I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I love the twists in this book and I did not guess the ending, well done. I am very much looking forward to reading more books written by Beverley Harvey. If future books are half as good they will be enjoyable reads.

Reading Between the Wines book review #4/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 📱: Close My Eyes
Author: Beverley Harvey
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: Close My Eyes was a thrilling but sad story of a girl, Beth, who experiences something so traumatic when she was a teen, so much so that it affects her in her adulthood. This is a story about not being able to trust anyone, even family, and not being sure of your memories. I figured out what happened to Beth and who did it and I could not wait for it to be revealed. I was excited to see the mystery unfold. Unfortunately, the ending was a little underwhelming and didn’t come to a head as much as I wanted it too. Overall, it was a good read.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for an advanced copy of @CloseMyEyes.

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Beth is normal woman living a normal life when she starts getting anxiety attacks. She doesn't know why, what is causing them or who is causing them. The mystery behind the reason for the attacks, and her past she can't remember sets the base for a very entertaining and gripping read.

Once I got the chance to really get stuck in properly it was a well paced, well written intriguing read if a predicable one. Told from the point of view of Beth and Gemma. To begin with its not evident the connection but it’s a good insight into 2 different lifestyles. Half way through the pace slowed to a slow burn and it was clear where the storyline was heading but I was hoping there would be some twists along the way that I hadn’t foreseen. I found the ending very rushed and left hanging and feel the story was left unfinished. I really liked the strong female characters, the different relationship dynamics and how certain topics were handled. It was a good enough read but feel a surprise here and there would have been good.

3.5/5 🌟🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this ARC that was published on the 23rd of March 2021.

This book is a book about trust. Who should you trust and who do you trust the most. It did start off a bit slow but it didnt disappoint. I felt that I connected with the characters and the ending was superb.

This book was such a surprise. The beginning was a little slow but well worth the wait. This is a slow burn, compelling and heart wrenching mystery dealing with trauma and the fallout of suppressed memories. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and was satisfied with the conclusion. This is my second book to read by Beverley Harvey and it didn’t disappoint. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this author. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book "Close My Eyes" by Beverley Harvey. I was hooked within the first few pages and I didn't want this book to end. I also loved the way this book was structured with alternating chapters between Beth and Gemma; who are the two main characters and they're close friends with compelling events which are going on behind their own closed doors which had me gripped from the beginning to end. (nosey Moo I am! lol)

I highly recommend this book Close my Eyes.

Big thank-you to netgalley the Bookouture and author for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinions.

This was an interesting psychological thriller. It didn’t exactly have me on the edge of my seat, but it did keep me engaged and interested.
Usually, if something isn’t extremely compelling, I feel sort of “so-so” about it. But I enjoyed reading where the author was going throughout this entire story.
I’ll be honest and say that I guessed a major plot point fairly early on, but that was strictly through being the cynical person that I am.
I think maybe that is what made it unique for me. I had a strong feeling that I had figured it out, but I wanted to see how the author got there – and if I was right or not.
I wasn’t right about all of it.
I thought that Gemma was the strongest character in the book. She felt the most realistic to me. The author did a great job of illustrating both her distress and desperation.
Beth was a little less fleshed-out, which at first bothered me, as I thought she was the center of the story. That being said, I did think that Beth’s journey was well-done. Sometimes issues like those Beth was dealing with seem overdone and “too much.”
That wasn’t the case here. She was as bewildered as I think I would have been if I had begun experiencing what she did.
I also found it interesting that the author threw in some red herrings. I can’t quite tell if they were intentional or not, though. There were a few that I expected more out of, as in they had more to do with the pivotal events.
In that regard, I was left wanting with a few of the mentions and involvements. I guess in simpler terms, I wasn’t sure what was important and what wasn’t.
But in thinking about it, maybe that was exactly what the author intended.
If this review seems a bit convoluted, I apologize. Upon reflection, I believe it’s indicative of how well the author wove the plot that I was never quite sure what was vital and what was a side-mention.
And that’s what kept me interested right up until the very end.
I will conclude with the wish that the bad guy had received a much worse punishment. There was a lot of build up and then it kind of went by the wayside. I wanted more for that person because they definitely deserved worse.
But still, would certainly recommend this one.

The past affecting the present and bringing with it, flashbacks and anxiety attacks. That was the core of the plot. Author Beverley Harvey’s slow moving suspense had dual subplots of abuse and mystery.

Told in the POV of main character Beth and best friend Gemma, the author dealt with subtle shades of abuse and mind games in a marriage. I loved it when the character stood up for herself.

Both the characters were etched carefully. The book gave the vibe of impending truth around the corner. The mystery could be guessed midway, so the rest of the book was about being proven right. The prose was light and gave me the feel of a women’s fiction.

Though no major twists or heart pounding reveals, the story came to its surprise revelation. Overall, an interesting and quite an easy two-hour read.

I found this book very interesting and frightening. The mind works in a strange way. Blanking out the horror of the past, but it still affects the present. How one man can destroy so many people mentally. Thank you for this arc. I am really glad to have the opportunity to read it.

I wasn't a fan of this cover, but the actual story was great. There were twists I didn't see coming and I loved the main character. This author was easy to read. I'd highly recommend checking it out!

This was a great read! Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC. The story was very suspenseful and hard to put down. Very well written for a first novel and I look forward to any future books by this author.

This is a much more dark, disturbing themed book, so if you have triggers i would recommend this one isn’t going to trigger them! I love books that are dark and disturbing, so I found myself ti be thoroughly captivated by this deliciously dark tale! It was fast paced, suspenseful, and unputdownable! I would highly, highly recommend to my fellow dark thriller seekers!

TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with abuse and assault
Beth and Gemma are old friends, brought together by Beth's childhood friend Guy who is now Gemma's husband. After seeing another old friend, Beth begins to have flashbacks about events that took place when she was 13. Gemma's marriage is less perfect than she pretends but can she trust herself when the alcohol and sleeping pills seem to disappear much to easily...?
Close My Eyes is an intense psychological thriller featuring two main female protagonists. Both women seem quite happy at the start of the book but gradually fractures in their perfect lives begin to appear.
A chance encounter with a face from the past leads Beth to have panic attacks. Triggers from sights and smells keep triggering more attacks. She seeks counselling which reveals shocking facts about her past. Meanwhile, Gemma's husband Guy becomes increasingly cruel and controlling. The psychological control branches into physical violence in an insidious way.
I felt that there was a realism to both of the women and their circumstances. They are likeable so we want the best for them yet dread their situations worsening. There was a big plot twist but it was pretty obvious, however it was enjoyable to see how the author handled the developments.
There are other issues and subplots at work in the book. The gendered division of labour and the value of women's contribution to the household, the experience and importance of mental health therapy, the vulnerability of age and the impact on family members.
Close My Eyes is an engaging and enjoyable thriller due to the strength of the main two characters

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this book for an honest review. This is my first time reading this author. I took me some time to get into this one . It was a decent read for me I love psychological thrillers and this caught my attention a little later in the book. I will give another chance to another book of hers.

First, I want to thank Beverley Harvey, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

I am glad I didn’t Close My Eye’s during Beverley Harvey’s book or you would miss all intense scenes and excitement at the end of the book! WOW!! Was this book a rollercoaster ride of emotions!!

Oh how I just loved Beth’s story and the sick sense and pure terror she had around the Bink brothers. When they first ran into each other for the first time in the story even he creeped me out. The mystery of finding out why she was feeling this way was a very intense storyline that kept you on your toes.

One thing that irked me in the book is when someone decides to break up with someone why does everyone else ask if they are ok? Why do they always push them to go back with someone they don’t want to be with because their friends liked them? If that person didn’t want to be with that person they wouldn’t have broken up with them.

I thought it was bittersweet how the father would remiss about the good times he had with his late wife.

The names Beverley chose in this book were thought up creatively outside the box! I absolutely adored the name Gemma, Guy, Nessa, and Zara! They are so pretty and not used often in many books I have read.

Close My Eyes brings up important subjects like anxiety attacks, alcoholism, jealousy, sexual assault, sexual offender, PTSD, rape and how important counseling is.

The book jumps from modern day to 1994 to get more of the Binks brothers and Beth’s storyline.

Beverley writes an incredibly intense, heart stopping and graphic climatic scene that totally broke my heart in pieces and angered me too!

Even though I thought the climatic scene was huge that did not prepare me for the shock of all shocks at the end. Beverley threw a curve ball for her readers.

The brain is a very complex organ which although we are now living in the 21st century still has many mysterious grey areas that are still not fully understood by the scientific and medical worlds. The brain can also be very protective of the body that is resides in, sometimes it shuts away memories that it knows can be damaging to our mental health into little boxes. Or it allows us to deceive ourselves into believing that a situation is not what it appears to be. All of which can work perfectly well until something happens that causes the lid to open on the boxes and fragments of the memories to start escaping. Or, we are forced to face the truth about a situation and act for the sake of our own safety and well being.

This is the story of Beth and Gemma, two friends from different social classes who find their lives blighted by contrasting aspects of the mental health spectrum.

The story is told predominantly from the perspective of Beth who works for a charity and has recently dumped her latest boyfriend due to her on going commitment issues. Apart from constantly worrying about her father Tim, her life is rolling along ok, it's not perfect but it's ok. That is until the night that she goes to the pub with her older sister Laura and spots two faces from her past. Suddenly Beth is experiencing debilitating panic attacks,haunted by horrible odours and can't escape the feeling that something terrible happened in her past. To try and understand why she is suddenly blighted by these attacks, she starts going to see a therapist who starts coaxing Beth into remembering things that her brain has locked away. But as her memories start returning, Beth learns things that will shock her to her core and affect not just her life but the lives of the people around her...forever. She also learns that things and people are not always what they appear to be especially when you are a teenager. I thought the author's depictions of Beth's panic attacks were very believable and realistic, I have experienced panic attacks myself and they are absolutely terrifying.

There was also chapters that were voiced from the perspective of Gemma who was married to Beth's childhood friend Guy and they had a young daughter called Miya. Gemma appeared to have it all, a handsome husband,adorable daughter, beautiful home and a lavish lifestyle. Everyone thought they were the perfect couple but as we all know, in both the fictional and the real worlds, not everything is what it appears to be. Nobody truly knows what goes on behind closed doors.

Interspersed throughout the book was chapters that slipped back in time to 1994 and recounted Beth's unfolding memories of events leading up to and after the horrific event that her mind has blocked from her memories.

I thought the author's portrayals of both women's conflicting emotions as they struggled to deal with the events that were unfolding in both of their lives were very realistic and believable. They were both vivid individuals who's characters grew in strength and determination as the story unfolded.

This is a very well written,character driven story that has a plot which covers a wide range of realistic issues. The story is a captivating and,at times intense blend of friendships,families and domestic drama. It's tightly plotted, perfectly paced, keeps the reader guessing, has some unexpected plot twists and turns and had a cast of diverse,vivid individuals. I thought this was a very enjoyable read and I would happily read more of this author's books in the future.

Beverley is on of those authors who just seems to get better with every book.

Beth is living a perfectly happy and normal life when out with her sister, Laura', one night she spots a face from the past. Someone she hasn't thought about for years but who brings up a feeling of utter dread and terror within her. she starts getting flashes of a terrible event from her past, but struggles to put her finger on just what happened. The panic starts to infiltrate her every day life, her work and her relationships.

Best friend, Gemma, appears to have it all.. The perfect family, plenty of money and no real worries but appearances aren't all they seem.

With the help of a therapist, Laura and Gemma, Beth starts to piece together what happened to her lal those years ago with shocking consequences for everyone.

A pacy and thrilling read.

I love psychological thrillers!

This centers around Beth and Gemma who are friends.

This is thrilling, full of tension and is full of twists and turns. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Loved it and will read more from this author.