This book could have been overly emotional, a proper tearjerker, but it wasn’t and it was all the better for it.

The book opens at the funeral of Sean’s wife Catherine. A bit later Sean discovers that his wife left him a box of pictures and tapes. It is a story that has been done before, but it is the first time I am reading it.

This is a novel that deals with death in such a hopeful constructive way. It deals with family and relationships, with grief, but I guess mostly with getting ready to move on. It manages to do this without ever getting too fluffy. It feels very realistic and also comforting in a strange way. It is a novel that made me think about my own life and my own relationships and it made me appreciate what I have.

Yes, a tear did escape every now and then, but the novel skilfully avoids becoming a puddle of tears.

An absolutely beautiful book.

Thought this book was special, and so different. I felt the grief displayed through the main characters and the emotion was unbelievably real. The concept behind the pictures and the recordings was awesome. Learning the good, bad and ugly was raw- but in the end, such a well- thought out idea! As I was reading, I felt so connected and couldn’t help but imagine how that must have felt- both being the wife/mom and even the dad/daughter in the novel. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, I even found myself initially only reading one snapshot at a time- so I could truly grasp the feelings behind the idea- but that didn’t last too long, because I enjoyed the book so much I had to know more!

I had really high hopes for this as I’m a fan of the author, however transcripts of tapes did not keep me wanting to read on - this was definitely a trudge through read to see if it improved. The story is very well written, but I just wasn’t gripped enough by it.

I LOVED this book. So unique from all the other books that are out there. I found myself feeling really guilty for not liking this poor woman, she had cancer, she suffered, she died but for a lot of the book I could not like her. And I felt bad about it. My heart broke for Sean listening to the tapes, listening to the woman he loved telling him things he probably didn't want to hear. And sometimes the way it was said, was blunt, brutal and heartbreaking. But he had to go through that to look back on their life and see it for what it was, certainly not perfect but it was full of love. I highly recommend this book, very good read !

This book is just brilliant.

The story of Catherine who lost her battle with cancer but left her husband cassettes and photos of their life together and the thoughts she never shared with him.

It is beautiful written and will definitely pull on your heart strings, along with making you laugh at times. Following Sean’s journey after losing Catherine is a journey everyone should read! I could not put this book down and five stars just does not seem to be enough for this brilliantly written story.

No spoilers. This story follows the marriage of Sean and Catherine-after Sean loses Catherine. Do all marriages hold secrets? Does the notion “meant to be” truly exist? This was a wonderful book, albeit sad in places, but ultimately it was real. One marriage will produce two realities because two different people are at the heart of it. Sean is forced to confront the questions he has after going through their life together in detail. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned love and those with whom we are supposedly in love with.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A familiar storyline which I have read in a few other books. But it was rather endearing and honest, but perhaps lacking in excitement or anticipation of what was coming next.
I did not like the way that the author seemed to confuse the tenses the book was written in as I find this really off putting in a book.
The characters are well written and likeable.
Overall a 3*** from an author whose previous books I enjoyed reading more

I loved this book. I laughed and cried the whole way through. Catherine and Sean had so much love for each other and yet so much was left unsaid. This is a beautifully told story about relationships, love and loss and I will remember it for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

There is something about this author's writing style that just feels so comfortable to me. It also helps that he does tell a good tale too. Oh and he writes some of the best characters that are really easy for me to connect with emotionally.
In this book, we start with a funeral. Wife, mother and friend Catherine has died leaving Sean, April and Maggie mourning for her. In the day that follow, as everyone is slowly coming to terms with their loss, Maggie visits Sean and hands him a package. On opening it, Sean discovers 29 numbered envelopes with instructions in the first to open the rest one a week. In the first there's also a photograph and a cassette, recorded last, practically on her deathbed, Catherine explains what she is doing. And so begins a trip down memory lane and voyage of discovery for Sean as the subsequent tapes charter their lives together, some he knows and some he has yet to find out.
Oh my days, I devoured this book in just a few sittings. It tugged at my emotions, all of them, happy and sad. I followed Sean as he found things out and how some of these revelations spilled over into his present day life. At the same time, Maggie and April, oblivious to what Sean was doing, were also trying to come to terms with their loss. Yes, of course some of the things that happened in the book were a little predictable but there was definitely enough along the way to keep my interest completely, making it very hard to put down.
As already mentioned, this book hit me emotionally. But I was a willing participant, gladly investing those emotions and indeed my time in these characters. I wanted to read more, I wanted to get to know them better, I wanted them to... well, you'll just have to read the book for that to be revealed.
I sniggered, I laughed, I cried, happy tears and big, ugly ones. I felt for them every step of the way and, by the time I had finished, I was a bit of a wreck. But I was satisfied and that's what matters to me at the end of the day. I'm already a bit of a fan of this author having read everything he has published to date and with every book he never ceases to amaze me with his storytelling. Roll on the next one, hope it's not too long in coming.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book really pulled on my heart strings, was a good, but emotional read. Reminded me of ' the notebook' I believe fans of that book would enjoy this

I love this book, it’s one of those stories that stays with you a long time after reading it.
It’s a beautiful, touching and emotional story that I really enjoyed. Nick Alexander is an author who’s very easy to read and I’d recommend any of his books.

Having reflected on this for a couple of days, I’m afraid that this book just didn’t work for me. I must have missed something as the reviews are really strong.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication for this title is expected September 4, 2018.

"Things We Never Said" by Nick Alexander tells the love story of Sean and Catherine Patrick. The book begins immediately after Catherine's death from cancer. We meet Sean, their daughter April, and their best friend Maggie. Shortly after Catherine's funeral, Maggie stops by to check in on Sean, and while he's not really paying attention, Maggie leaves a box in the center of the dining room table. In the box are 29 envelopes, each containing a photograph and a cassette tape. Tape #1 is a recording made by Catherine and gives Sean the instruction that he is to open one envelope each week. As tempted as he is at times to listen to all of them at once or to stop listening altogether, he stays pretty true to Catherine's wishes. She was, after all, the love of his life, and this was her dying wish. The story walks us through each photograph, each tape, and each week of Sean's life as he listens to them.

There were so many things that I loved about this book. It had me thinking quite a bit about "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks, and I will tell anyone who asks that "The Notebook" has been my favorite since I read it.

Each chapter starts with a description of the photograph -- Snapshot #1, Snapshot #2, etc. They were well-described, although I found myself wishing that we could actually see them. In some cases, we get Sean's reaction to the photo before we "hear" Catherine's narration, and in some cases, the narration comes first. This is how we learn Sean and Catherine's whole story and how we learn the things that Catherine never spoke about. Some of the things will make you love her more, and some of them will make you really despise the way she chose to reveal her secrets. At one point in the book (you'll know when), I was thinking that I really hated that the story went there, that some things are better left unsaid. But by the end, I could appreciate that this was Catherine's grieving process, that she didn't want to leave anything unsaid even if she wasn't there to face the music, and it was her way of helping Sean through his grief by reminding him of their love story. When he finishes going through all of the envelopes, it's been nearly eight months since Catherine's death, and we have watched him go through all the stages of grief and start the road to acceptance and healing and confirming his belief in destiny.

This is a great read and a reminder to say the things that need to be said while you can and enjoy life now because the future is promised to no one. On one of Catherine's tapes, she tells Sean "...like the Buddhists apparently say, there is no future and there is no past. They're both just things that happen in your mind. In reality, there is only ever the present moment."

Pick this one up. You'll be glad you did.

Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC!

Wow! This was sad, beautiful and romantic at the same time. I wasn't so sure at first if I would enjoy it, because I didn't know the author before. I also try to avoid stories of people dying from cancer but, for some reason, I just really felt that I needed to read this one. After the first cassette, I knew it would be one of my favorite books. Catherine and Sean made me cry so many times. I simply couldn't put it down. Everything sounded so real to me that I actually had to check if it was indeed just fiction. Loved it!

My favorite book of 2018. The first chapter reminded me of the movie “ps I love you” and coincidentally made me cry 5 minutes in.

A beautifully written about love, loss, and growth.

This book was a true testament of love and real human relationships. I really enjoyed the entire book and would highly recommend it to anyone.

What a lovely book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this , it’s a little in the style of p.s I love you. After his wife’s death Sean finds his wife Catherine has left him momentoes of their life together. I don’t want to be a spoiler so won’t give too much away but sometimes I was shouting in my head “no don’t tell him!” The bringing together of past and present created an intricate story and gave a thoughtful insight to the secrets many marriages probably have.
I was surprised to find this book was written by a man, that’s not meant to be a sexist remark, purely that it was very sensitivity written and a love story which is rare for a man to do, and even more rare to do it so well.
Excellent book, I will definitely read more of Nick Alexander’s !

I received a copy of this book compliments of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It is being published in paperback on September 4, 2018.

This book begins at the funeral of Catherine Campbell, wife to Sean and mother to April. Sean and Catherine are both in their early 50’s, living in Cambridge, when Catherine is diagnosed with cancer. Their daughter, April, is in her 30’s and is living in London. Catherine’s decline is rapid and two years after diagnosis she has passed away.

Shortly after the funeral, a mutual friend, Maggie, drops by Sean’s house to give him a package that Catherine had asked her to pass on to him after her death. Inside the package are 29 cassette tapes with corresponding photographs. Catherine provides a photograph and then on each cassette, talks about what was happening in the picture; what was happening in their lives at the time and/or going through their heads during the time the picture was taken. For example, one of the pictures is of a vacation that they took and Catherine talks about the fun they had on the vacation and other funny things that occurred while they were there.

Things We Never Said is reminiscent of another book “P.S. I Love You” by Cecelia Ahern, except that it is with audio cassettes rather than letters and the couple in this book are mature adults rather than the young couple in Ahern’s book. I think I like the idea of cassettes better simply because you would get to hear the person’s voice again.

I really enjoyed reading a book where the main characters are around the same age as me because although I have never been married, there were a lot of things that I could relate to having lived over five decades.

I found this to be a very enjoyable book. Yes, there was a lot of reminiscing of this couple over their past vacations, raising their child, etc. but there was also hurts identified and secrets revealed. While Sean is devastated at the death of Catherine, we also get a chance to see him start healing and beginning to live again.

I can honestly say this is one of those books you will not forget.
When Catherine finds out she is dying, she decides to leave her husband Sean a box of photos and tape recordings documenting the the secret, thoughts and things they never said during their lives together. Some things Sean finds hard to hear.
I laughed and cried throughout this book. It hold a little place in my heart.