In this story, the reader is presented with a love story between Nell a telephone operator for a mental health charity and Charlie, a handsome Irishman. They casual meet at lunchtime in a busy cafe and from then on, fate intervenes.
Beautifully written and presented, the book highlights important and very relevant topics like Suicide and loss. I truly was involved in the narrative and story of the characters what just shows how well the author did her job of compelling the reader.

Overall, a very relevant love story that enhances the importance of Mental health and wellbeing for all in our daily lives.

Thank so much to netgalley and Avon books for this Arc in exchange for a honest review. Happy publication day!!!

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Hannah Sunderland for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Last summer I read Hannah Sunderland’s book Very Nearly Normal. I reread my review for that book and I’m seeing I felt just about the same about this book! At First Sight is not your typical romance novel. While tough topics like death and suicidal thoughts are highlighted in this story, it’s also about healing and finding the courage to keep going.
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I’m not going to lie, I found this hard to read at times. Not because of the subject, but more because of the mood. I’m a huge mood reader and I was expecting something a little lighter. I try not to read reviews before reading the book because I can not stop myself from reading the spoilers. If I had skimmed a few reviews on Goodreads I would’ve been more prepared and I could’ve saved this one for a time when I was in a mood for something a little deeper.
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When Nell and Charlie end up sharing a table in a coffee shop, the conversation is easy and fun. When it’s time to leave, neither asks for the other’s number and Nell leaves, disappointed. Little did she know the next day the phone at work would ring and the man on the other end would be the guy from the coffee shop. But Nell’s job at Healthy Minds Helpline, a place people call when they need help. Breaking all the rules, nell agrees to meet Charlie for coffee the next day. What follows is an emotional rollercoaster that with kick you in the gut one page and give you butterflies and have you swooning the next. Bring the tissues and the chocolate, this one tugs at the heartstrings!

I would just like to say a very big thank you to Netgalley for approving me for an advanced copy of this book, for my Kindle, in return for an honest review.
This is the first book that I have read from this author and it won’t be my last - I really enjoyed it!
As soon as I started to read it I was drawn in and found it impossible to put down as I just wanted to find out what happened.
I loved the wonderful chemistry between the two main characters - Nell & Charlie, they really were a wonderful pair.
This was a very emotional, lovely written book and I’m so glad that I read it - a beautiful story...

Loved this - a lovely heartwarming story with twists and turns along the way. I really liked Nell and found the characters to be believable and engrossing, I read it in 2 sittings!

My only gripe would be the use of 'yer' to show an Irish accent, at times I felt like Hagrid was talking!!

What a truly unexpected book!

I went into this expecting a wholesome love story (I dont often read blurbs before picking up a book) but what i got was so much more.

Nell is without a doubt one of the most incredibly wholesome characters I've come across. She was so beautifully written and we could all learn some compassion from her. Her selflessness throughout her relationship with Charlie was beautiful to follow.

Hannah managed to make me sob, smile and fall in love with each part of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

At First Sight is not your typical love story, it explored themes of loss, suicide, depression as well as hope, love, forgiveness and healing. It kicked me in the gut with the different emotions and topics covered.

It was a slow start for me and I wished Charlie and Nell’s love story was a bit more interesting but overall I really enjoyed this book and definitely had me thinking about it after I finished

Fave quote
“Never let anyone make you work for something that makes you feel less than you are”

At First Sight

4/5
Synopsis: This coincidence romance takes place in Europe where two people cross paths unexpectedly. When it happens for a second time there must be more than just a random acquaintance. Nell works at a crisis hotline where she is constantly helping others. With never meeting them in person and having confidentiality Nell never truly knows who she is talking to or helping. As the story unfolds and characters that she has spoken to on the phone are actually in her everyday life she starts to understand more what all is going on around her.

Thought: I really thought that this book brought up a lot of interesting thoughts. Working in this type of situation you never know what your interactions are going to be and who you might meet. Nell’s character is definitely one that I enjoyed connecting with and wanting the best for her. It was interesting to hear about the ones that she had helped and what connections that she and her company had had with ones she did not know about. I think this book was well written and made it easy to connect with the characters.

Trigger Warning: Suicide, loss, grief and mental health

I absolutely loved this book and felt compelled to finish it in a day.

The characters are well painted and authentic and I felt really invested in their journey. When Nell meets handsome Irish man, Charlie, in 'Cool Beans' cafe on her lunchbreak, it is the start of something special. The road to true love is never smooth and it transpires that Charlie is struggling. While considering suicide on the clock tower, he notices a sticker for 'Healthy minds', the mental health team where Nell works.

I thought the book was well paced and the author carefully reveals key information at just the right points. Nell's internal conversations with dead Abi were an interesting addition.

Hannah Sutherland has done a tremendous job of raising awareness of mental health issues. This was an enjoyable and emotional read which left me feeling fuzzy and content.

I can't wait to read the author's debut novel and will look out for her future work.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Publication date 1st April 2021

What a book!! I had no idea what I was expecting when I started at first sight but it wasn't what I read and I am so glad about that! This book covers loss, grief, suicidal thoughts and talk, mental illness and hope.

I never thought I would be able to pick up a book and want to read about such depressing topics especially with my personal experience with all that is covered. But Hannah Sunderland covers these topics with the respect they deserve. What she does so well and I take my hat off to her is discusses men's mental health in such a way that we get to cover the realities of both feeling and feeling like you shouldn't feel. I feel she manages to explain and demonstrate this topic so well and it is evident that she has done her research.

Nell and Charlie are our two leading characters with Nell being the protagonist. Due to a series of events Nell ends up sitting next to Charlie in her favourite coffee place as there is no where else to sit. Nell is a chatty kathy so fills the awkward silences between them. It seems like the universe wants Nell and Charlie to be in each others lives because they find themselves having another chance encounter and as it transpires they have a lot more to come.

I loved Nell as a lead, although she seems very self assured it is clear that she isn't. She talks to fill the silences but that doesn't mean she always wants to, it fills more like a need. I found her endearing as a character and someone I would totally be friends with. She works for a mental health charity helpline and has so much love and care to give to those that need her. She met her now housemate Ned there and it's almost like they heal each other but purely in a friend way. Their relationship may seem strange to outsiders but I loved it. Everyone needs a Nell or Ned by their side

Charlie is so broken and it is sad to watch it play out. But inlove the fact that hannah Sunderland allows for us as readers to experience the realities of grief whether thats 2 months or 2 years later. His continued battle with mental illness is written perfectly. I just think it's done so well and I honestly have no critique here. It would be so easy to do a basic love story but this book isn't that and I am glad it isn't.

Although there are some intense topics do not worry as Nell as our narrator leaves us with some hilarious one liners. She breaks up what could be an intense and overwhelming topic. Yet even with her one liners and inner monologue it feels appropriate. I will say look 0ut for the snow globe chapter!!! I was rolling on the floor with laughter!

Would I recommend this book?

Yes ofcourse I would. I will say if you yourself are feeling in a dark place then this may not be the book for you, however it's underpinning theme of hope might be and thats how I went into this, as I struggle myself. The characters are all well written and each have great density to them and therefore none really feel like side characters, although the Irish uncle I would like to know more about him (Hannah Sunderland feel free to write a sequel just for him). I found that I loved all the characters and that included the ex Joel. The area of men's mental illness is done perfectly and although at its heart this is a rom com, I also hope that by reading this it will bring a little awareness to those who know very little about the area. It isn't covered often so thank you Hannah for taking such care whilst doing so. I love Nell so much and again I would happily read a sequel to at first sight. 5 stars 🌟 I couldn't put this book down!

Thank you to Netgalley, Hannah Sunderland and Avon publishers for the digital ARC in exchange for my fair and honest opinions.

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At First Sight, is told mainly from Nells perspective, meets a man in a cafe on her lunch break, wasn't intending to sit next to him, but the cafe was full. Her lunch fast coming to an end, Nell has to leave, will she pluck up the courage to ask his number?... and so the story begins.

Nell works for a mental health helpline, unbeknown to her, the man she was sat next to in the cafe was emotionally in a great deal of pain. Who knew it would be the man from the cafe when she took the call, although she wasn't meant to be there at that time, what are the chances.

It's a story of finding love, grief and depression where you only see one way to relieve the pain. A touching read well written, reflecting on the heartbreak faced on losing a loved one and finding a way to allow yourself to find love again. If you enjoy Jojo Moyes, Cecelia Ahern this is a book for you.

I hate leaving less than amazing feedback. I feel awful doing it.but I also have a responsibility to be honest so here goes.

This book should have.content warnings. I rarely ever advocate for that.because some cw's are ridiculous. No I don't care if someone in the story has red hair. In the same vein, this book deals heavily with mental health, suicide ideation, and death of a spouse. Truly reading the blurb I thought I was getting a feel good romance. Granted there is a romance but that takes a backseat to the above story. It wasn't something I truly.could read all the way through at the moment and I'm sure I'm not the only one who'll have this trouble.

The two stars is because mental health is openly and honestly discussed in a positive and informative way and I appreciate that. Books don't do enough of that so I can say that in itself is refreshing to see. I just wish I knew more of what I was getting when I picked this up. I'm sure its a great read for the right person just make sure youre in the head space to do so.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the.ARC. in exchange for.an honest review. All opinions are my own.

After meeting by chance Nell and Charlie come across each other again the next day. Is Nell about to fall in love and help a perfect stranger? A thought provoking story that will either make you laugh or cry.

OMG! I have no words!
LOVED LOVED LOVED!!
If you read any book this year it HAS to be this one!!!!
I could not put this down, it kept me dripped from page 1. I really enjoyed how it wasn't some "silly made up love story" but it was like a real life story. Everything the character experienced and did just felt like these things happen to everyday people. There are some triggers as warned, take note of them!!! But the help and advice Nell gives just seems so genuine and helpful. This book does make you feel like you can look at your life and do what you want no matter what relationships you have where. Each character had such a lovely personality and they all seemed so genuinely caring. This is the first book i cried at as well, sad and happy tears. I felt so sorry for Nell, as well as Charlie, it was heart breaking for both of them. Omg is all i can say. Its made me feel so good and I cannot wait to recommend this to all my friends, especially those on Bookstagram. I wish i could give this more than 5 stars.
I hope there is going to be a sequel, Hannah cannot leave us on that cliffhanger. I WANT MORE!

3.5 stars, Rounded

Nell has always wanted to help people – so much so that she’s one of the few paid volunteers at the Healthy Minds hotline, much like the Good Samaritans here in the states. While her work is fulfilling and she loves it, her personal life isn’t quite so marvelous. Broken up with her first boyfriend, she’s fallen into the trap of “convenience’, and while Joel is still very much in love with her and what the relationship meant for him (bills paid, food paid, a partner) she’s finally discovered that he’s not what makes her happy. After their split, she took a house share with a co-worker, Neil, and the two have a happily balanced relationship full of movie nights, takeaways, Celine Dion quotes and a love of Michael Bolton. With her mother in demand at her work and frequently in glamorous and removed locations, Nell has been ‘second place’ to much of her mother’s life – a place she’s happily occupied for years as ‘taking what she’s been given. But a chance meeting and no seats at the café near her work puts Nell in front of Charlie, a rather reserved, if not bellicose Irishman with a cold cup of tea, an ability to laugh at Nell’s need to ‘fill silence with words” and she’s smitten.

While that first meeting was precipitous, the second, a call at the helpline, brought her much more. Charlie called in – and Nell broke every rule possible: agreeing to meet him to talk and ‘become friends”. Here is where the story meanders a bit, as we deal with Charlie’s issues, his depression and his inability to deal with Nell’s rather happy and understanding personality – even as she’s finding the attraction to Charlie rather overwhelming. As the story unfolds, we see Nell struggle with her interest in Charlie, his on again, off again responses, and their truly compatible personalities, even with the depression, guilt and struggles. Particularly worsened as Charlie isn’t able at this moment to open up and share his story: much to Nell’s frustration.

What emerges is that slow journey through grief, depression and even suicidal ideation, from actual stories of attempts through an actual (if rather anticlimactic) attempt from her ex. Be aware that this book is full of triggering moments for many, and the pacing of the story – slowly unfolding can often prolong the questions from readers. But ultimately, it is truly worth it – showing steps that one person needed to take to get perspective and let go of the worst of the guilt, shame and find the confidence and hope to move on: always changed, but not stagnant. In finding and helping others, we also see how Nell finds her own two feet and confidence to put herself forward in her list of ‘needs’, something she’d never done before, and the little moments with both Charlie, Neil and Uncle Carrick, not to mention a heart to heart with her mother allowed the story to end with hope and possibilities for all. A bit twisty, darker and more emotional than one would expect with a few twists that made the story come full circle – this was a book that showed a bit of compassion, patience and hope work wonders.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aSH /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I was not able to finish this story. The characters were not relatable and the setting was over done.

This review will contain spoilers from the beginning, so please don't read on if you haven't read the book or aren't looking for spoilers!




Spoilers ahead!





Trigger warnings: suicidal thoughts, grief and bereavement (specifically death of a spouse), mental health issues (specifically depression and anxiety)


Now, when you read the synopsis given by the publisher, you imagine a quirky romance, with Nell and Charlie teaming up to save someone. What you don't realise is that the person who needs saving is Charlie himself. Two years ago, his wife died, and after considering suicide at the time, he's been struggling with depression ever since. Now, he's decided that enough is enough, and after quitting his job and writing his goodbye letters, he's planning on ending his life. Until fate throws Nell into his life, when their paths cross in a local cafe, and again the next day when he phones the mental health helpline Nell works for, and she recognises his Irish accent. They arrange to meet, and quickly begin to fall for each other, but Charlie is struggling with the guilt and grief he feels over the loss of his wife, and they remain friend's, with Nell helping Charlie to face up to the loss of his wife, and begin the first steps of moving forward.

As you can see, this is definitely a love story with a difference, the main difference being that the love element of the story is almost secondary to the friendship that develops between Charlie and Nell. While my synopsis focuses on Charlie, the book itself is written from the POV of Nell, who for the first part of the book has no idea about Charlie's dead wife, and instead thinks he's just a rather flighty Irishman who wants to help his suicidal uncle (his excuse for ringing the helpline) but keeps running off whenever they get close. When she does find out about his wife, she remains committed to helping him even though he admits he is not ready for a relationship. So even though they both have feelings for each other, that's not really the focus of the book, at least until the very end. Most of the book instead focuses on the unique beauty of their friendship and the life-changing effect it has on Charlie.

Now, that isn't to say it's all cute and happy all the time. Sunderland doesn't pull any punches when it comes to her depictions of mental health struggles, and she handles the challenging subject matters of depression and suicidal thoughts in a tactful and respectful manner. This does make for challenging reading at times, but it also made the moments of happiness even more meaningful and beautiful.

Ultimately, 'At First Sight' is a moving, challenging, and yet surprisingly uplifting book about the challenges of moving forward after your world ends, and how just one person, in just one moment, can truly make a difference. Plus, I loved the way that fate and synchronicity played a role in this book, particularly towards the end where a few loose ends are tied up in a really lovely way. Definitely one I'd recommend if you're a fan of love stories with a difference.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to be provided with an advance reading copy of this book by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

An unconventional love story about coping with loss and learning a simple act of kindness can save a life. This book was shocking and an unpredictable roller coaster of emotions... to say the least!

I liked the book's outlook on mental illness. It shows examples of different people who suffer for various reasons. It assured that seeking help is a sign of strength and sometimes all we need is a little encouragement.
Nell works for the Healthy Minds helpline. She’s a classic over thinker, very talkative, funny, and very relatable! Nell meets Charlie one day in her usual coffee shop and makes conversation in her typical way. Little does she know, it’s exactly what he needed. Charlie is suffering from a loss, Nell is the new friend he needs to help him through.

This novel was FULL of symbolism. The little things Charlie did ,like buying tea and letting it go cold, were simple acts he did in efforts to keep alive the memory of the lost loved one. This novel gave glimpses into nontraditional loves. Different relationships were highlighted throughout the book and each were unique. My favorite part of the book was the great message it presented; one interaction can change a person's life. There were all these incredible connections that were revealed in the end. Acts of kindness and the actions of others can strongly affect a person's life. It may just bring happiness in the moment or it could mean more; a reminder that life is worth living. I enjoyed that the end had Charlie’s POV. Most of the story was told from Nell’s POV, but it was great to see what Charlie was thinking after he started to heal.
The ending wasn't exactly the perfect happy ever after. It leaves you with the question of the state of Nell and Charlie's relationship. It allows the reader to decide their fate or perhaps there’s more of their story to come.

This was a beautiful story of an unconventional romance where two people have that instant connection but their lives are going in totally different directions. It's a slow burn that covers so many emotional peaks while also having some truly laugh out loud moments. Nell works at a counseling hotline and Charlie is still nursing a broken heart and overwhelming grief after losing his wife two years earlier. The author did a great job of creating the conflicting emotions and that ever present tug of war with love, loss, guilt, and grief.

Told in the 1st person pov from Nell's perspective for 90% of the book we learn all about their meet-cute and her side of the relationship, This leaves the reader largely in the dark about the grief and pain that Charlie is holding onto until the last 10% where he has finally turned a corner and we get to see some of his voice on the page. I thought this was a very creative writing technique and overall felt the book had excellent pacing and structure.

Although there is a romance blooming which is a central thread of the story, I'd say this is less a romance and more a women's fiction about personal growth and moving forward to make positive changes in one's own life.

The author did an excellent job of championing mental health advocacy and normalized the idea of reaching out and getting help. She freely allowed her male characters to show their emotions in the form of tears, fear, anxiety, and loss.

I loved this book and could not put it down (sorry husband). This story follows Nell who meets Charlie in a coffee shop after dropping her sandwich on him. Although there is an instant spark she is too scared to ask for his number but the next day she answers the phone at her place of work and it’s Charlie on the end of the line and he needs her help. This book covers grief, suicide, love and a whole host of topics whilst ultimately being the beautiful story of a very chance meeting and sometimes the stars align to literally drop the person you need most into your lap at the right time. This book will break your heart a million times but it’s a breathtaking read.

Definitely not your conventional love story, At First Sight deals with loss, grieve and with how friendship and counseling can help to overcome the pain and find a way to happiness again.
A beautiful story, written in a sensitive way, by a very talented writer, that left me with the desire to read her debut novel (which I have already downloaded).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.