This story is my worst nightmare.. my toddler son has a crazy zest for life, much like the Toby character in this book. I nearly convinced myself to stop reading multiple times, but something kept pulling me in.

This story walked through what grief looks like in all its forms. It was heartbreaking to the point of bringing me to tears while walking on the treadmill and reading, but so beautiful at the same time.

I hope people don’t have to experience this loss, but I enjoyed this book in the end.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The stunning feature of IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE is its characters. Bridget, Finn, and Jarrah leap off the page, their narration raw and honest, drawing the reader into the process of grieving the unimaginable. Some subplots felt a bit underdeveloped, but I don’t think the story suffered much for it. 5⭐️ #netgalley

Life can change so quick, in the blink of an eye. Nothing will be the same. Finn and Bridget Brennan find themselves in this exact situation in this novel by Jesse Blackadder.

Finn and Bridget have recently moved from Hobart to New South Wales in order to find a fresh start with their two children Jarrah and Toby. Moving from the cold weather to sunny warmer New South Wales seems like the right start.

This book slayed me. It was gut wrenching and an emotional roller coaster filled with grief and emotional struggles. I felt as though I was part of this family and could feel all the pain they were going through. This was gripping and such a wonderful family drama. I highly recommend this book. .

Thank you to Netgalley and the pulishers for a copy to read and review.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review, thank you Netgalley and the publisher for said copy.
First of all, I love reading a book when the story is told from a first person. This would be my first read written by the author and I personally think it was a great read - suspenseful, and quite haunting, so to speak. I don’t want to get into specifics but I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading at the end of your seat.

I did not enjoy this book. In fact, I didn’t finish it. I could not connect with characters and the storyline was not of interest to me. I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

In the Blink of an Eye is a haunting and deeply emotional drama about forgiveness and hope. Let me tell you, Jesse Blackadder is one heck of a writer. This is a beautifully written book where you can feel the raw emotion and tension oozing out of the pages.

This story is told in three POV - Finn, Bridget, and Jarrah. Each one of them handles the tragedy in their own different way, and you will see how it affects the entire family. This really tears at your heartstrings! This is definitely a powerful story of strength, hope, love, and forgiveness.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

I found the initial four-person narration very interesting: dad, mom, 16 year old and 2 1/2 year old.
Through their voices you learn more about this family; their dynamics; why they left Hobart; the new routine they adopt and why just before their world implodes "in the blink of an eye."
The reader is inside their heads as they battle to come to terms with this tragedy and who is to blame for it. We get to experience a family spiraling away from each other in the aftermath of loss.
I loved the many person narrative, you got to know the family and their situation so much better and faster. I found the inclusion of other characters dealing invisibly with their own unrelated griefs a great inclusion.
This book was well written, covers a short period of time but is almost un-put-downable as it sweeps you along.
It is an interesting, inside look into a tragedy we all pray never befalls us.
The author has portrayed her characters and especially their emotions and thoughts brilliantly and when I read her "Author's Note" I understood how she managed to do this - this is not her story, but she has lived a similar story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

30 second is all that takes to change the course of someone's life forever!

"In the Blink of an Eye" is a story of grief, loss and redemption. A family of four, Parents and their two children moves into a new town in hopes of a new beginning but when tragedy strikes, it shakes the very foundation of all the relationships and send these characters into deep pits of self-doubt and depression.

Honestly, there are parts of the book that I liked and then there are some parts which, failed to leave an impact on me. The overall, premise of the story is very compelling and emotionally draining. The tragedy that this family suffers through, in this book is very hard to fathom and I think the Author did a great job in depicting the various stages of grief as well as the different ways in which every human handles something so drastic. I liked the perspective of Jarrah the best of all the characters. I didn't really cared for both of the parents perspective, especially that of Bridget, who I think, took some really stupid decisions. In, addition to that, for a book dealing with such serious topic, I felt the ending rushed and very neatly tied up.

Overall, an average book albeit an emotional one.

New author for me but pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the approval and look forward to a book relationship with other reads in the future,

So beautifully written this dud mane me cry so utterly heartbreaking and poignant.
I will definitely seek out titles from this author this book really did come alive with words
Truly recommend.

Perfect novel, it had all of the elements that I like in a book. The only thing is, there wasn’t anything new and exciting for me to review.

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!

I heard the warnings but did not heed them. This is a very emotional intense book, especially if you have experienced a similar loss. The book is well-written. However, I couldn't finish it because I was too triggered. My rating is based on what I did read. I do recommend the book for those who can handle it.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author Jesse Blackadder for a digital review copy. This book was first published March 19, 2019.

this book was hard to read for me, How can you ever deal with losing a child and seeing what it does to a family. i found the book moving & eye opening.

how grief can turn into blame and the devastating effects it can have
the title for this book really is apt
the only reason i gave 4 stars as i found some of it a bit hard to read in the point of views aspect. i found myself getting a bit lost and having to reread parts

RATING: 3 STARS
2019; St. Martin's Press
(Review Not on Blog)

I was expecting this to be more of a suspense novel, and I turned out to be more of slow burn domestic suspense. I just wasn't ready for the intense emotions of this book and felt my mind wandering at times. When a mother looks away for a second, a young child is found drowned in the pool. This happens in the beginning, so the rest of the novel is how the now family of three deals with the aftermath. Overall this was well-written novel if at times a bit slow-paced.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

A well-written and beautifully told story packed with emotion, grief, and hope.
I started this book with no idea what it was about, and was totally overwhelmed when tragedy struck this family. This is a heartbreaking and tragic story.
I recommend it highly.


Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher for supplying my copy of the book in exchange of an honest review

After things go bad in Tasmania, the Brennan family (Finn, Bridget and sons Jarrah and Toby) move to New South Wales, when tragedy strikes, “in the blink of an eye.” Coping with this recent event becomes the focal point of the book. Finn is immediately cast into the media spotlight, along with new police scrutiny. Bridget is overwhelmed with grief and anger, trying to figure out what has happened, not to mention how to cope with it all. For his part, Jarrah has his own demons/emotions to cope with. As is usually the case with accidents, the finger pointing begins, the questions surface: who, why, how. The story provides a good look at how a family copes with what life sends them, with each member working things out in their own way. I though the author really did provide the reader with a good read on how things went within this family, how they grappled with emotions, and still had to keep on living their daily lives. The story touches on a lot of current issues such as homosexuality, coping with tragedy today, adjusting to new life in a new area, to name just a few. This is a book full of emotions, family, and personal angst over things which one normally does not control, and familiar domestic struggles. The book will probably stay on with you, the reader, long after finishing it. It has with me, at least. Not at all like the normal mysteries or romances I read. I think the book will appeal to those looking for something different but filled with a lot of life as it really is, not as we might like it to be. I received this form NetGalley to read and review..

My review is somewhere between a 3 and 3.5 star rating. There were parts of this book I loved but many parts that I didn't. I cannot begin to imagine the pain of losing a child. And then add to that pain the guilt of knowing you are partly to blame, even if it's an accident. You never realize the horrors that can happen in the blink of an eye. The title really is perfect for this book. How do you begin to forgive yourself or your spouse? How do you process everything when there isn't a person to hold criminally responsible for the loss of the most precious thing in your life? There is emotion, pain, drama, grief, heart break, anger, every adjective you can think of rolled up in this book. But there is also a compelling story for hope and forgiveness. For me, this part of the story came a little too late. Though in real life it's never too late for hope and forgiveness.
Everyone deals with grief in different ways. Bridget's character is a hard one to like or even sympathize with. She isn't a real person so I don't feel bad for judging her. She is a big part of the sections I didn't like in this book. I don't agree with her parenting decisions and I wasn't a fan of her behavior while grieving the loss of her son. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the way the author wrote her sections (in second person) as opposed to others in first person. It didn't flow right.
You have 97% of the book dealing with this tragedy and then in a couple of pages it just ends on what's supposed to be a happy note I guess. It was all wrapped up too neatly and quickly to feel right for me.
Overall it's not a bad book. It's good enough to get 3 stars from me, but there are a couple of issues I had. And I don't feel this book will be memorable for me, I'm sad to say. After reading the description I had such higher hopes for it and the delivery fell a little flat.

My thanks to Jesse Blackadder, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so sorry but I couldnt finish the book. The topic was just too much for me. I did enjoy the writing style and it seemed like solid character development,.

In the Blink of an Eye by Jesse Blackadder is a novel about the unspeakable tragedy that can rip a family apart in less than a minute. It demonstrates that normalcy is both random and transient. The story will break your heart, but also make you laugh and make you angry. It is also a story about how one family traveled through the darkness of grief to find hope, forgiveness, and each other.

Blackadder speaks with the voice of authenticity. Her characters are finely drawn with emotional nuance. Not every character was sympathetic, but all were very real. I highly recommend this novel if you are in the mood for an emotionally challenging family drama. Note that this was previously published under the title Sixty Seconds.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.