Having not read anything by Catherine Miller before I was unaware of what I was in store. Well, I was blown away! This book had my full attention from the very start. It was very well written, full of raw emotion and I felt as if I was actually sitting there with Tabitha listening as she told me her story.

Despite the book beginning with the death of Tabitha's husband I found it to be overall an uplifting and hopeful tale of rebuilding for the future following the shattering of dreams held close. The story moves between then - the death of Tabitha's husband - and now - with Tabitha starting her fostering journey.

The author has dealt with the subject of fostering in a beautiful manner and shows that despite it being hard work there is also a rewarding feeling. I loved this aspect of the book having previously worked in a care home setting I could understand some of what kids go through whilst in care. This is very much a heart-wrenching story about overcoming grief and moving forwards.

I found this to be an inspiring read filled with heartwarming characters. Once I started reading I was spell-bound to read until the final page - just as if I was sitting having tea with Tabitha. Lovely!

I have been a fan of Catherine's work for a while now. I have read, reviewed and enjoyed every book that she has written. I read the synopsis for 'The Day That Changed Everything' and it certainly sounded like it would be an emotional read and then some. I wasn't wrong either because it was definitely an emotional read. I enjoyed reading 'The Day That Changed Everything' but more about that in a bit.
I started reading this book and at one point I wasn't sure that I would be able to continue. I found myself becoming increasingly emotional and I thought that I might have to stop reading. Part of the problem was that reading this book reminded me of the grief I suffered with the sudden and unexpected loss of my father some years ago. However, I decided that I needed to get a grip, pull up my big girl's pants and I needed to keep reading the story to see what happened. I am so glad that I decided to persevere with the book. Yes 'The Day That Changed Everything' is an emotive read but at the same time it is an inspirational read, which offers hope to those who have suffered loss.
It took me a little while to get into this book for reasons that I have explained above. However once I got into this book that was it, I was away and I found it hard to put the book to one side for any length of time. If I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking about it. I didn't manage to read it over the course of a day because life got in the way but I read it over the course of three or so days. By the time I got to the end of the book I did feel as though Tabitha had become a friend of mine.
'The Day That Changed Everything' is really well written but then I find that to be true of all of Catherine's books. She creates likeable characters and makes them go through experiences which will strike a chord with a lot of people. She certainly grabs your attention and she won't let you have it back until the moment you close the back cover. She writes so convincingly and realistically that I did feel as though I was part of the story myself.
Reading 'The Day That Changed Everything' certainly felt like being on one hell of an emotional rollercoaster journey with all the twists, turns and all the contrasting emotions that I felt myself going through. There was happiness, there was sadness, there were smiles, there were tears and well you get the picture.
In short, 'The Day That Changed Everything' was an interesting and emotive read. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers but perhaps not to those people who are in the early stages of grief following the death of a loved one. I will definitely be reading more of Catherine's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

This is an emotional story telling of Tabitha's journey of recovery following her husband Andy's sudden death. It pulls at your heart strings but a very well written story

‘While the chambers of a heart were too delicate to mend, it was possible to build walls around them.’

Catherine Miller is a new to us, author and in The Day That Changed Everything, she tells a story of second chances, friendship and self-discovery, about finding hope and happiness after one of the most heartbreaking and painful events changed her life forever.

‘Her husband was never coming back however many wishes she made.
This was goodbye. Andrew, the son. Andy the husband. He was gone.
And Tabitha needed to work out who she was without him.’

Tabitha is happily married to Andrew (Andy) Sanderson, when, on a morning that was just like any other, Tabitha found Andy, 41, had passed in his sleep, forever changing her life and raising questions about their last moments, leading her to experience crippling moments of misplaced guilt.

One of the things Andy and Tabitha desperately craved was to start a family, something which didn’t come to fruition before Andy’s passing. In making a new life for herself, Tabitha moves and commits to taking in foster children to have the family she and Andy were denied.

‘Sometimes goodbyes weren’t hard when it meant leaving a place that had left you broken.’

With wonderful support from her father, the local neighbours Sylvia and Sylvia’s grown son, Lewis, Tabitha is asked to take in 15yo twin girls, Max and Syd – two girls who have been moved around repeatedly through the system. Tabitha makes a promise that these girls will now know their ‘forever home’ with Tabitha.

However, the placement isn’t without its issues. Max and Syd hold a lot of resentment which they aim directly at Tabitha, and despite her welcoming and heartfelt feelings for the girls, it’s a tough road to obtaining their love and trust. Add a newborn baby to foster into the mix, and things are quite hectic for Tabitha.

‘Sometimes the people in the past were in the past for a very good reason.’

We felt the angst and despair Tabitha experienced bringing up two 15 year old twin girls and we knew there must have been a lot of tenderness and love between them to spur Tabitha on to try and provide Max and Syd a forever home, but sadly, we didn’t experience this first hand. We were indeed told these moments existed, but without feeling them, we only felt the angst and discord between the three – really, those sweet and moving moments, just hanging out would have been such a delight. They were missed.

The story is emotionally told from a ‘then’ and ‘now’ perspective as we learn the last twenty-four hours of Andy’s life throughout the book, and also why Tabitha is carrying so much guilt.

We loved our first taste of Catherine Miller’s prose, and she certainly knows how to weave a sweet and emotional story with lots of heart. More a story of self-discovery, there is a tiny thread of romance that warmed made our hearts skip a beat.

‘This was a day destined to unravel her world. This was the day that changed everything.’

The Day That Changed Everything is the second book I have read by the talented author, Catherine Miller. I first fell in love with Miller’s writing style in her previous book, 99 Days with You, and I was hoping that her newest addition would live up to my expectations. I am thrilled to say that Miller has hit me again with all of the feels.

The day that changed everything for Tabitha Sanderson is the day her husband quietly passed away in his sleep. What do you do when you have lost the one person you have loved most in this world? You try to survive the best way you can. Three years later, Tabitha still can’t get over her grief, but decides to move forward with the family she has always wanted. Fostering children is not easy especially when she lands herself as a foster parent to two unruly teenage girls, and an infant. Can they all be what each other needs to heal a broken heart?

Catherine Miller really writes such a powerful story that is both heartfelt and uplifting at the same time. Tabitha has the love of her life and Max and Syd, her foster children, seem to have been tossed around in the system never to have found a place to really call home. To say that Miller’s characters have lost their way is an understatement. I can feel the raw emotion and heartache just oozing off of the pages. I can feel how broken they all were and how Tabitha, Max and Syd hid their grief unable to put into words how they truly felt.

There are so many great things about this story and there are so many emotions weaved between the pages. Sure, most of it is sad, but Miller throws in these humorous little tidbits that keeps the story flowing with a positive outlook. Between some of the chapters are these little passages that are heartfelt and honest and really make you think about the story you are reading. I think the passages really speak to you about the general theme of the book.

I loved Tabitha as a character. She is well written, has heart, is damaged, but still yet so full of love. Max and Syd are twin fifteen year old girls who have lost their way and their faith in the system and I could see this through their actions with Tabitha and I felt they added that little bit of something that Tabitha needed to heal her heart so she could heal the twins in return.

The Day That Changed Everything is raw and uncensored. It is a powerful story with such an emotional message and I think for anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to Tabitha in some way. This is a fantastic book to add to your TBr and one I am giving 5 wonderful stars to.

Tabitha wakes up one day and everything is as it should be. At least until she discovers the love of her life, her husband died in his sleep. Everything changes at that moment. Fast forward several years and Tabitha has just become a foster parent to a pair of sisters. The girls have not had the easiest life and Tabitha struggles to earn their trust.

I thought this was a great read. I devoured the book in two days. The book alternates from the present to the past, giving glimpses into both parts of Tabitha’s life. I liked the way Tabitha fought through the challenges in her life.

‘While the chambers of a heart were too delicate to mend, it was possible to build walls around them.’

Catherine Miller is a new to us, author and in The Day That Changed Everything, she tells a story of second chances, friendship and self-discovery, about finding hope and happiness after one of the most heartbreaking and painful events changed her life forever.

‘Her husband was never coming back however many wishes she made.
This was goodbye. Andrew, the son. Andy the husband. He was gone.
And Tabitha needed to work out who she was without him.’

Tabitha is happily married to Andrew (Andy) Sanderson, when, on a morning that was just like any other, Tabitha found Andy, 41, had passed in his sleep, forever changing her life and raising questions about their last moments, leading her to experience crippling moments of misplaced guilt.

One of the things Andy and Tabitha desperately craved was to start a family, something which didn’t come to fruition before Andy’s passing. In making a new life for herself, Tabitha moves and commits to taking in foster children to have the family she and Andy were denied.

‘Sometimes goodbyes weren’t hard when it meant leaving a place that had left you broken.’

With wonderful support from her father, the local neighbours Sylvia and Sylvia’s grown son, Lewis, Tabitha is asked to take in 15yo twin girls, Max and Syd – two girls who have been moved around repeatedly through the system. Tabitha makes a promise that these girls will now know their ‘forever home’ with Tabitha.

However, the placement isn’t without its issues. Max and Syd hold a lot of resentment which they aim directly at Tabitha, and despite her welcoming and heartfelt feelings for the girls, it’s a tough road to obtaining their love and trust. Add a newborn baby to foster into the mix, and things are quite hectic for Tabitha.

‘Sometimes the people in the past were in the past for a very good reason.’

We felt the angst and despair Tabitha experienced bringing up two 15 year old twin girls and we knew there must have been a lot of tenderness and love between them to spur Tabitha on to try and provide Max and Syd a forever home, but sadly, we didn’t experience this first hand. We were indeed told these moments existed, but without feeling them, we only felt the angst and discord between the three – really, those sweet and moving moments, just hanging out would have been such a delight. They were missed.

The story is emotionally told from a ‘then’ and ‘now’ perspective as we learn the last twenty-four hours of Andy’s life throughout the book, and also why Tabitha is carrying so much guilt.

We loved our first taste of Catherine Miller’s prose, and she certainly knows how to weave a sweet and emotional story with lots of heart. More a story of self-discovery, there is a tiny thread of romance that warmed made our hearts skip a beat.

‘This was a day destined to unravel her world. This was the day that changed everything.’

This novel begins with the unexpected death of Tabitha’s young husband Andy. Because she is no longer close to Andy’s family, she moves from the security of her house on their farmland to a ramshackle property she repairs with a plan to become a foster mother. As we know, plans do not always go as we think they will.

First come the teenage girls, twins Max and Syd. Foster care and a failed adoption have made them bitter, angry and rebellious. They fight Tabitha’s attempts to mother them and she struggles to reach them. Next is Luna, an infant born with fetal alcohol syndrome, whose constant crying upsets what small balance there was in the group. It will take an ill planned action by Max to finally unite this small family and show them how deeply they have come to care about each other.

The Day that Changed Everything is about family and love. Tabitha learns to open her heart to her new children and again to Andy’s family. She repairs old friendships and makes new ones that send her life on a different course. Full of well described characters and set in a vivid country location, the story is emotional and memorable. 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Catherine Miller for this ARC.

When you learn to love again you let yourself heal

When you lose the love of your life, how do you find yourself again?
For Tabitha, the day that changed everything started like any other.

She woke up, slid her feet into fluffy slippers, wrapped herself in a dressing gown and tiptoed out of her bedroom, leaving her husband Andy sleeping. Downstairs, she boiled the kettle and enjoyed a cup of tea as the sun rose.

Upstairs, Andy's alarm sounded, and Tabitha took him a freshly brewed coffee, like every other morning. Except today, the incessant beeping rang out and her husband hadn't stirred. She called his name, she nudged his shoulder. But Andy wouldn't wake up.

Three years later Tabitha is trying her hardest to get by in the shadow of her grief. She may have lost the love of her life but she won't give up on the family they dreamed of. Fostering troublesome teenage girls and a newborn baby is a chance to piece together her broken heart.

This tale takes you on a journey of recovery with Tabitha. Heartwarming yet sad.
This story resonated deeply as I have a friend who is currenty fostering a baby after losing her own daughter earlier in the year. Learning to love and let your heart heal is the message and Catherine Miller has told it so well.

One morning Tabitha's husband, Andy, doesn't wake up. Amid her grief she has regrets about their last conversation and is avoiding her best friend. Three years later, Tabitha has settled into a property she renovated with the sole aim of fostering children. Teenage twins Syd and Max are placed in her care and soon prove to be a handful. But perhaps her family is not yet complete.
Flipping between then and now, this is an endearing and emotive story about a woman having to learn about being a parent all of a sudden. Syd and Max make for an interesting duo and you can’t help but feel for them as they act out after the pain of being dumped by their previous carers. It's the sort of book that will pull on your heartstrings. The only downside: the plot thread about why Tabitha fell out with her best friend was a tad underwhelming.

The death of her husband leaves Tabitha reeling. After three years, she is ready to move forward and try to create the family she and her late husband did not have. But will two surly teenage sisters and a newborn prove too much? Be thankful for those who foster children.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows Tabitha, a forty-something woman rebuilding her life after the unexpected loss of her husband. Taking in teenaged foster girls, she finds a new normal, though it takes them a little longer to feel the same.

I enjoyed this one. It was a quick read and felt the characters were likeable. This would be a good beach read.

Tabby has her life planned: a great job, a husband and close friends then the day that changed everything happened.
I really warmed to the characters in this book, they were so realistic.
Dreams, broken promises form the crux of this book. I would recommend this book as it was a nice easy read.

A solid emotional novel about Tabitha and the family she builds through fostering. The shock of her husband Andy's death (at such a young age) paralyzed her for a bit but she know she wants children and to help others. It's not an easy path but she learns so much along the way. This is a it take a village situation which will cheer you. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. A good read.

The heart is a tiny organ as big as your fist approximately, it pumps blood. I have seen it and touched it. Seen a blocked one get the new bypass vessels, gray tissue turning into pink. But that is just the physical organ, but it is so much more. The capacity to love is humongous, it cries, it hurts, it heals, then it loves.

This was one such story where having lost her husband suddenly, Tabitha had to start life anew. It took her some years, but she got there. She soon started fostering three kids. And life taught her how to live again. Heartbreak and second chances, sorrow and love, tears and laughter was all this book about.

My first book by Catherine Miller, how have I missed out on her earlier works? It was beautiful. Each line written on the page was like an emotion written into my heart. Every feeling of Tabitha was reflected on to me until I was nothing but a wraith filled with emotions. I couldn’t stop crying at her pain at losing her life mate. I started to heal when she did… And I breathed and lived when she did.

Never had a book such a dramatic effect on me like this one did. I sniffed and smiled, I cried and laughed out. I believed and trusted that the author would safely guide me to safety, becoming the beacon of light, a ray of hope showing me the way to live my life just like Tabitha. I forgot myself when I read this book.

The writing got to me, the emotions overwhelmed me, the hope and joy that the book left me with was indescribable. I loved how my heart became larger than life showing me that I too could heal from life’s mishaps.

Moving on after a loss is never easy, and starting life with a new direction required courage. I had so much respect for Tabitha. I lived my life for those three hours with her, supporting her on and learning so much more from her. Ah, the power of a written word. The power of Catherine Miller’s words…

Believe me, there is no connection between eyes and the heart physically, but there is a connection between them on a different plane, isn’t it?

Wow, so much going on in this book!

Tabitha finds her life changing, a lot, when her husband passes away. She fosters some teens and a newborn baby and despite the various dramas along the way, her life is busy and full, in ways that she didn't expect.

This book was about one woman's journey after a spouse has passed, and the belief that perhaps even if your life isn't panning out the way you had planned, it can still be a good life. I was cheering Tabitha on, every step of the way.

I liked all the characters in this book; Lewis and his mum Sylvie; also Tabitha's dad Frank was such a sweetie. Melissa and Toby added to the story too, proving that some people you should leave behind and some you should include, as you go forward into your new life. Loved the dog too!

I wasn't quite as emotionally invested as I was in the other book of this author I have read, so am giving it a 4.5 stars instead of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

I adored Catherine's Gin Shack series and was hoping for more of those kind of quirky loveable characters in this book but I was left wanting. I felt like a lot was glossed over in the story and it didn't go as deep as I wanted it to. It also lacked the humor of her other novels. It was still a good read but not my favorite of hers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I wish to thank Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. An emotional read about a woman who is trying to come to terms with the sudden death of her husband. She goes on to foster children and the book portrays her journey. A beautiful written book that moved me. I will read more from this author.

I liked the book enough to finish. It just seemed there was no real connection for me. It was sad, and at times even heartwarming. I felt there was too much back before and after. I gave the four stars.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advance copy to review.

This was a really easy and gentle story to get immersed in, and ideal for anyone looking for a light read. However, I do feel that it was too light for the subject matters of being widowed and fostering and all the complexities that involves.