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One Minute Later
How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering . . .
Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous London apartment, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. Though she escaped her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her enigmatic mother. Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now that she’s once again under the same roof, she’s determined to find out what it is. While her condition makes her fragile, vulnerable, and fearful of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.
Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Unaware of their families’ difficult shared past, they are soon inseparable; all Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own.Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.
Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous London apartment, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. Though she escaped her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her enigmatic mother. Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now that she’s once again under the same roof, she’s determined to find out what it is. While her condition makes her fragile, vulnerable, and fearful of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.
Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Unaware of their families’ difficult shared past, they are soon inseparable; all Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own.Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 21, 2019
About the author
Susan Lewis
61 books933 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 596 reviews
March 9, 2019
As sure as night follows day, you know if you read a Susan Lewis book you are in for an emotional rollercoaster of a ride that you won’t want to get off!!
Vivienne is a very successful Lawyer who is out celebrating her 27th birthday with her closest friends, when in the space of a minute her life changes forever. She has a heart attack, Her life will never be the same again.
Vivienne goes back to her childhood home in Kesterley whilst she anxiously waits for the call to say a donation heart has been found for her.
Growing up she never knew who her real dad was and now she wants to find out the truth whether her mother helps her or not.
The other timeline is in the 80’s with the family of Shelley and Jack who have inherited the farm and have 3 children. Without giving anything away they experience heartache and have their own secrets to keep.
Loved this book and how the 2 seemingly different timelines come together with their tales of heartbreak and survival.
Beautifully written with likeable characters that stand out. You made me laugh and cry sometimes even at the same time, but most of all it made me sit back and really think about organ donation from both sides of the story.
If you want a story you can sink you’re teeth into, that will keep you thinking about it long after finishing it then this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
Vivienne is a very successful Lawyer who is out celebrating her 27th birthday with her closest friends, when in the space of a minute her life changes forever. She has a heart attack, Her life will never be the same again.
Vivienne goes back to her childhood home in Kesterley whilst she anxiously waits for the call to say a donation heart has been found for her.
Growing up she never knew who her real dad was and now she wants to find out the truth whether her mother helps her or not.
The other timeline is in the 80’s with the family of Shelley and Jack who have inherited the farm and have 3 children. Without giving anything away they experience heartache and have their own secrets to keep.
Loved this book and how the 2 seemingly different timelines come together with their tales of heartbreak and survival.
Beautifully written with likeable characters that stand out. You made me laugh and cry sometimes even at the same time, but most of all it made me sit back and really think about organ donation from both sides of the story.
If you want a story you can sink you’re teeth into, that will keep you thinking about it long after finishing it then this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
June 25, 2019
Favorite Quotes:
I felt as though we were fitting back into a place we’d only ever left temporarily. Then, when I saw the house, this house, sad and neglected, I thought, I swear this, I thought it gave a little sigh of relief when it realized it was us— and if you laugh, I’ll leave you.
She realized there would be no bucket list for her— or not one that included daredevil stunts, long-haul flights, or weeks of hot, passionate sex on a beach in the South Seas with a younger version of George Clooney.
“We’ve become reducetarians.” Sam blinked. “What’s that when it’s at home?” he demanded. “It means we still eat meat… but a lot less of it, which is good for our health, the planet, and animals.”
My Review:
This was an informative and thoughtfully written book that held my coronary muscle in a vise and had me contemplating the various aspects and complicated issues and emotions surrounding organ donation. Ms. Lewis’s writing was highly emotive and insightful as well as lushly detailed with descriptions that involved all the senses in addition to setting the emotional tone for each scene.
Vivi Shager thought she was a healthy woman who had the world by the tail. She was an intelligent and successful professional who frequently traveled internationally for work and had recently run a marathon. But apparently not, as meeting her friends for lunch to celebrate her twenty-seventh birthday and in a most distressing turn of events, her world and her heart imploded with a series of three heart attacks and was given the life expectancy of one year without a transplant. Not a good birthday at all then. The rest of the book slowly evolved over a year forward and thirty years back with two timelines following two different families until their storylines intersected and a lovely romance blossomed.
While the premise and much of Vivi’s narrative was fraught with tension, family drama, and uncertainty; there were more pleasant elements to be found in the back and forth over thirty years of the Raynor family narrative. I adored every generation and timeline of this lively and loving clan, although they also endured more than their fair share of tragedy as well.
I cannot imagine the ghoulish and demoralizing effect of waiting for someone to die so I could continue to have a chance at living. Or to rush to the hospital for that long-awaited surgery, only to be stopped in my tracks when the donor’s family would not consent. Devastating. I learned so much about this process that I would have never stopped to consider. I also picked up a new word and a phrase to add to my Brit Vocabulary List with pong – which is British informal for an unpleasant smell, and “What’s that when it’s at home?” – which apparently means ‘I have no clue what you are talking about.’ I will be eagerly waiting for a chance to slip these into use.
I felt as though we were fitting back into a place we’d only ever left temporarily. Then, when I saw the house, this house, sad and neglected, I thought, I swear this, I thought it gave a little sigh of relief when it realized it was us— and if you laugh, I’ll leave you.
She realized there would be no bucket list for her— or not one that included daredevil stunts, long-haul flights, or weeks of hot, passionate sex on a beach in the South Seas with a younger version of George Clooney.
“We’ve become reducetarians.” Sam blinked. “What’s that when it’s at home?” he demanded. “It means we still eat meat… but a lot less of it, which is good for our health, the planet, and animals.”
My Review:
This was an informative and thoughtfully written book that held my coronary muscle in a vise and had me contemplating the various aspects and complicated issues and emotions surrounding organ donation. Ms. Lewis’s writing was highly emotive and insightful as well as lushly detailed with descriptions that involved all the senses in addition to setting the emotional tone for each scene.
Vivi Shager thought she was a healthy woman who had the world by the tail. She was an intelligent and successful professional who frequently traveled internationally for work and had recently run a marathon. But apparently not, as meeting her friends for lunch to celebrate her twenty-seventh birthday and in a most distressing turn of events, her world and her heart imploded with a series of three heart attacks and was given the life expectancy of one year without a transplant. Not a good birthday at all then. The rest of the book slowly evolved over a year forward and thirty years back with two timelines following two different families until their storylines intersected and a lovely romance blossomed.
While the premise and much of Vivi’s narrative was fraught with tension, family drama, and uncertainty; there were more pleasant elements to be found in the back and forth over thirty years of the Raynor family narrative. I adored every generation and timeline of this lively and loving clan, although they also endured more than their fair share of tragedy as well.
I cannot imagine the ghoulish and demoralizing effect of waiting for someone to die so I could continue to have a chance at living. Or to rush to the hospital for that long-awaited surgery, only to be stopped in my tracks when the donor’s family would not consent. Devastating. I learned so much about this process that I would have never stopped to consider. I also picked up a new word and a phrase to add to my Brit Vocabulary List with pong – which is British informal for an unpleasant smell, and “What’s that when it’s at home?” – which apparently means ‘I have no clue what you are talking about.’ I will be eagerly waiting for a chance to slip these into use.
March 28, 2019
NEW video book review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6dH7...
My NetGalley blurb said that it was about a life that can change in a heartbeat. Well, I think it changed due to the lack of a heartbeat was more like it.
The absolutely horrifying fact that a girl in her twenties can unexpectedly (not so much when you learn all the further story but still, for her it was unexpected) have a major heart attack shook me to my core.
The story, the secrets, and the character development, however interesting and fast-paced, played only a secondary role to Susan Lewis's descriptions of place and history of it.
This book proves to be very educational in knowledge about sheep farming and England's landscapes. Plus, the life around Bristol in the late last century.
I feel like it should come with a warning, though. It does end rather un-Hollywoody. You might end up with a story that's stuck in your memory for a long time, not being able to get over its closeness to real life. It's rare that you read a murder mystery that actually feels utterly believable.
Big thanks to Harper Collins for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.
My NetGalley blurb said that it was about a life that can change in a heartbeat. Well, I think it changed due to the lack of a heartbeat was more like it.
The absolutely horrifying fact that a girl in her twenties can unexpectedly (not so much when you learn all the further story but still, for her it was unexpected) have a major heart attack shook me to my core.
The story, the secrets, and the character development, however interesting and fast-paced, played only a secondary role to Susan Lewis's descriptions of place and history of it.
This book proves to be very educational in knowledge about sheep farming and England's landscapes. Plus, the life around Bristol in the late last century.
I feel like it should come with a warning, though. It does end rather un-Hollywoody. You might end up with a story that's stuck in your memory for a long time, not being able to get over its closeness to real life. It's rare that you read a murder mystery that actually feels utterly believable.
Big thanks to Harper Collins for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.
June 23, 2020
Many thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
The romance genre has its problems which I discussed in my latest booktube video that you can click here to watch) but there are occasionally books like these that break down the problematic tropes.
Skip to 11:29 to here my thoughts on this specific book and what it does to push back against problems with the romance genre.
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"Those times, that person, were gone, in the same way that people left when they died. There one minute, alive, noisy, vital Vivi-vacious, gone the next, leaving a sudden and shocking emptiness that no one was prepared for.
Wow wow wow. I had this ARC sitting on my shelf for about six months and I just kept staring it thinking Oh gosh... I really should read that... Finally, I decided to pick it up, expecting for it to be a generally okay thriller but it was so much more than that.
So, what's this book about?
Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous apartment in London, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. After escaping her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her devoted and enigmatic mother.
Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now she’s determined to find out what it is. Though her condition makes her fragile and vulnerable and she’s afraid of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.
Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Josh and Vivi are soon inseparable, unaware of the past their families share. All Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own…
Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.
The first thing I want to note is that this book needs a complete re-brand. Both the cover and the title scream thriller and this book is anything but that. If it were up to me, this book would be titled "One Last Minute" or "One More Minute" and have a cover similar to The Bookish Life of Nina Hill or The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls because this book is more of a literary/contemporary fiction than a mystery/thriller.
For the first half of this book, there were two timelines - Vivian's and Shelly's. Both were equally thrilling and engrossing and the ended up converging in the most fascinating and enjoyable way.
I loved this thrilling, realistic display of family and the secrets they keep and how those secrets can affect various people in various ways.
I think the best aspect of this book was Vivian and her story of her heart condition and stories of heart conditions in general. The book talked about Jim Lynskey and his site, Save9Lives which I hadn't heard about before. In spite of the fact that it was heartbreaking, I was really glad to learn about how these heart conditions affect people and the people around them. I don't believe I'm an organ donor currently (as of writing) but I am definitely going to register to be one.
Finally, I just want to praise this book for its constant usage of emotional manipulation. Just kidding. Kind of. This book made me giggle, chuckle, but most of all cry. I don't like to read sad books that often but when I do I want them to be the good kind of sad and this book was exactly that.
Overall, this book was engrossing and heartbreaking and I cannot recommend it enough.
Bottom Line:
5 stars
Age Rating - [ PG-13 ]
Content Screening (Mild Spoilers)
Positive Messages (4/5) - [Living in spite of illness, Finding love in spite of illness, Kindness, Perserverance]
Violence (3/5) - [Injuries, Guns, Death, Broken bones]
Sex (3/5) - [Off page sex-scenes, Sexual themes, Sexual abuse]
Language (2/5) - [Mild language]
Trigger and Content Warnings - Loss of a loved one, Death, Heart failure, Physical pain, Depression, Sexual Abuse
Publication Date: June 11th, 2019
Publisher: William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins)
Genre: Contemporary/Literary
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5 stars! My latest 2020 favorite!!!Review to come
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March 17, 2019
There’s a plethora of high ratings for this book on Goodreads but unfortunately I won’t be adding to it. This book is not for me.
Most of the book is written in alternate point of views.
The first, with a modern setting, feature's Vivi who, on her 27th birthday, has a heart attack. Upon waking she finds her prognosis is not good. The doctors give her only twelve months to live unless she finds a suitable heart transplant donor. Obviously her life changes with this news. The high flying city lawyer personae has to go, and she’s forced to return to her hometown to live with her mother.
Vivi and her mother, Gina, have a tenuous relationship. This was one of the things that irked me about the book -- the prickly attitude Vivi displays towards her mother. There seems to be no reason for it, apart from the fact her mother refuses to reveal who Vivi’s birth father is. Instead of Vivi accepting her mother did a great job without him, or thanking her lucky stars that her stepfather stepped in and took his place admirably, Vivi harps on, coming across as a selfish shrew for most of the time.
The second timeline starts in the 80s and follows Shelley and her family’s idyllic life living on a farm. I thought this storyline was one giant soap opera and my eyes rolled on more than one occasion when the plot took each predictable turn. I'm sure I'd seen every scene on A Country Practice at one time or other.
At about the 25% mark of the book, I could not see how the two stories were going to intertwine although, obviously, I knew they must. When they eventually did, Lewis tried to create conflict with the connection but it just didn’t work. In fact, for quite a while it was going in an uncomfortable direction which killed the book's romance for me.
I doubt I'll read another Susan Lewis book, I’m afraid. I just didn't like her style. She had a lot of good ideas with this book, there is a plot, but she just didn’t execute any of them very well at all. Passage after passage about life on a farm followed by passage after passage of heart disease information does not make great reading. I found myself skimming more and more as I went along.
The climactic scenes especially fell flat for me. Lewis seemed to recap the outcomes instead of actually writing the scenes. That is, several times she built some tension, then resolved it so quickly with a couple of summarised lines instead of actually showing what happened in a scene.
If you pardon the pun, Susan Lewis’s heart was in the right place with this book but it wasn’t enough for me. Highlighting the need for more organ donation is very admirable but, written as it was in this book, it just wasn’t interesting.
2 out of 5
Most of the book is written in alternate point of views.
The first, with a modern setting, feature's Vivi who, on her 27th birthday, has a heart attack. Upon waking she finds her prognosis is not good. The doctors give her only twelve months to live unless she finds a suitable heart transplant donor. Obviously her life changes with this news. The high flying city lawyer personae has to go, and she’s forced to return to her hometown to live with her mother.
Vivi and her mother, Gina, have a tenuous relationship. This was one of the things that irked me about the book -- the prickly attitude Vivi displays towards her mother. There seems to be no reason for it, apart from the fact her mother refuses to reveal who Vivi’s birth father is. Instead of Vivi accepting her mother did a great job without him, or thanking her lucky stars that her stepfather stepped in and took his place admirably, Vivi harps on, coming across as a selfish shrew for most of the time.
The second timeline starts in the 80s and follows Shelley and her family’s idyllic life living on a farm. I thought this storyline was one giant soap opera and my eyes rolled on more than one occasion when the plot took each predictable turn. I'm sure I'd seen every scene on A Country Practice at one time or other.
At about the 25% mark of the book, I could not see how the two stories were going to intertwine although, obviously, I knew they must. When they eventually did, Lewis tried to create conflict with the connection but it just didn’t work. In fact, for quite a while it was going in an uncomfortable direction which killed the book's romance for me.
I doubt I'll read another Susan Lewis book, I’m afraid. I just didn't like her style. She had a lot of good ideas with this book, there is a plot, but she just didn’t execute any of them very well at all. Passage after passage about life on a farm followed by passage after passage of heart disease information does not make great reading. I found myself skimming more and more as I went along.
The climactic scenes especially fell flat for me. Lewis seemed to recap the outcomes instead of actually writing the scenes. That is, several times she built some tension, then resolved it so quickly with a couple of summarised lines instead of actually showing what happened in a scene.
If you pardon the pun, Susan Lewis’s heart was in the right place with this book but it wasn’t enough for me. Highlighting the need for more organ donation is very admirable but, written as it was in this book, it just wasn’t interesting.
2 out of 5
March 9, 2019
As sure as night follows day, you know if you read a Susan Lewis book you are in for an emotional rollercoaster of a ride that you won’t want to get off!!
Vivienne is a very successful Lawyer who is out celebrating her 27th birthday with her closest friends, when in the space of a minute her life changes forever. She has a heart attack, Her life will never be the same again.
Vivienne goes back to her childhood home in Kesterley whilst she anxiously waits for the call to say a donation heart has been found for her.
Growing up she never knew who her real dad was and now she wants to find out the truth whether her mother helps her or not.
The other timeline is in the 80’s with the family of Shelley and Jack who have inherited the farm and have 3 children. Without giving anything away they experience heartache and have their own secrets to keep.
Loved this book and how the 2 seemingly different timelines come together with their tales of heartbreak and survival.
Beautifully written with likeable characters that stand out. You made me laugh and cry sometimes even at the same time, but most of all it made me sit back and really think about organ donation from both sides of the story.
If you want a story you can sink you’re teeth into, that will keep you thinking about it long after finishing it then this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
Vivienne is a very successful Lawyer who is out celebrating her 27th birthday with her closest friends, when in the space of a minute her life changes forever. She has a heart attack, Her life will never be the same again.
Vivienne goes back to her childhood home in Kesterley whilst she anxiously waits for the call to say a donation heart has been found for her.
Growing up she never knew who her real dad was and now she wants to find out the truth whether her mother helps her or not.
The other timeline is in the 80’s with the family of Shelley and Jack who have inherited the farm and have 3 children. Without giving anything away they experience heartache and have their own secrets to keep.
Loved this book and how the 2 seemingly different timelines come together with their tales of heartbreak and survival.
Beautifully written with likeable characters that stand out. You made me laugh and cry sometimes even at the same time, but most of all it made me sit back and really think about organ donation from both sides of the story.
If you want a story you can sink you’re teeth into, that will keep you thinking about it long after finishing it then this is definitely the book for you.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
April 13, 2019
4 emotional stars to this one
This was my first read by Susan Lewis. I learned a lot about heart transplants!
Vivi is a successful lawyer, she's just recently run a marathon, and is celebrating her 27th birthday with a great group of friends and colleagues. Inexplicably, she has a heart attack and her life changes dramatically!
She's forced to move back home with her mother and wait for a heart transplant. There's a bit of medical info in the book, but important to understand the context of the book. I didn't know that devices can be implanted to shock your heart!
There's a bit of a mystery to unravel from Vivi's mother's past and a romance with a handsome young veterinarian. How can you have a romance when you have a terminal prognosis? This one had great characters and engrossed me emotionally.
It was a good reminder that one person can save 9 lives with organ donations. The website mentioned in the book is real -- Save9Lives.
Thank you to Goodreads for the contest copy I won of this one!
This was my first read by Susan Lewis. I learned a lot about heart transplants!
Vivi is a successful lawyer, she's just recently run a marathon, and is celebrating her 27th birthday with a great group of friends and colleagues. Inexplicably, she has a heart attack and her life changes dramatically!
She's forced to move back home with her mother and wait for a heart transplant. There's a bit of medical info in the book, but important to understand the context of the book. I didn't know that devices can be implanted to shock your heart!
There's a bit of a mystery to unravel from Vivi's mother's past and a romance with a handsome young veterinarian. How can you have a romance when you have a terminal prognosis? This one had great characters and engrossed me emotionally.
It was a good reminder that one person can save 9 lives with organ donations. The website mentioned in the book is real -- Save9Lives.
Thank you to Goodreads for the contest copy I won of this one!
February 24, 2019
I really don't know where to start with this review. This is book that I can't stop thinking about, its story so well written that I felt a part of it. Susan Lewis is an author that I used to read a lot of but this is the first of her books that I have read in a long time and I am now wondering why. Absolutely need to get back into reading her books again. This book was beautiful, it made me laugh and cry and is extremely thought provoking. I can't recommend this book more if you want a story that is real and will stay with you for very long time.
Viv is a young, beautiful and successful lawyer in London. On her 27th birthday she is out with her best friends celebrating when her life changes forever - she has a heart attack. Her life can never be the same again and she goes back to the seaside town that she grew up in to rest and wait for a heart to come available for a transplant. 27!! So young and full of life and suddenly she can't do so many of things she used to love. Now she is determined to find out the truth of her past, with or without her mothers help. Nearby Deerwood Farm has something to do with it but they have their own secrets. When Viv starts asking questions will the truth be revealed?
This story is heartbreaking - a young woman struck down and needing a new heart. Organ donation is a big subject in this book and the desperate need for more people to be donors - to save so many lives.
I read this book over 10 days with thanks to Pigeonhole Books. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
Viv is a young, beautiful and successful lawyer in London. On her 27th birthday she is out with her best friends celebrating when her life changes forever - she has a heart attack. Her life can never be the same again and she goes back to the seaside town that she grew up in to rest and wait for a heart to come available for a transplant. 27!! So young and full of life and suddenly she can't do so many of things she used to love. Now she is determined to find out the truth of her past, with or without her mothers help. Nearby Deerwood Farm has something to do with it but they have their own secrets. When Viv starts asking questions will the truth be revealed?
This story is heartbreaking - a young woman struck down and needing a new heart. Organ donation is a big subject in this book and the desperate need for more people to be donors - to save so many lives.
I read this book over 10 days with thanks to Pigeonhole Books. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
July 10, 2019
It’s takes one minute to change everything…
Vivienne Shager has it all. A highflying job. A beautiful apartment. Friends whose lives are as perfect as her own. But on the afternoon of her 27th birthday, Vivi has a heart attack.
Now Vivi’s life shrinks back to how it begun, as she moves back to the small seaside town she grew up in. With her time running out, there is one thing she wants to know the truth about.
Some secrets are best left in the past…
I do feel rather guilty giving such a poor review to a book which is promoting such a worthy cause as organ donation but I skim read most of it. It was like reading a teenage Mills & Boon romance, the tension didn't work and the long farm passages and the long medical passages were dull. My first and last Susan Lewis book I'm afraid.
Vivienne Shager has it all. A highflying job. A beautiful apartment. Friends whose lives are as perfect as her own. But on the afternoon of her 27th birthday, Vivi has a heart attack.
Now Vivi’s life shrinks back to how it begun, as she moves back to the small seaside town she grew up in. With her time running out, there is one thing she wants to know the truth about.
Some secrets are best left in the past…
I do feel rather guilty giving such a poor review to a book which is promoting such a worthy cause as organ donation but I skim read most of it. It was like reading a teenage Mills & Boon romance, the tension didn't work and the long farm passages and the long medical passages were dull. My first and last Susan Lewis book I'm afraid.
September 8, 2019
This book had such high ratings but it just didn’t do it for me. I found the characters to be lacking in depth. For such a long book, there was very little character development. The main plot was predictable and lacked detail. I did a lot of skimming through pages of background story that didn’t end up mattering.
February 18, 2019
This book is bittersweet. It shows how falling in love can just happen out of the blue. How one day your life is your idea of perfect but can turn 180 and you feel you have nothing to live for.
It is a beautiful tear jerking love story that bring about awareness of organ donating.
It is a beautiful tear jerking love story that bring about awareness of organ donating.
June 23, 2020
Originally, misrepresented on Amazon as a mystery suspense, this is anything but. The mystery lies in how I got through 500 pages to the end. It’s more of a romantic, tragic drama.
The novel takes place on two parallels, that of Vivienne, a successful lawyer and that of Shelly and Jack 30 years earlier. Quite late in the book, the two parallels join together.
Vivienne has the world at her feet and then suffers a massive heart attack which means she needs a heart transplant in order to stay alive.
My main problem with the book is that it’s overly long and horribly cliche ridden. Vivienne or Vivi in the book has a perfect body and “eyes blue as a summer’s sky”. Even worse, is when she gets together with Josh who is handsome. We know he’s handsome, because every time he’s mentioned the word handsome appears. When Shelly and Jack inherit the farm they gain a flock of “cheery hens” and a sheepdog that cant herd sheep!!!! The second part of the book is mainly concerned with preaching about organ donation. Now I have no problems with it, but it’s a sensitive and complex subject and the preaching is very much overdone in this book.
I realise the author is very popular, but this book is not for me. The premise of the story is quite good on the surface, but it comes across as Mills & Boon meets Disney.
The novel takes place on two parallels, that of Vivienne, a successful lawyer and that of Shelly and Jack 30 years earlier. Quite late in the book, the two parallels join together.
Vivienne has the world at her feet and then suffers a massive heart attack which means she needs a heart transplant in order to stay alive.
My main problem with the book is that it’s overly long and horribly cliche ridden. Vivienne or Vivi in the book has a perfect body and “eyes blue as a summer’s sky”. Even worse, is when she gets together with Josh who is handsome. We know he’s handsome, because every time he’s mentioned the word handsome appears. When Shelly and Jack inherit the farm they gain a flock of “cheery hens” and a sheepdog that cant herd sheep!!!! The second part of the book is mainly concerned with preaching about organ donation. Now I have no problems with it, but it’s a sensitive and complex subject and the preaching is very much overdone in this book.
I realise the author is very popular, but this book is not for me. The premise of the story is quite good on the surface, but it comes across as Mills & Boon meets Disney.
June 5, 2019
Not being a great aficionado of the romance or "chick lit" genres, I'd never previously read a Susan Lewis book. I know they're much loved by her army of dedicated fans, and having now read "One Minute Later", I can understand the attraction for those who seek out this style of literature. Lewis is undeniably a skilled writer.
Like some other reviewers, I chose this book on the basis of its blurb description as a thriller, and like many of them, I felt that it felt a bit flat on that score. The much vaunted mystery is actually a fairly minor feature of the plot and I found myself anticipating a much-hoped-for twist that never really eventuated. I would characterise this story as "personal/family drama" with a twist of socio-political activism on the issue of organ donation.
I found the central character, Vivienne, somewhat hard to warm to and, like other reviewers, felt more engaged in the parallel Raynor family / Deerwood Farm storyline.
As a strong supporter of "opt-out" organ donation myself - a cousin of mine died in her 30s while awaiting a donor organ that never materialised - I found the story an effective, if understandably emotive, means for encouraging the wider community to consider registering for organ donation themselves and discussing their wishes with their family.
Without wanting to include spoilers, I felt this was a realistic portrayal of the challenges and issues that face young people stopped in their prime by the emergence of congenital or spontaneous medical issues. A good read for those who like their romance and family sagas punctuated with pertinent societal issues.
Like some other reviewers, I chose this book on the basis of its blurb description as a thriller, and like many of them, I felt that it felt a bit flat on that score. The much vaunted mystery is actually a fairly minor feature of the plot and I found myself anticipating a much-hoped-for twist that never really eventuated. I would characterise this story as "personal/family drama" with a twist of socio-political activism on the issue of organ donation.
I found the central character, Vivienne, somewhat hard to warm to and, like other reviewers, felt more engaged in the parallel Raynor family / Deerwood Farm storyline.
As a strong supporter of "opt-out" organ donation myself - a cousin of mine died in her 30s while awaiting a donor organ that never materialised - I found the story an effective, if understandably emotive, means for encouraging the wider community to consider registering for organ donation themselves and discussing their wishes with their family.
Without wanting to include spoilers, I felt this was a realistic portrayal of the challenges and issues that face young people stopped in their prime by the emergence of congenital or spontaneous medical issues. A good read for those who like their romance and family sagas punctuated with pertinent societal issues.
December 4, 2022
An emotional book. Made laugh and cry, feel horrified at the way people can ride roughshod over others because they think they're entitled to behave how they want to, regardless. The book also carried a very real message about organ donation. If I wasn't already on the register, I would have been putting my name down.
March 10, 2020
Please bear with me, my eyes are red and puffy 😭🥺
This book. DAMN. I can't even put anything into words. I never know that the events in this book was even possible in relality. Reality is a bitch.
The pain, anger fustration I feel now. I wont even begin to describe it. It is powerful. All the feels I got from this book. Happiness, suspense, excitement, for it all to be shattered into a million pieces. Ergh.
This is the first book of the year which has made me cry and want to scream and shout. If I could I would be doing that right now but since it is 2am, I can't.
This book was bloody brilliant. I feel like I got a good feel for the characters and really felt like I have always known them. I am sad that the book is finished. I was just getting to the good part and then that happens.
It makes me realise how much more precious the life you have is and that you have to live every moment and day like it is the last and make sure that it is the best.
This book. DAMN. I can't even put anything into words. I never know that the events in this book was even possible in relality. Reality is a bitch.
The pain, anger fustration I feel now. I wont even begin to describe it. It is powerful. All the feels I got from this book. Happiness, suspense, excitement, for it all to be shattered into a million pieces. Ergh.
This is the first book of the year which has made me cry and want to scream and shout. If I could I would be doing that right now but since it is 2am, I can't.
This book was bloody brilliant. I feel like I got a good feel for the characters and really felt like I have always known them. I am sad that the book is finished. I was just getting to the good part and then that happens.
It makes me realise how much more precious the life you have is and that you have to live every moment and day like it is the last and make sure that it is the best.
July 14, 2019
This is the first Susan Lewis book I have read and it will not be the last. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. This was a story about second chances, mistakes, taking a chance on love, loss and reaching out. When the story starts, it seems like there are two separate stories going on. The first is in the present and is from the POV of Vivienne, who has recently developed heart failure and is waiting for a donor heart. She has returned home to Kesterly to convalesce while waiting for a possible transplant. Spending time with her mother has her reminiscing about her childhood and wondering why her mother would never tell her who her father was. The second POV is from Shelly, a happily married woman and mother who is living on a farm with her vet husband and children in the 1980s. When tragedy strikes, the family is changed forever. Eventually these two families, their heartaches and tragedies come together as one.
This is a beautifully written story with likeable characters. It is also a very emotional story that had me laughing and crying throughout. The most important thing about this story is the message of organ donation. With Vivienne waiting for a donor heart, you learn about the crisis in donors, the push to get more people to register and the devastation when someone does not survive because of lack of a donor. A very important message indeed, but told wrapped up in a wonderful story. I definitely recommend this one.
I was fortunate to listen to the audiobook of One Minute Later narrated by Antonia Beamish, Elisabeth Hopper, and Imogen Wilde. I enjoyed the multiple narrators as they gave distinct voices to the characters. This book was well performed and I enjoyed sitting back and listening as the story unfolded. The emotions and expression given to the characters allowed me to picture them and feel like they were telling me this story. Very well done. I received an audiobook from Harper Audio upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
This is a beautifully written story with likeable characters. It is also a very emotional story that had me laughing and crying throughout. The most important thing about this story is the message of organ donation. With Vivienne waiting for a donor heart, you learn about the crisis in donors, the push to get more people to register and the devastation when someone does not survive because of lack of a donor. A very important message indeed, but told wrapped up in a wonderful story. I definitely recommend this one.
I was fortunate to listen to the audiobook of One Minute Later narrated by Antonia Beamish, Elisabeth Hopper, and Imogen Wilde. I enjoyed the multiple narrators as they gave distinct voices to the characters. This book was well performed and I enjoyed sitting back and listening as the story unfolded. The emotions and expression given to the characters allowed me to picture them and feel like they were telling me this story. Very well done. I received an audiobook from Harper Audio upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
June 7, 2019
Susan Lewis takes her readers on a roller coaster ride of a story about how life can change in just one minute. She always write wonderful stories about families but I thought that this was her best novel yet.
Vivi is a successful lawyer in London. She lives in a perfect apartment, has plenty of friends and works long long hours at her job. It all changes in a minute when she has a massive heart attack at her 27th birthday party. She is unable to keep her job, her boyfriend is no longer interested in her and her friends have little in common with her new life as she moves back home to the small town she grew up in and moves in with her mother. She is aware that she is on borrowed time unless a transplant can be found and she is depressed about all of the changes in her life that led her away from her exciting life in London. She has one thing that she wants to do before she dies - she wants to find out who her father is and her mother refuses to tell her as she has all of her life. And then she meets Josh, a young vet and begins to fall in love with him. The big question through out the book is whether she will be able to get a heart before it's too late.
The book is a bit confusing when after a long chapter about Vivi and her medical problems, there is a chapter about Shelley and Deerwood Farms. There appears to be no connection between the people on this farm and Viv's story. All I can tell you is to keep reading because once the connection is made it ties up any questions that you may have.
I was very impressed with this book and with the characters - especially Vivi who showed determination to adjust to her new life and her continued hope for the future. I learned a lot about heart transplants and what life is like for someone waiting for a transplant. Overall, a great story!
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Vivi is a successful lawyer in London. She lives in a perfect apartment, has plenty of friends and works long long hours at her job. It all changes in a minute when she has a massive heart attack at her 27th birthday party. She is unable to keep her job, her boyfriend is no longer interested in her and her friends have little in common with her new life as she moves back home to the small town she grew up in and moves in with her mother. She is aware that she is on borrowed time unless a transplant can be found and she is depressed about all of the changes in her life that led her away from her exciting life in London. She has one thing that she wants to do before she dies - she wants to find out who her father is and her mother refuses to tell her as she has all of her life. And then she meets Josh, a young vet and begins to fall in love with him. The big question through out the book is whether she will be able to get a heart before it's too late.
The book is a bit confusing when after a long chapter about Vivi and her medical problems, there is a chapter about Shelley and Deerwood Farms. There appears to be no connection between the people on this farm and Viv's story. All I can tell you is to keep reading because once the connection is made it ties up any questions that you may have.
I was very impressed with this book and with the characters - especially Vivi who showed determination to adjust to her new life and her continued hope for the future. I learned a lot about heart transplants and what life is like for someone waiting for a transplant. Overall, a great story!
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
March 4, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and to Harper Collins UK for sending me an eARC of this book!
I haven’t actually read any Susan Lewis books before even though her books seem to be everywhere.
I really liked the overall theme and message of this book; I am a firm believe in the “opt-out” option with organ donation which looks like it will actually be coming into play soon. I can’t take my organs with me so they might as well do some good once I’m gone. I think Lewis managed a good balance of telling you about organ donation and trying to debunk some of the myths, whilst not beating you over the head with it.
Sadly aside from the message of the book I didn’t overly love the rest of the book. I wasn’t that sold on Vivi as a character and don’t feel we ever actually got to know her that well. She went from a high flyer to a terminally ill person but we never got much about her personality and so I never felt able to connect with her.
One of the main threads throughout this book is Vivi’s desire to find out who her father is;
Overall this was an easy reader, but not something that really interested me.
I haven’t actually read any Susan Lewis books before even though her books seem to be everywhere.
I really liked the overall theme and message of this book; I am a firm believe in the “opt-out” option with organ donation which looks like it will actually be coming into play soon. I can’t take my organs with me so they might as well do some good once I’m gone. I think Lewis managed a good balance of telling you about organ donation and trying to debunk some of the myths, whilst not beating you over the head with it.
Sadly aside from the message of the book I didn’t overly love the rest of the book. I wasn’t that sold on Vivi as a character and don’t feel we ever actually got to know her that well. She went from a high flyer to a terminally ill person but we never got much about her personality and so I never felt able to connect with her.
One of the main threads throughout this book is Vivi’s desire to find out who her father is;
Overall this was an easy reader, but not something that really interested me.
February 22, 2019
What a great book that highlights the need of organ donors and the emotions that surround families receiving them and those donating them.
February 15, 2020
A really beautiful tale of love that warms your heart , literally .
May 6, 2019
One minute you are okay, living a fun filled and fulfilling life - the next minute the unthinkable happens and you are twenty seven and experiencing a heart attack.
That's what happens to Vivi Shaeger and it turns her world and life upside down. She returns to her home town of Kesterly on Sea and life is very different. To survive she is going to need a new heart. Suddenly life seems fragile and one of the things she wants to find out is - who is her father? But when she does find out what will she think?
The narration swings between Vivi and Shelley who lives a generation back - it takes awhile to find the link between the two, but it is there. In one sense it will give Vivi new heart and love, but what about the actual live beating heart? The story certainly tracks really well all the emotions that a person may experience in such a situation.
This is a book about family, secrets, love, loss and heartbreak. It is also a big plug for organ donation as it makes such a difference in the lives of recipients. I liked the characters, followed the ups and downs and wondered how it would all turn out. Bittersweet is all I am saying!
That's what happens to Vivi Shaeger and it turns her world and life upside down. She returns to her home town of Kesterly on Sea and life is very different. To survive she is going to need a new heart. Suddenly life seems fragile and one of the things she wants to find out is - who is her father? But when she does find out what will she think?
The narration swings between Vivi and Shelley who lives a generation back - it takes awhile to find the link between the two, but it is there. In one sense it will give Vivi new heart and love, but what about the actual live beating heart? The story certainly tracks really well all the emotions that a person may experience in such a situation.
This is a book about family, secrets, love, loss and heartbreak. It is also a big plug for organ donation as it makes such a difference in the lives of recipients. I liked the characters, followed the ups and downs and wondered how it would all turn out. Bittersweet is all I am saying!
January 27, 2023
Top marks to Susan Lewis for raising awareness of the importance of organ donation. The story of Vivi is weaved around this topic and the story meanders quite nicely with a few other threads thrown in to give the story a bit more substance. All in all, an easy read.
February 23, 2019
I got just over halfway through this story and found that the thought of picking it back up made my heart sink. So much so, instead of reading it I started procrastinating with useless list articles online. This morning I decided that I was just going to call it a push and not finish the book - the reason it took me a while to make this decision is because the writing is nicely paced and the author does get the reader engaged in the story. Actually, that is the problem with it as well.
Vivienne (Vivi for short and, probably, narrative flow) is still young (20s), fit and healthy but on her birthday receives some disastrous health news - her heart is failing and her only hope is a transplant. Not the most joyous of scenarios to write about but I have read books based on similar tales in the past and there is warmth and humour to be found in even the bleakest of situations. Unfortunately, Vivi's situation and outlook is just unremittingly bleak; add in her strained maternal relationship and her decision that she now has to find her estranged father and by the half way point I just couldn't really take anymore angst and was already skim reading her sections.
The second half of the story centres around Shelley, Jack and their 2 daughters and 1 son and their new life at Deerwood Farm. This starts off a tale of bucolic wonder and really lifted the overall tone of the book and gave me a degree of the warm fuzzies. Unfortunately, things then start to go wrong for them in BIG ways and suddenly we are dealing with premature death, miscreant teenagers and anything else the author could throw at us.
I didn't finish the book but skimmed through it and, to be honest, it doesn't seem to get much better really. It is just depressing scene after depressing scene and just does not appeal to me at all. I read a wide range of genres and don't mind a bit of misery from time to time but this was so unrelenting that it actually slowed my reading enjoyment down of other books. Maybe this means the author really plucked at my emotions and made me feel uncomfortable things but maybe it just means that my preferred type of escapism has to have something more than just misery and fear in it.
Other people seem to really like it and I won;t encourage you not to buy it. All I will say is if you want an unrealistic view of the world and a degree of fantasy in with your reality then this is not the book for you (I do like my literary realities to be a little better than reality). If you like "misery memoirs" then you may well be on the fence with this one too as they usually have some sort of redemptive message in them.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE
Vivienne (Vivi for short and, probably, narrative flow) is still young (20s), fit and healthy but on her birthday receives some disastrous health news - her heart is failing and her only hope is a transplant. Not the most joyous of scenarios to write about but I have read books based on similar tales in the past and there is warmth and humour to be found in even the bleakest of situations. Unfortunately, Vivi's situation and outlook is just unremittingly bleak; add in her strained maternal relationship and her decision that she now has to find her estranged father and by the half way point I just couldn't really take anymore angst and was already skim reading her sections.
The second half of the story centres around Shelley, Jack and their 2 daughters and 1 son and their new life at Deerwood Farm. This starts off a tale of bucolic wonder and really lifted the overall tone of the book and gave me a degree of the warm fuzzies. Unfortunately, things then start to go wrong for them in BIG ways and suddenly we are dealing with premature death, miscreant teenagers and anything else the author could throw at us.
I didn't finish the book but skimmed through it and, to be honest, it doesn't seem to get much better really. It is just depressing scene after depressing scene and just does not appeal to me at all. I read a wide range of genres and don't mind a bit of misery from time to time but this was so unrelenting that it actually slowed my reading enjoyment down of other books. Maybe this means the author really plucked at my emotions and made me feel uncomfortable things but maybe it just means that my preferred type of escapism has to have something more than just misery and fear in it.
Other people seem to really like it and I won;t encourage you not to buy it. All I will say is if you want an unrealistic view of the world and a degree of fantasy in with your reality then this is not the book for you (I do like my literary realities to be a little better than reality). If you like "misery memoirs" then you may well be on the fence with this one too as they usually have some sort of redemptive message in them.
THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE
April 13, 2019
I'm ashamed to say I very nearly gave up on this, even at around 45% - but then it all started coming together, and I should have known from the start that a Susan Lewis book wouldn't let me down.
This is a wonderful story, with true-life woven into it, with a powerful message of the importance of organ donation.
Wonderful book which I have cried my eyes out over in more than one place.
This is a wonderful story, with true-life woven into it, with a powerful message of the importance of organ donation.
Wonderful book which I have cried my eyes out over in more than one place.
February 22, 2019
I read this via The Pigeonhole app.
This was an engaging and thought provoking read as it looks at the question of organ donation, and how the wait can affect the patients and those around them, alongside a story of family drama and what happens when the truth comes out after years of feeling aggrieved at not knowing the full story.
Vivienne is a high flying lawyer with the whole world at her feet - until she collapses on her 27th birthday and her life then flips 180 and she is left to ponder what is really important to her, while trying to stay positive in the hope of receiving a heart transplant.
Alongside the story of Vivi, we also go back in time to the story of Jack and Shelley who lived on a farm and had the perfect family life - or so it seemed. Trouble with the neighbours sparks off a number of disputes and when tragedy strikes it rocks the family to their core.
The paths of the stories soon cross and it all becomes clearer as to why the stories are being told in the way that they are. I did feel at times it took a little too long to get to the point and often got too bogged down in trivial little things when there were bigger issues to be dealt with.
The last third of the book was where the point of the story got going and it is obvious how passionate the author feels about the importance of Organ Donor registration as this came through very clearly in the story and how it affected Vivi and her family. An enjoyable read
This was an engaging and thought provoking read as it looks at the question of organ donation, and how the wait can affect the patients and those around them, alongside a story of family drama and what happens when the truth comes out after years of feeling aggrieved at not knowing the full story.
Vivienne is a high flying lawyer with the whole world at her feet - until she collapses on her 27th birthday and her life then flips 180 and she is left to ponder what is really important to her, while trying to stay positive in the hope of receiving a heart transplant.
Alongside the story of Vivi, we also go back in time to the story of Jack and Shelley who lived on a farm and had the perfect family life - or so it seemed. Trouble with the neighbours sparks off a number of disputes and when tragedy strikes it rocks the family to their core.
The paths of the stories soon cross and it all becomes clearer as to why the stories are being told in the way that they are. I did feel at times it took a little too long to get to the point and often got too bogged down in trivial little things when there were bigger issues to be dealt with.
The last third of the book was where the point of the story got going and it is obvious how passionate the author feels about the importance of Organ Donor registration as this came through very clearly in the story and how it affected Vivi and her family. An enjoyable read
February 26, 2019
One Minute Later is a book that I wouldn’t usually read but every now and again I need something a little different. The first half of it is dual narrative, Vivi, who has been diagnosed with a life changing illness in modern day and Shelley whose narrative starts in the 1980s and moves forward towards modern day. It was Shelley’s story I preferred. I liked the family’s efforts to make their farm a success, the hectic family life and the people in general. Vivi I couldn’t warm too, I found the way she was with her mother quite difficult to read.
The second half of the novel focuses on Vivi more and the way she has to live with her condition. I found her more likeable here, she has a better relationship with her mother, and I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Josh, the way she was accepted by his family and her finding out the truth about her father. But the most important factor to this part of the novel was the way it highlighted the importance of organ donation. It doesn’t force a reader to sign the register as such, more it shows how many lives could be changed and the way the person who needs a transplant has to live their lives.
The second half of the novel focuses on Vivi more and the way she has to live with her condition. I found her more likeable here, she has a better relationship with her mother, and I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Josh, the way she was accepted by his family and her finding out the truth about her father. But the most important factor to this part of the novel was the way it highlighted the importance of organ donation. It doesn’t force a reader to sign the register as such, more it shows how many lives could be changed and the way the person who needs a transplant has to live their lives.
March 12, 2019
I have always enjoyed Susan Lewis’s books and I enjoyed this one but not as much as her earlier books. I found this book quite confusing for the first few chapters, with different times and so many characters that I couldn’t connect with. It seemed so drawn out before things clicked but then I couldn’t put it down. It is a story of two women, Vivi in the present time and Shelley in the past and present. As their lives merge so do many secrets and lies. This is a story of hope, love and sadness that will leave you in tears at the end. A very emotional read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
April 27, 2020
Just finished reading this.
If it was a recorded film, I'd have deleted it after 20 minutes!
I'd invested so much time in it, I had to finish it. About 300 pages of boredom and then the story really kicked in for the remaining 150 pages. I did enjoy that section although the ending was a bit grim.
There was only one character in the book that I actually liked - Josh.
Endless pages of meaningless "life on the farm" which I didn't think had much impact on the story. 2 different time lines.
I love books and love to keep them afterwards - not this one I'm afraid 😃
If it was a recorded film, I'd have deleted it after 20 minutes!
I'd invested so much time in it, I had to finish it. About 300 pages of boredom and then the story really kicked in for the remaining 150 pages. I did enjoy that section although the ending was a bit grim.
There was only one character in the book that I actually liked - Josh.
Endless pages of meaningless "life on the farm" which I didn't think had much impact on the story. 2 different time lines.
I love books and love to keep them afterwards - not this one I'm afraid 😃
February 22, 2019
A book about love and loss, marrying 2 storylines over 30 years apart. I initially struggled to warm to Vivi as a character, so found some of the earlier chapters less engrossing, but as the stories unfolded, changed my opinion completely. Ultimately I really enjoyed this book and was sad when it ended.
April 27, 2019
DNF - by the time I got to the second paragraph I was losing the will to live - or at least any interest in this book. The author is incapable of writing a sentence that doesn't include at least 2 adjectives per noun, and no cliche is left unmolested. Sample sentence from first page: "Vivienne Shager stretched luxuriously, her taut, lithe body ... blah, blah,blah"
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