Morning Everyone,

Happy Thursday! I hope you’ve all had a glorious week so far and that it’s only looking up! I’ve had a busy week, but also a fun one. I went home to the Midlands on Tuesday for a concert with my sister which was amazing but also meant I was extremely tired yesterday. I’m back running on usual sleep now though and ready for the weekend.

Book 📖

Thank you to @atlanticbooks for this advanced copy of One Moment by @beckyhunterbooks in return for an honest review. One Moment was published on 2nd March 2023 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

One moment in time can change everything…

The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn’t feel fair that she’ll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she’s still … here – wherever here is – watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend’s death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie’s life in directions she’d never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.

If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

General Thoughts 🤔

The concept and plot of this book was what drew me to it to begin with and after reading it, I can confirm that it was as interesting and as thought provoking as I thought it was going to be. I can also confirm that it’s a hard pass from me, I don’t think I’d like to hang around and watch my family and friends after my death, I don’t think I could cope with it. Unless I was able to skip to the part where they’re not upset anymore and can celebrate my life rather than mourn my absence.

Characters 👫👭👬

Scarlett and Evie had such a lovely friendship and I think they were the chalk to the other’s cheese. Whilst Scarlett was outgoing, bubbly and definitely a risk taker, Evie was more reserved, quiet and passive. I don’t think that Evie would have been the woman she grew into if it hadn’t been for Scarlett’s death. I think that Scarlett was a comfort blanket for Evie and it was easy for her to stay at home and sit with her illness rather than go out and push herself to enjoy her life within her own boundaries.

Then Nate came along and I loved that he entered Evie’s life. He shook things up for her, took her out of her comfort zone and made her realise that she was capable of so much more. I think Scarlett watching on would have felt a pang of jealousy that she wasn’t able to do this for Evie, but ultimately was appreciative of the impact Nate had.

Writing Style ✍️

This was a beautiful book to read and I loved the writing from this debut author. Stories about friendship always seem to hit a bit of an emotional place for me and so this story played right into that. I liked the way that Becky Hunter gave such an honest telling of grief and what it can look like. I also liked that she was able to write in a character that was dead, but still grew and developed.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Such a gorgeous story about grief, loss, love, friendship and personal growth. Becky Hunter’s debut hit that magical sweet spot between devastatingly sad and hilariously funny that made me want to cry and laugh all at the same time. If you fancy an emotional read that will pull on all of your heartstrings but also leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, then I definitely recommend this book.

😍😍😍😍😐