The Date is another great read by Louise Jensen, a psychological thriller that will have you up all hours to get to the end.
Ali is the main character and we find her waking up in bed one Sunday morning to find she has no idea how she got home to bed, she has an injury to her head and blood under her finger nails, how has all this happened? To make matters worse she doesn’t even recognise her own face in the mirror.
As this thriller unfolds Louise managed to lead me down the garden path quite a few times as I definitely thought a couple of times I’d got it!! But only to have the rug pulled from under my feet and find a new path emerging.
This was a solid thriller that will put me off internet dating forever, I have dropped a star as at the beginning it almost felt too far fetched and I struggled to get into it for the first couple of chapters but enjoyed it immensely from that moment onwards.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I received an eARC for the publishers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much!

This book was so good! I was not expecting it. Around 75% into it I still had no concrete evidence on who it was or what for sure had happened. I had one fleeing moment of "What if it's (no spoilers lol)! But no it can't be, that would be so messed up." And well.....yeah.....

Thank you for this ARC!

Blown away. After the first line you will be absolutely hooked. You will stay up way past your bed time and then wake up earlier than normal just to get the chance to put a few more pieces together of Ali's "date".

A psychological thriller but also so very complex. It is impossible to not have a heavy heart for Ali. What a complicated life she has had, and then even when she is no longer able to recognize a face, something we all easily take for granted, she continues to find strength and search for answers.

Unputdownable. I cannot wait to get my hands on other Louise Jensen's books, I am definitely a fan after reading The Date!

Louise Jensen never ceases to amaze. She can take any topic, interesting diverse topics, and turn them into twisted heart stopping thrillers that you just can't put down. THE DATE is no different. In this book, the topic she introduces is Face Blindness.
 The Date is a book that gives you a sense of unease throughout. Not only can Ali not remember what happened on her date but since the head injury from that night she also can't recognize anyone, not even the people she loves. Then she starts getting packages, someone is following her and threatening her from the night she remembers nothing about.
I couldn't put this book down. I read the first half in one night, I wanted to finish it but never wanted it to end. The Date made me anxious and unnerved about what would happen next and wanting to know who was following her. What did they know that she couldn't remember? Did she do something or was something done to her? You won't see this one coming. 
I'm always so excited to hear about Louise Jensen releasing another book. We've read all her books and they always surprise and thrill us. She tells a story you find yourself lost in. THE DATE was unforgettable and we loved every thrilling second. THE DATE, like everything from this wonderful author, is amazing and we can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

This book I did NOT expect to grip me in the way it did. This woman wakes up beaten up from a date she doesn't even remember she had! Every chapter you are on the edge of your seat wondering who it was and what exactly happened. This is definitely a page turner! Ms. Jensen knows how to write a psychological thriller. Just wow. Trust me when I say you must read this book.

The Date by Louise Jensen is yet another psychological thriller that hits the spot ! Ali wakes up from a date her friends arranged for her after her marriage to Matt broke down with no memory of her night out with blood on her hands and full of bruises,but worst of all she doesn't recognise the face in the mirror and soon realises she is suffering from prosopagnosia (face blindness).Full of twists and turns with the last few chapters taking your breath away as once again Louise Jensen takes you on a rollercoaster of a ride towards the dramatic ending including the last page which leaves you breathless.Having also first hand experience of MND the way it is portrayed is both sad,touching and very real.Well done Louise for that.Yet another 5 star read from Louise Jensen who is fast becoming the queen of psychological thrillers.

Definitely a book you will not be able to put down and from the first paragraph it will have you hooked. Ali wakes up, after being on a date the night before, knowing something is wrong as she is covered in blood and cannot remember anything about what had happened on the date. At the hospital she is diagnosed with a condition called face blindness, which means that not only can not recognise anyone she can’t even recognise herself. What on earth happened that night and who wants to harm Ali? The story unfolds as Ali goes on a mission to find out what happened to her. We start discovering about her past and if any of this is linked to recent events.
This is such a gripping read, with tension building throughout the book. Louise Jensen can certainly write good psychological thrillers and this was her best so far. There are so many twists and surprises and an ending that you will never have seen coming. One of the best books I have read this year.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Bloody hell! Never mind the dark, monsters under the bed or a psycho serial killer! This scenario right here is the stuff of nightmares!

Separated from her husband, Ali is persuaded by her friends to go out on a date. But the next morning, Ali doesn’t remember a single thing about the previous night. Even worse, she doesn’t recognise the face in the mirror staring back at her. What on earth happened? Did someone try to hurt her and why?

Ali suffers from what’s called face blindness, a condition where you can’t tell one face from the other. Not your own, not your nearest and dearest. Who even knew that was a thing? But it is! It’s real and it’s utterly frightening! It’s incredibly easy to imagine how scary it is, to go out there and not know anyone, not be able to tell one person from the next. And in Ali’s case, it becomes even more terrifying, if that were even possible, when it seems someone is after her. But how do you find out who it is when you don’t recognise anyone? Argh!

There are a lot of secrets and skeletons lurking in the closets, some of which are truly heartbreaking. With some tough topics, I quickly found myself caught up on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I must say, I feel that Louise Jensen did a fabulous job delving into what could be quite sensitive issues without sensationalising things for the sake of an explosive thriller.

This is one twisty psychological thriller! I thought for sure I had figured the whole thing out but I kept changing my mind throughout and was still proven wrong in the end. Just like Ali, you end up suspecting just about everyone and I was completely blindsided by the reveal.

The Date is an immensely gripping, compelling and addictive page-turner! My mind was blown and I didn’t want to put it down. You will not want to either. I’m beginning to think Louise Jensen can do no wrong. Absolutely brilliant and if you enjoy your psychological thrillers, then this is most definitely a must read!

‘I know it as soon as I wake up and open my eyes... Something is wrong.’

After going on a blind date, Ali wakes up to a nightmare, knowing that something is horribly wrong! Her clothes are ripped, she is bruised and has blood on her hands, but cannot remember what happened the night before! The nightmare escalates when Ali fails to recognise the reflection she sees when looking at herself in the mirror. Nor can she recognise her loved ones. There's no waking up from this nightmare as Ali begins receiving threatening messages as well as her gloves covered in blood. Who is behind all this? Would she even be able to recognise the person trying to ruin her? Where is her date? Who can she trust when she can't recognise her own friends?

Has this book description hijacked your attention yet? It certainly did mine! So naturally, I dove into this one head first, only coming up for air when I laid eyes on the book's final word. Clearly an indication of a great read!

Congratulations to the author for outdoing herself on this one, incorporating the medical condition of Face Blindness made this book fantastically unique, educating me on a condition I wasn't aware of until now. It had me truly feeling for Ali in her dire situation, putting myself in her shoes, taking me along with her on the scary ride of her new reality.

Fast paced, heartbreaking and intense, my suspicion of certain characters on high alert, with a gobsmacking ending, what more can one ask for?

I highly recommend this latest addition to Louise Jensen's work. I am grateful to her, Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity of reading an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* Ali Taylor's Saturday night started out like any other - drinks with friends. However, when she wakes up the next morning, not only is she injured, with no memory of how it has occurred, she has developed Prosopagnosia, which is face blindness. Ali can no longer recognise the faces of those around her - not even her closest friends and family. As the book continues, layers of the past are revealed and Ali and her brother Ben's childhood tragedy is explored. As readers have come to expect from Louise Jensen, the book is full of suspense, twists and turns. It took me a little bit of time to get all of the characters in Ali's life straight, but overall, an enjoyable read.

One of the most chilling openings to a book in a long time. Alison Taylor’s fear is palpable as we watch her wake up from the night before not having a clue what has happened to cause the state she sees when she looks in the mirror! Superb #killerhook!

The Date is a terrifying tale of one woman whose life is turned upside down following a date with a man she met online. She wakes up bloodied and bruised with no idea of what has happened to her and no memories from the night before. Worse than that, she no longer recognises the faces of anyone she knows. Someone is out there watching her and toying with her, who is it and why are they so determined to break her?

I’m not going to lie, this book scared the bejesus out of me! I found myself listening for footsteps on my stairs, knocks on my door and waiting for a pair of beady eyes to stare at me through the window in the dead of the night!

Louise Jensen is a mistress of psychological suspense and an expert at building suspense in her novels. She has surpassed all my expectations in this one! It was so hard not to engage with Alison, not to feel her fear or understand the terror that must come from no longer recognising those you love…or indeed those who are determined to cause you harm.

Each little word, paragraph and chapter ramped up the tension until I was at the stage of reading the book with my eyes closed! Switching between Alison and the unknown narrator was a genius move, from Alison’s fear to the narrative of the one who was set to destroy her set me totally on edge. So many possible perpetrators were introduced, so many red herrings and twists that I was seriously spinning reading this book! Revenge, the past, secrets and lies are all wrapped up into a delicious package of suspense!

If you are looking for a book with all the hooks then The Date is one for you. Once again Louise Jensen has blown me away with this tense and intricately plotted psychological thriller; it will terrify you, it will consume you and you will not know what has hit you by the time you come to the end!

Don’t believe everything you see…

“In a desperate situation, are we all capable of monstrous acts? It’s incomprehensible we can reach inside the darkest depths of someone else’s mind, when we ignore the blackness lurking in our own.”

Ali has been on a blind date last night. But when she wakes up the next morning with ripped cloths, bruises on her body, blood on her hands and no memory of the date, she realizes her nightmares have just begun.
To top it all, as a result of her head injury she has developed Prosopagnosia or face blindness. She can’t recognize faces. Not even her own!
All hell breaks loose when she begins receiving threatening messages, including a box with her bloody gloves inside. Who is behind all this? Can she recognize her date if she sees him again? Has she really committed a crime? Where is her roommate and why doesn’t she answer her phone?

And then the police knocks on her door…

Thanks to Louise Jensen, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy.

Saturday night Allison Taylor had a date. She has recently separated from her husband and after some urging from her friends, she decides to meet a man at a local bar. Sunday morning her entire life has turned upside down. She instantly knows something is wrong when she wakes up. She is sore, has a huge bump on her head, and has no memory of what happened the evening before. One she manages to stumble into the bathroom she is shocked by what she sees in the mirror - a face she does not recognize. It's her face but.....

After her brother takes her to the hospital and she has some testing she learns she has Prosopagnosia also known as face blindness. Not only does she not recognize her own face, she doesn't recognize anyone in her life! Can you image how unsettling and frightening that would be? Couple that with having injuries and not knowing how you received them.

Then she begins receiving messages such as "Enjoy the date, bitch?" which sets her imagination into high gear. Just what happened on her date? Where is her roommate? Where is the man she met at the bar? Who is leaving her messages? Why has she been targeted? How does one navigate a world or interact with people when you do not recognize them, but they recognize you and tell you they are your friends? Who do you trust? How do you trust?

I tore through this book in one day! I couldn't read this fast enough! I love trying to figure out who is behind the notes which are terrorizing Allison. At one point I had suspected various people and then thought wouldn't it be funny if it was THIS person!?! ha! ha! Turns out it was THAT person and I was shocked. Then I felt a little let down.

Obviously, an edge of your seat page turner with some twists and turns which kept me turning the pages. The Author does a fantastic job of having the reader feel for the main character and her plight. Plus, the reader is given glimpses into her past and a secret she has been concealing. Past and present will come together in this book. As the plot thickens so does the suspense and feelings of dread.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Alison Taylor estranged from husband Matt secures a date with a man on an online dating site. After the date, she has no recollection of what happened but has a head injury. Tests show that she has sustained damage to her brain and she's diagnosed with Prosopagnosia which is facial blindness. She fails to recognise people she knows. How would you cope? What has happened to her on that date? Why does she feel someone is watching her? Ali is scared frustrated and vulnerable. The plot has the distinct quality of a nightmare as inexplicable incidents occur. The well-contrived plot had me fooled. I kept thinking that I'd figured it out but was continually proved wrong. The novel neatly avoided what I call that "sagging in the middle" with a kick-start incident that urged me to continue reading. There are a lot of "messages" woven into the plot. How we are often so self-absorbed we fail to notice the problems of others. Betrayal. White lies. Hidden resentment. Online dating and its unpredictable nature. The need to be wary of where you lay your trust. It's a thought-provoking book with some interesting issues including hypnotherapy, philosophy and psychology and the viciousness of Motor Neurone Disease. Branwell her dog stole my heart. I applaud the way the plot links with the poem by Edward Lear. I loved the way the author captured how thoughts race randomly through your head when under pressure. Most of all how secrets and hate can grow like cancers until they finally implode. Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of “The Date” by Louise Jensen. This was my very first book I read by this author & I cannot wait to read many more. I will not give any spoilers. This was a fantastic Thriller book. I loved how I could not stop reading. I highly recommend this book and was hooked from start to finish. Fantastic book.

EXCERPT: I don't know who I am any more. The pressure inside my head mounts and a shard of memory drives itself into my consciousness. Shouting. Screaming. 'I know. I know what you did.' Crying. Begging. 'Please.' Hands on me. Pain. Blackness. 'You deserve everything you get.' And the hope that Saturday night was an accident, or even a random attack by a stranger, turns to ashes. 'You have blood on your hands.' Oh God, what have I done? What have I done again?

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Something bad has happened to Alison Taylor.

Her Saturday night started normally. Recently separated from her husband, Ali has been persuaded by her friends to go on a date with a new man. She is ready, she is nervous, she is excited. She is about to take a step into her new future.

By Sunday morning, Ali’s life is unrecognisable. She wakes, and she knows that something is wrong. She is home, she is alone, she is hurt and she has no memory of what happened to her.

Worse still, when she looks in the mirror, Ali doesn’t recognise the face staring back at her. She can’t recognise her friends and family. And she can’t recognise the person who is trying to destroy her…

MY THOUGHTS: Terrifying. Imagine looking in the mirror and not recognising the face staring back at you. . . Not recognising anyone, your brother, your husband, your friends, your work colleagues. Never knowing, never being quite sure who these people are, walking past them on the street. We all fail to recognize people out of context, away from where we normally see them, but this is infinitely worse. Even more terrifying when someone is stalking you. If you do see them, you won't recognise them...

Even more scary when you have a secret, a secret buried deep in your past, one that you can't escape, that you will carry with you always, a secret that you have learned to live with, but one that someone else now knows. 'It doesn't work, does it, burying secrets? They always become unearthed: dark and dirty and ready to destroy.'

As I said, terrifying. But you are going to have to suspend belief to really enjoy The Date. And I did while I was reading. I tore through the pages. Breathless. Unable to stop to even think. Every possibility, every scenario drew me in. Imagine being trapped inside a kaleidoscope lined with distorting fun fair mirrors. That is how I felt as I was reading.

But when I had finished, little inconsistencies began to niggle at me. I wasn't so sure any more. I have never had this happen before. I have had the opposite happen. I have read books where, having finished them, they have continued to grow on me. Whereas my pleasure in The Date diminished a little the more I thought about it.

Don't get me wrong. This was an incredible read, one that I won't hesitate to recommend. But there was a worm in my apple. One that, try as I might, I just can't identify.

☆☆☆☆

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Date by Louise Jensen for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

How do you know the book you've read was a really good one? Well, the best indication for that is, when you start reading a book and the next thing you know it's time to go to bed. And you don't even know how that could be, because you just had breakfast and sat down to read a few chapters. And this is how I feel after reading "The Date" in one sitting. Intense, heart breaking and fast paced, the story about Ali and her unusual brain condition, commonly known as Face Blindness, was all I could ask for in a book. Five stars and highly recommended! I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture !

Louise Jensen never ceases to amaze. She can take any topic, interesting diverse topics, and turn them into twisted heart stopping thrillers that you just can't put down. THE DATE is no different. This one the topic she introduces is Face Blindness.
The Date is a book that gives you a sense of unease throughout the whole book. Not only can Ali not remember what happened on her date but since the head injury from that night she also can't recognize anyone, not even the people she loves. Then she starts getting packages, someone is following her and threatening her from the night she remembers nothing about.
I couldn't put this book down. I read the first half in one night, I wanted to finish it but never wanted it to end. The Date made me anxious and unnerved about what would happen next and wanting to know who was following her. What did they know that she couldn't remember? Did she do something or was something done to her? You won't see this one coming. 
I'm always so excited to hear about Louise Jensen releasing another book. We've read all her books and they always surprise and thrill us. She tells a story you find yourself lost in. THE DATE was unforgettable and we loved every thrilling second. THE DATE, like everything from this wonderful author, is amazing and we can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

I loved The Sister,thought The Gift was ok,was totally mind blown by The Surrogate and therefore was really pleased when I was approved to read an arc of The Date.It started off so encouragingly,loads of twists and turns,danger,suspense and multiple suspects. I love how Louise Jensen uses different concepts and plot devices in her thrillers and Prosopagnosia (face blindness) is most definitely something that I have never heard of. It must be absolutely terrifying to realise that you don't recognise the faces of the people around you including your loved ones. It's certainly a different slant on the usual amnesia that is used so often in books and films and is not something that I am going to dismiss as nonsense just because I have never heard of it

The authors depictions of the main character Ali`s fear and solitude as she struggled to cope with not only the Prosopagnosia but also with the threats and intimidation from her mysterious tormentor or tormentors came across as realistic and believable.As Ali tries to work out what happened to her in the club that fateful Saturday night,why she woke up at home,hurt and alone and why she has no memory of what happened,she begins to doubt everyone around her. Who can she trust and why has her house mate and best friend Chrissy suddenly disappeared? I struggled to feel any sympathy or form any connection with Ali and the more the story progressed the more annoying she became.Actually most of the characters in this story are untrustworthy,manipulative and unlikable.Ali`s tormentor or tormentors could have been anyone out of a number of characters,the mystery of that person or person`s identity keep me guessing and I was genuinely surprised when the truth was revealed.My personal issue with the story was the parts that covered Ali`s past,I felt these parts dragged at times and at one point I was tempted to not finish the book.I get frustrated when a story is flowing alone nicely and holding my attention and then a character suddenly flashes back to an incident in the past and you suddenly find yourself reading pages and pages of back story that break the flow of the events happening in the present day.

So unfortunately I enjoyed certain parts of this story more than others and was left feeling a bit disappointed but that won't stop me eagerly waiting for Louise Jensen`s next book or any other books that she releases in the future.

I nearly didn’t read this book with its billing as “An unputdownable psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist” . My pet hate is books that tell you there’s going to be a twist - I’m not stupid - I like to go where a book takes me with the story - and not be waiting for THE twist.
However this was definitely worth reading and I really enjoyed the many twists (was that THE twist??) and turns the story took. Highly recommended. And four and a half stars from me - would have been 5 if I hadn’t been waiting for that flipping “breathtaking twist”.
Will definitely be reading more Louise Jensen

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.