Beautifully written, incredibly poignant and emotional with very believable characters and a tremendous sense of place. I found I was totally invested right from the start, which for me is the sign of a great storyteller. A beautiful book more than worthy of the maximum 5 stars.

I was sent a copy of The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal to read and review by NetGalley. I have had this novel waiting in the wings to read for some considerable time and I have no idea why I kept it on the back burner for so long – I absolutely loved it! It is beautifully written, incredibly poignant and emotional with very believable characters and a tremendous sense of place. I found I was totally invested right from the start, which for me is the sign of a great storyteller. A beautiful book more than worthy of the maximum 5 stars.

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Enjoyable read which moved along at a nice pace. Bit of a twist at the end which I didn’t see coming and the book kept me entertained.

So I went in with no idea what this book was about and part of me still wonders. However, I got to the end and I got it. I loved the twist in the tale, which I saw coming but at the same time the unveiling was heartbreaking and tears filled my eyes. This story was beautiful.

A story of love and loss and man I loved Mona. I was there when she was growing up, I was there when she met William and I was there when she was on her own. I experienced her journey and I couldn’t put this book down, well push the stop button on the audiobook. I will admit, it took me a couple of chapters to get into, I think my head wasn’t in it at first as the book was a slow and calm book. Once I learned to relax and embrace it, I just didn’t want to leave Mona’s side.

A couple of years ago, Kit was at my work turning on the Christmas lights and kicking off our book festival and it was amazing to listen to her speak, just gutted it took me so long to read her book! She has written a beautiful story and her writing is all-encompassing. She invites us in to sit down and have a cuppa while we sit back listening to Mona regale her life. Maybe have a tissue or two.

There is just no way I can do this book justice. I still think about Mona and her life and I want to cry and smile all over again. What this woman does with her life is just magical, the healing she offers other people got me choked up. To say any more would spoil it!

I will be buying this book for my family and I will be checking out the other books by Kit. She is a wonderful storyteller and I can’t wait to get lost in another story by her.

I’ve struggled for quite a while with how to review The Trick to Time, it seems to be much harder to articulate reviews for books that have made a deeper impact on you – or so I find in any case!

Throughout the book we go back and forth in the life of Mona, from her upbringing in Ireland, her excitement at moving to the UK, falling in love and then personal tragedy. Present day Mona makes dolls and sells them all over the world and, while each doll is special, it’s the commissions that come from a select group of women who are referred to her that seem to mean the most.

Mona’s feeling her age on the approach to her 60th birthday and she begins to take out and examine the parts of her life that have led her to where she is. Some of her personal tragedies coincide with huge, national events and she’s left with the question – what if? What if she had done something different, or gone somewhere else? What would her life look like at 60 if these other things had been done?

What made the greatest impression on me was Mona’s work with the woment that are referred to her. You have to admire people who are willing to use their own personal losses to help other people, and it was easy to feel Mona’s warmth and the weight of her experience in these sections.

There’s little more I can say without completely spoiling this special book, so I won’t give away any more now – I just absolutely recommend it, as it’s a beautifully-written look at how grief affects us in its many and varied ways.

A truly wonderful book - it had me in tears. . One of those books you get so absorbed in that it almost takes over your life. Will definitely be recommending it to my book group and friends. Thank you Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to review it.

I really enjoyed how this book weaved and ‘revealed’ in an unusual and pleasing fashion. Hints at how the reveal progressed didn’t give away the secrets of the subject. Some of those secrets were a little unbelievable at first, but dropped into a relatable, understandable reality. Very nicely done and a great lesson in creative writing.

This book sure did surprise me.
I liked that is was Irish which fitted in with the Irishbookathon I joined in. And that they had moved to Birmingham.

We get two timelines.
One when Mona is young and when she’s many years older. The back and forth was easy to follow.

There’s a layer of sadness that emulates throughout the story but also hope.

Totally loved this book. I was so sceptical as I loved the authors previous book and wasn’t sure if she could better it.

You get much more than you expect from this.

Finished my first book for the Irish read a thon, this one didn't fill any of the prompts but I was trying to clear some of my kindle books and this is by an Irish author.

In this story we follow Mona who is a doll maker, we follow her story in the present as we watch her build a new relationship and find out about her doll making and her relationships with the people around her, we also follow Mona in the past where we watch her fall in love, become a mother and suffer loss time and time again.

So I'm not sure how to rate this book, I adored the bits in the past and really went on the emotional rollercoaster with Mona, I found myself rooting for her and wanting to know what was going to happen next. However I wasn't so keen on the parts set in the present and didn't find them so emersive as the past sections, I found myself rushing to get them over so I could get back to the story in the past, I found myself drifting a lot when we were in the present and feeling a bit bored. I think had this book been soley set in the past it would have been a five star from me but that's not the case and I really feel this was a book of two half's for me, I sad also mega confused about the ending.

Oh my goodness, this beautiful book almost broke me! It smashed my heart into smithereens then put it all back together again. As soon as I realised what was going on, I was powerless to stop the tears from falling and I was openly sobbing as Mona's past was revealed.

I don't want to give away anything about the breathtaking plot as this is a book that needs to be experienced first-hand by every reader. It's certainly an emotional rollercoaster as we follow the path of Mona's life from Ireland to Birmingham. From the wise words Mona's father gave her in Ireland to the selfless acts that Mona now carries out from her home in Birmingham, The Trick to Time is an absolute delight from beginning to end.

Mona is a really interesting character; at first glance she's a sixty year old dollmaker who lives on her own but scratch the surface and you will find an angel with a broken heart. Although she has loved and been loved, Mona has had such a tragic life but she uses the experience of her own tragedy to help others. I wish everyone had a Mona in their life.

Written with sensitivity, warmth and humour, The Trick to Time is an exceptionally beautiful novel. Mona's father's trick to time is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life; time is something that we can never get back so use it wisely. Keep your tissues handy when you read this heartachingly beautiful book that I unreservedly recommend.

I am afraid that I just could not get into this book. I persevered to the end but did not enjoy it at all. Not for me, sorry.

Mona is a sixty year old woman running a toyshop in a seaside town with a sideline in supporting women who have suffered the loss of a baby. As Mona starts to make some changes in her life, her own backstory is gradually revealed.

It's one of those books that you are immediately drawn into and enjoy from the very beginning. Mona is complex and her story is compelling. It tackles a very difficult and emotive topic in a sensitive way.

I struggled to get into The trick to time. I found the jumping between characters different to follow and although I tried to persevere I gave up in the end. This book was not for me.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

‘The Trick to Time’ is beautifully written and is the story of Mona, a woman who has just turned sixty and has arrived at a crossroads in her life.

I actually read this book late last year but I struggled to get my thoughts down into a coherent review. This is the first novel I’ve read by the author but it definitely won’t be the last. It follows Mona in two timelines: in the present she runs a business selling weighted dolls to help women deal with the loss of their babies, and in the past we see what made Mona the woman she is in the present. There is a lot of heartache in this novel but it’s the resilience that shone through for me. I’ve suffered a miscarriage myself and while I got over it as much as anyone can I still know how old my child would be now. I didn’t talk about it much at the time, I just picked myself up and got on with it. It feels like every woman going through such a loss needs a Mona in their lives. She knows pain too but she channels it into easing other women’s pain. I cried quite a lot reading this book but it was cathartic tears. This novel is such a special book, one I won’t ever forget. If you haven’t already read this novel then I urge you to, it’s beautiful and unforgettable!

I loved Kit de Waal's My Name is Leon, so when I saw The Trick to Time was coming out, I grabbed an ARC as quickly as I could. This book is fairly different from the previous one, but by no means less powerful. The focus here is on Mona, a sixty-year-old Irish dollmaker, and her efforts to live to the full the life she has left.

The book alternates between present-day Mona and her past, first as child in Ireland trying to cope with her mother's illness, and later as a young woman attempting to build a new life in England. I loved slowly getting to know Mona: as her past is unveiled and her present unfolds before our eyes, she gradually shapes up to be a wonderfully complex character. Supported by an unforgettable cast of secondary characters, Mona tries to put together pieces of her past life, and tries to overcome pain bigger than anyone should ever have to face.

The author's wonderful writing style takes us back to a time when life was different, and when social tensions exploded, immediately contrasting that with the quiet seaside town where present-day Mona lives. And it just works. Mona is complex and charismatic enough to hold the whole story together, the settings and historical elements add depth to the story, and the final revelations did surprise me a little bit, as I had drawn completely the wrong conclusion! The only negative for me is that, at times, the narration felt a bit slow, making this feel longer than it really is, but it was definitely worth it!

An utterly charming story about a woman who lost her only love and now spends her life making weighted baby dolls for women who have lost their baby. It flits between the present day and the past, and we slowly piece together her love story, so it feels like the mystery of a person’s life gradually revealed (with a few unexpected turns). It also explores what it was like to be an Irish person in England at the time of the IRA bombings. Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon, has produced another memorable story with characters you enjoy spending time with. Highly recommended.

I loved Kit de Waal's previous book My Name Is Leon, and this was a wonderful follow-up. There is a real art to rendering feeling in writing without falling into sentimentality, and this book has a bold command of tone - it's a very moving story. Settings and characters are wonderfully drawn; the author has a particular gift for bringing to life secondary characters with spark and vim. Her dialogue is cracking. This is also a good example of successfully done present-tense narration.