At First Sight by Hannah Sunderland is certainly a love story, but it is also so much more than that. It's a complex and emotional story that tackles topics of mental health and suicidal ideation. It's an unconventional love story that will take your feelings on a rollercoaster ride.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

A very enjoyable book which deals with suicide there is also humour and of course romance.

Nell & Charlie meet by accident at a Cafe. You feel Charlie is hiding something. Nell ends up trying to help Charlie will it turn out ok in the end.

I certainly really enjoyed this book and could not put it down it was very well written and certainly kept you guessing the outcome.

I would recommend this book.

This book was everything I needed and more. It took me on such an emotional rollercoaster but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I don't want to spoil the book or the experience but please go read this and make sure you have tissues at the ready.

Nell and Charlie met under the most fated circumstances and thus their love story begins. I'm a sucker for a good romance and this fit the bill. It wasn't too over the top, as some romances tend to be. I also loved the character building and some insight on what motivated Nell and Charlie.

The only drawback that I has was the length of the story - if it were about 50 pages shorter I feel that I would have enjoyed it more.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley and all opinions are my own.
An intriguing and compleex take on the traditional romance. The author did well to add suitable depth and gravity to this story without detracting from its inherent joy and hope. This book is a wonderful and emotive read.

I found this book very hard to get into. I thought it would be a book that was pretty easy as it’s a romance and usually they are but after a week or so of reading and getting no further than 50% I ended up DNFing

*First of all a disclaimer, this book discusses suicide and may contain triggers.*

Despite the suicide subject, this is a romantic and heartfelt read. Nell works for a suicide hotline called Healthy Minds where she takes a call from Charlie who has seen their sticker and is feeling rock bottom. She soon realises that it's the same Charlie that she recently met and can't stop thinking about from the coffee shop around the corner.

This has strong, relatable, loving and caring characters who I couldn't help but love, especially Nell herself, Although, I think Charlie's Uncle was my favourite overall. He will never give up on his nephew and his eccentric and very loveable personality shine through.

This looks at suicide, loss and recovery while covering depression, love after loss and grief in general. The support of family and friends is covered as well as their role in helping recovery and their endless love. It also looks at the love of a stranger, how quickly we become involved and what we give for those we love. The tough subjects are dealt with very sensitively.

While ts a touching story and very sad at times it also manages to be humorous in places and isn't a dark read. I laughed and cried throughout...always the sign of a great book!

This book was everything I needed and more. It took me on such an emotional rollercoaster but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am in love with Sunderland's writing and she has now become an auto-buy author for me.

I don't want to spoil the book or the experience but please go read this and make sure you have tissues at the ready.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Lovely book - brought into it topics that aren’t always well covered in fiction but made you think while reading.

This was a mixed bag in terms of what it gave. In some chapters you can be weeping into a tissue, in others having a proper feel good laugh. Definitely worth a read

This is my fault but I was not able to enjoy this book because of the CW subject matter. I think it will definitely appeal to some people but it was not for me, though I don’t want my opinion on that subject matter to sway opinions because the perspective in this story deserves to be told.

This book was different to what I had expected, but not necessarily in a bad way. It is a love story with a different twist. The story is slow moving but that it works well for this type of scenario. Nell is a counsellor working at a telephone helpline charity. She is a bubbly personality most of the time, but has issues with her ex , Joel. She meets Charlie in a café and gradually they become friends though there are complications on the way. The story was sad at times, and at times it had me laughing out loud. The emotions the characters feel are well described - you truly understand what the characters are feeling and why. All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend.

I love Sunderland's writing and you can't convince me otherwise. Her characters are witty and unique and I would love to friends with all of them. In this story, a chance encounter leads to Romance. But what's more important is how Hannah handles themes of mental illness. The necessary sensitivity is omnipresent and then, there's a heady mix of sizzling chemistry and a heady romance.

The story follows that of a chance meeting between Nell and Charlie in a coffee shop. Nell is a call operator for a mental health helpline, whilst Charlie is struggling with a difficult life event, but neither know of the other’s situation. There’s an instant pull and attraction between the two of them, but neither of them act upon it.

The first part of the story, I found a bit of a struggle - it was slow and didn’t have that pull about it. However, I am glad that I persevered and continued with Nell and Charlie’s story, to find out what happened in the end.

A thought provoking read that I’d give 3.5 stars.

I always give books until 10% to get my attention. I couldn’t get into this at all. The writing just seemed very immature to me.

I absolutely LOVED this and devoured it in a day! I was utterly drawn into Charlie and Nell’s story and found myself shedding a tear one minute and laughing the next. Hilarious, touching and raw. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

TYSM to NetGalley for my copy of this book.

This was quite the emotional rollercoaster of a book. While I went in expecting a love story, there was so much more to unpack in the story of Nell and Charlie. It took me a bit longer to get through this just because of how heavy the content would get, but I'd say it was worth it in the end.

This one gave me everything I'm looking for in a memorable read. Slow build, broken hero (and heroine for that matter, although she is more dented than broken), a little bit of push and pull, it isn't all about the physical connection, true romance and relationship building, angst, impossible decisions, growth, and an ending that makes your heart sigh.

I was in the mood for a heartwarming love story. But this one just missed the mark for me.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Nell who works for a helpline is rushing to eat her lunch before having to return to work. Her cafe is almost full, the only open chair is at a communal table. Not her fav, but with no other options, she asks the man next to the open seat if she can join.

After a few funny antics at the table, Nell is instantly enamored by her tablemate Charlie. A big soft-spoken Irishman. Can she get up the nerve to ask for his number? Or will she miss her chance at possibly finding love?

I kept waiting to find a connection with either of these characters…but I just didn’t. I wanted to feel the love as it bloomed but it just wasn’t there.

This book deals with heavy subjects of grief and suicide. This was not your typical uplifting love story (at least for me).

There are many fabulous five-star reviews for this book so I am definitely in the minority here.

A buddy read with Susanne.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to Avon Books UK for an ARC to read and review.

At First Sight is one of those stories you fall in love with from the very start.
Nell is such a loveable character with a heart of gold, and her job working for a mental health line introduces her to some people who change her life in ways she never could have imagined.
When Nell first meets Charlie in the small cafe, they share an imediate connection with one another, but Nell comes to the realisation that they will probably never see one another again. But as fate would have it, these two individuals are thrown together time and time again, but their journey is far from straight forward.

I adored this story from the very first page. The characters easily secure a place in your heart, and as the story progresses and you learn more about their lives and difficulties they have faced, the connection you feel for them just grows even deeper.
The storyline is perfectly structured and has so much drive and drama throughout that you can't help but become engrossed in the world that the author had created. I laughed, I cried, and my heart felt so happy it could burst. This book is absolute perfection.