I was enjoying every part of the book. Distress Signals was a face paced novel that really drew me in, I raced through the story and although I did guess I think quiet early on, this didn't matter and I was surprised by the ending. To be honest I am not sure how I felt about the ending, I think I would have liked a little more... but it was a surprise and unexpected, which I did like.

This was a brilliant read, one that got me out of my reading slump and perfect for fans of crime and thriller. This was a very cleverly written book and an excellent start into writing, I couldn't believe this was a debut! Howard has set the standard now and if all her books are as good as this I think she would fast become one of my favourite authors.

This is a gripping book, I don't want to give too much away in the plot as this is a book you have to read. You will race through it as you need to know the truth, I am so glad I read this and I would recommend it to anyone who loves crime and thrillers. I really cannot do this book justice, you just have to grab a copy.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You won't be able to put it down.
Just remember to breathe.

Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she's cut herself off from everything but her one true love - drink. Until she's forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy.

Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She's as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands.

Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma...


When this landed on my door mat unsolicited I was really excited. I had never heard of Holly Seddon, but this sounded like something I would be keen to read.

This is a great debut novel and one that will have you whizzing through. I read this during the last couple of days of the Christmas holidays and I really didn't want to put it down. It captured my interest and had me searching to find the answer.

Alex is a freelance journalist, who has been having a rough time, her marriage broke down, lose of a baby and she is an alcoholic. Her life is in bits and she has been told if she doesn't stop with the drinking she will be dead within the year. The problem is she has lost everything and feels she hasn't got a lot to live for. That is until she stumbles across Amy, during the research for her news article.

Amy is the same age as Alex and lived in the same area as her, however when Amy was 15 and was attacked which has left Amy in a coma like state. Amy has been there years and throughout the book the reader gets to go on the journey with Amy into before and during the attack. Amy is responsive through brain activity and although cannot talk can communicate in other ways through her brain.

Amy had a boyfriend, Jacob. He now has a wife and a baby on the way but can't seem to let go of Amy and regularly comes to visit her. Amy, though had a secret and disappeared the day she was attacked. No one has ever been caught and convicted, Alex begins to dig for answers and her investigation takes her in lots of directions.

We read the story through many points of view, Alex, Amy and Jacob are main, however we occasionally get another characters perspective too. These characters are well developed and all have their own reasons for either wanting to help Alex or not.

I think this is a well written and I enjoyed all aspects of the story. I thought it was a complete surprise and I liked the fact I was left hanging so long before I found answers. The only thing I would say and the reason I gave this 4* and not 5 was that there were some unfinished things for me in this book. I felt it could have been wrapped up a little better, I wanted to know what happened to Amy after. I also would have liked to know a little more about Alex, especially with aspects about her health.

This I feel is going to be a massive book this year and one if you like psychological thrillers to get your hands on.

I would like to thank the publisher and RealReaders for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

A Better Man by Leah McLaren

A Better Man by Leah McLaren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Maya wants Nick to be less of a workaholic, to come home earlier, to spend some time with his children. Nick wants a divorce. With his mind made up, Nick is determined to leave quickly and with dignity, but it comes as an unpleasant shock to realise how much it will cost him to walk away. As a stay-at-home mum, Maya is entitled to everything. Nick is resolute, so when an unlikely solution presents itself he gives it everything he's got. If Nick becomes a better husband and father, if he encourages his wife to rediscover herself, the more self-sufficient Maya will become: and the cheaper Nick's pay-out. But as Nick pretends to be a better man he becomes one. He remembers his connection with Maya, their ability to be a couple and not just parents who share a house. Everything seems to be back on track. Until Maya finds out exactly what Nick has been planning..."

This story is told by the male of this partnership - an unusual angle - tells the story of Nick and Maya the seemingly perfect couple with their darling twins and ideal life and the revelation that Nick wants a divorce.

It seems that since the birth of his children he finds it hard to cope or adapt to parenthood while Maya appears to embrace it which is driving a wedge between them. He believes that Maya is a natural mother but does not realise that she is having just as much a hard time coping as he it, she is having to learn as she goes along which is what Nick should be doing instead of which he chooses work as an escape route and the gap between them just gets wider. Nick decides that he wants out, a divorce. Before she gave up work to start a family Maya was a lawyer and although she loves her children she misses being able to work as well. Nick confides in an old friend Adam Grey (also happens to be a top billing family lawyer in the city's biggest firm) that he wants to divorce Maya, that is his intention until Adam shows him just how much it will cost him. Nick is resigned then that he can't afford to divorce until Adam suggests a 'way out' and convinces him that if he were to treat her better, wine and dine her, take her on holidays, become a better man, suggest she go back to work and say he'll help out with child care then when he does petition for divorce she will be unable to say she is totally dependant on him and won't get everything in settlement. Gray suggests 6 months of this would be enough to make it work. Nick decides this is for him and immediately embarks on the 'new man' strategy.

So the story is set in motion; I struggled with this in the respect that Maya apparently being a divorce lawyer herself does not 'smell a rat' and it was a bit much to expect that she would be so gullible. I also felt it made her look a bit feeble and needy so it didn't really work for me.

The story rumbles along, a bit slower than I would have liked and ended up very much as expected. No surprises or curve balls, no excitement or fizz - quite disappointing.

It's an OK read if you accept women as being feeble, weak, gullible, shallow and stupid but not really a modern day depiction of females so not really believable. If you're looking for a book that is just a frivolous read then it's OK but not really a page turner or a memorable read, very predictable, very ordinary.

From being Nicks' story at the start it essentially turned into Maya's story which was disappointing as having started from the man's point of view and an unusual angle (also a unique selling point) I felt that the author really missed an opportunity here. Because of this I can only really give it a 3 star rating.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

#loveatfirstwrite shortlist!

So a while ago you may have remembered I had a post about the #Loveatfirstwrite competition, this was hosted by Corvus at Atlantic Books and you have to send in your stories. 

I have just been contacted about who has been shortlisted and I really wanted to share this with you! 

So taken from their website:

Following an impressive number of entries to the Love At First Write competition, Corvus and Lovereading.co.uk are delighted to announce that they have selected six for the shortlist. Each of these entries stood out to the readers as having an original and interesting initial romantic encounter, as well a distinctive voice and compelling plot that made them all want to keep reading. The shortlisted authors are:

Cage the Minute by C R Harvey

Glitter Red Shoes and Sky Blue Gingham by Anna Mansell

How to Get Ahead in Television by Sophie Cousens

Millie in the Middle by Liz Eeles

The Salon by Rosie Lee

Who Does He Think He Is? by Emily Kerr

These entries are now with the panel of expert judges: Maddie West (Corvus Editorial Director & Chair of the Judges), Sarah Broadhurst (Lovereading Lead Reviewer), Elisabeth Gifford (author of The Secrets of the Sea House) and Lindsey Mooney (Kobo Vendor Manager, UK & Ireland) and the winner will be announced at the end of the month.

Corvus would like to thank all the writers who sent in such imaginative and entertaining entries and wish them all the best of luck with their future careers as novelists.

Please make sure you check back as I am sure you are going to want to know who the winner is. 

Thanks so much for stopping by to read this post. 

#loveatfirstwrite Competition

Corvus announces talent scout partnership with Lovereading.co.uk

#loveatfirstwrite

Corvus and Lovereading.co.uk are launching a competition to find an exciting new voice in romantic fiction.

Corvus, Atlantic’s commercial imprint, and Lovereading.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading book recommendation and discovery websites, have teamed up to create an exciting opportunity for a new romantic novelist to be published.

The LoveAtFirstWrite talent scout will encourage aspiring writers to send in their proposal for a romantic novel, based around a couple’s first meeting. From Romeo and Juliet’s fateful kiss to Elizabeth’s clash with the proud, rude Mr Darcy at the Meryton ball, writers have proved that true love springs from the most unlikely of encounters. LoveAtFirstWrite is looking for a romantic novel with an original set-up, written with flair and charm, so that its creator can find their happy-ever-after with their new publisher.

Entrants for LoveAtFirstWrite should be able to describe their characters’ first meeting in a tweet, followed by a book synopsis and first chapter emailed to 

loveatfirstwrite@atlantic-books.co.uk.

 Entries will be read by the Corvus editorial team, then a shortlist judged by a dedicated panel of experts, including Maddie West (Corvus Editorial Director), Sarah Broadhurst (Lovereading Lead Reviewer), Elisabeth Gifford (author of The Secrets of the Sea House) and Lindsey Mooney (Kobo Vendor Manager, UK & Ireland).

The campaign will run online via Twitter @CorvusBooks and @LovereadingUK, Facebook, www.atlantic-books.co.uk, and www.lovereading.co.uk. The aim of LoveAtFirstWrite is to encourage new and aspiring writers to think romantically and creatively and have some fun in the process. The winning novelist will have their book published by Corvus.

The #Loveatfirstwrite competition will run for one month online, between 12th September and 12th October 2014.

Conditions of Entry:

• The story can come from any genre of romantic fiction but the entry must show the protagonists’ first meeting.

• Entrants will need to submit a book synopsis and the first chapter (no more than 5,000 words) to loveatfirstwrite@atlantic-books.co.uk during the specified time period

• Entrants must not have been previously published.

• Entrants are also encouraged to tweet how their characters meet in less than 140 characters @CorvusBooks and @LovereadingUK

The winner will be announced in November 2014, and will have their novel published by Corvus

as an eBook and paperback original in 2015.

Amber Fury - Natalie Haynes

The Amber Fury by Natalie Haynes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'When you open up, who will you let in? When Alex Morris loses her fiance in dreadful circumstances, she moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Alex takes a job at a Pupil Referral Unit, which accepts the students excluded from other schools in the city. These are troubled, difficult kids and Alex is terrified of what she's taken on. There is one class - a group of five teenagers - who intimidate Alex and every other teacher on The Unit. But with the help of the Greek tragedies she teaches, Alex gradually develops a rapport with them. Finding them enthralled by tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge, Alex even begins to worry that they are taking her lessons to heart, and that a whole new tragedy is being performed, right in front of her. The Amber Fury is a beautifully constructed psychological page-turner. It is a dark mystery of a novel about loss, obsession, and the deep, abiding human need to connect.'



The Amber Fury is one of those unexpected little gems that come along rarely and for a first novel the writer really should be proud of this book.

I loved the way in which the novel was written by the main character and also one of the students and how it managed to go back and forth in time without loosing its way or loosing the interest of the reader. Clearly Natalie Haynes has a great knowledge and appreciation of Greek tragedies and she managed to weave these brilliantly into the psyche of the students she taught.

Alex Morris the main character looses her fiance in tragic and violent circumstances in London and unable to face life with constant reminders of him and their lives together she moves to Edinburgh and takes a temporary teaching post as a drama therapist at a Pupil Refer Unit that takes students excluded from other schools. I felt a particular affinity as I also work in a school that has behavioral problems and could identify with these difficult students. One class is a group of 5 teenagers who are hostile and intimidating, they are deeply disturbed all having suffered traumas in their lives, all looking somehow to belong and be treated as normal. Alex finds they are hard to connect with and so introduces them to Greek tragedies in the hope that she can engage with them and develop a rapport.

I loved the way Natalie Haynes manages to explain whole Greek plays in layman's terms making them easy to understand and the mastery in which she manages to select those that mirror the lives of the students, this is why they are able to relate to the plays because they have all experienced a range of emotions that come through the tragedies. Without giving too much away and spoiling this excellent novel Alex is also going through her own private tragedy and leaving London has not freed her from her misery; because of this she does not see when things start to break down although she does start to worry when her lessons seem to be being taken to heart by the small group of 5 students and one of them in particular becomes obsessive about Alex past.

The atmosphere Natalie Haynes creates through her descriptive passages on location of the basement room she teaches in adds to the mood and tempo of both the students and her own sadness.

Along the way we learn something about each of the 5 students and through one in particular who keeps a diary and writes down all her innermost thoughts - brilliant way of keeping the pace going and intrigue alive. I kind of guessed what was going to happen but not for some time in the novel and was not completely sure until almost 3/4 of the way through and even then it was still gripping and I was hoping that somehow I was wrong - it was like a tragedy within a tragedy in that like the Greek plays it is played out through the book, the loss, the love, and retribution all revealed over a series of Acts in the book just like a Greek tragedy in modern times.

I have to give this book a 5 star rating; for me it had all the elements that make up a good read. it was well written, lovely use of language and psychological mystery, compelling and achingly sad in places it kept me wanting to read on but not wanting to get to the end. A very unusual novel and I am so glad that I read it.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this copy to review in exchange for a honest review.