Pip Appleby has it all. High powered job as a barrister, smart lifestyle, hip boyfriend until an accident turns her life upside down and she flees London back to her parents at Southwold in Suffolk.
Passing time helping in a charity shop, she comes across a diary in a box of books and becomes fascinated by the writer, Evelyn's, story. So she sets out to find her and return the diary. An unlikely friendship is formed as the two women support each other.
I loved the dynamic between Evelyn and Pip and sympathised with their problems and how they helped each other. I rated it 4 stars because I felt that more could have been made of Southwold, one of my favourite places. I felt that it could have been any seaside town.
Recommended.

The story of two women who have had their successful lives taken from them and have to return home to live with their families. Can they get over their past and start a new and happy future against the odds.
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for ah honest review.

Pip had never felt completely at home, at her home with her parents. They never quite understood her, her work or her education. After a tragic accident Pip is now back to recuperate after a breakdown of sorts. She has left behind her high powered job and her high powered boyfriend. Her life now is as different as it could be. She volunteers at a thrift shop and just manages to get through one day at a time.

When a diary surfaces in a box of books, Pip is very intrigued by the contents as it seems to mark a particularly momentous year in the life of a Evelyn Mountcastle. Then her boyfriend Dominic breaks up with her and Pip buries herself in the life of one year of Evelyn. Tracking her down, befriending her and getting to know Evelyn marks a turning point in both Pips and Evelyn's life. Both are rejuvenated and are able to take an interest in life as it is now, as against what it was.

A good story of how one can overcome personal tragedy, and though here both stories were bleak and very sad, the joining of two kindred spirits helped them both.

I enjoyed reading this book. There were two very interesting main characters, across different generations, both subject to tragedy. Pip, a young woman, returns home from London after a tragic accident and hides herself away. Evelyn, at 70, has hidden away after her own tragedy.
When their paths cross, they manage to help each other.

The novel was well written and engaging and I wanted both main characters to be happy by the end of it!!

3.5/5 stars for me.

To loosely quote Thomas Wolfe, you can’t go home again....but what happens when you actually do?

After a tragic event, Pip’s life in London falls apart and she returns home in 2019 to her family farm to recover. As the book opens, it has been six months since the accident and she’s settled, although not happily, back into life with her parents (and hunky farmhand, Jez), trying to keep busy by volunteering in a thrift shop.
The story changes one day when Pip is unpacking a box of donated books and finds a diary from 1983. Pip’s story then begins to alternate with the story of Evelyn Mountcastle, an actress who was left her small hometown in search of her big break. Like Pip, she was also living an independent life in London and reluctantly returned home in 1979.
There were some gaps for me: why didn’t Pip have a cell phone? The first reference to one was about half way through the book and it’s Evelyn who has one. Both Evelyn and Pip also seem determined to work through their mental health issues without professional help, relying on time and relationships. Other than Dominic, didn’t Pip have any personal relationships in London?
Evelyn’s story was interesting as was Pip’s, although I would have liked to learn more about her life in London before the accident. The relationship between the two women was heart warming and made for a nice story overall.
Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read Reluctantly Home in exchange for an honest review.

Pip Appleby seems to have it all, with her prestigious job as a human rights lawyer and her enviable London home. But then a tragic accident stops her life in its tracks, and in an instant everything changes. Retreating to her family’s rural farm and the humble origins she has been trying to hide, Pip is haunted by what she has done. When she discovers the diary of actress Evelyn Mountcastle in a box of old books, Pip revels in the opportunity to lose herself in someone else’s life rather than focus on the disaster that is her own. But soon she sees parallels—Evelyn’s life was also beset by tragedy, and, like Pip, she returned to Southwold under a dark cloud.

This was a delightful read and one I wholeheartedly recommend. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

A well written story showing how hard things can be that happen unexpectedly. Things out of your control can derail your life and this book demonstrates that well whilst being a great read.

I received a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.

Synopsis:

After a terrible accident and series of public panic attacks, Pip returns to her home town in hopes of healing. While volunteering at a thrift store, she finds a diary from 1983. Instead of returning it to it’s rightful owner right away, she reads it. Feeling a connection with the author, she becomes determined to get to know her.

Imogen Clark’s Reluctantly Home was an emotional roller coaster that pulls you in from the first moment and doesn’t let go.

I highly recommend this book and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

I really wanted to love this book, based on the synopsis. But I found the storyline almost non-existent and the main character (Pip Appleby) flat out annoying.

I can't really make up my mind about this book mainly in the fact it seems 'out' in the eras it was set. The book covers the story of Evelyn between 1979 and 1983 plus that of Pip and Evelyn in the present day but the depiction at each time point, in attitudes especially, seems to be at least two, decades earlier. I am a contemporary of Evelyn which is why several aspects don't quite ring true, but that aside, it was a different read and certainly tackled several contemporary mental issues including the 'Me Too' campaign. A little slow to start with and a rather over rushed ending but worth a read. Probably a 3.5.

A great story set in a small town that Pip has been trying to escape from. After her high-powered world comes crashing down, she flees London, back to her parents home. Working in a charity shop she comes across a diary and the story inside almost mirrors hers.
I loved the interaction between the two women and how each of their stories tie together and come to a resolution. The story is told in present time; flashbacks and diary entries, but they all work together to give you the complete story - at no point are you left wondering what is going on.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this book.

This book started out good however; it fell through with the ending. The ending felt rushed and not complete.

A diary that is mistakenly donated to a charity shop helps bring two people together, both of whom are weighed down by the guilt of tragic events.. They become friends and are able to help each other emerge from their self-imposed prisons. I really enjoyed this dual-timeline story and plan to read more books from this new-to-me author. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review and advance copy.

Reluctantly Home is both a heartbreaking and heartwarming story.

The story is told from Pip's viewpoint as she returns to her childhood home after a devastating accident that has left her unable to function to her full capabilities.

Evelyn's story is told from the past and present. She too returned home years ago.

A chance discovery of Evelyn's diary will bring these two ladies into each other's world.

Both are stronger than they think.

I loved how the friendship developed and how they brought out each other's strenght.

I love the cover, you can just picture Pip on her bike riding into town.

Well worth the read , don't miss Reluctantly Home , you will be glad you picked it up.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing for a satisfying read.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were a joy to read about and the story flowed beautifully. A mix of narrative and diary entries broke the story up. Really enjoyable and I’d definitely recommend!

I received a pre-publication copy of 'Reluctantly Home' , which I very much enjoyed reading. The plot is quite “twisty-turny” as it follows two lives. I don’t want to give anything else away, suffice to say it is a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book.

Imogen Clark has done it again! Reluctantly Home weaves together the stories of two women from the same small English village showing us their similarities and differences and how they form a bond based on the experiences that brought huge upheaval to the lives they had carefully forged for themselves. Both had escaped to London to find something bigger and better, and both returned due to unexpected circumstances. Ms. Clark gives us a beautiful story populated by real people who draw you in from the first page. While the ending was quite satisfying, I genuinely wanted more. If I never know what happens next, I will choose to believe they found their happily ever after and that Evelyn and Pip meet once a month in the window of a quintessentially English café to share a coffee and their latest adventures. Ms. Clark is a master at writing relatable, real characters who draw the reader in, while her plots are beautifully constructed. I have read all of her books and am eagerly looking forward to where she will take me next!

Pip Appleby's career is a success. She's working her way up.to the top. But one day, absolutely unexpectedly, tragedy strikes and all of a sudden, her world collapses. She returns home, a home she'd been eager to leave when she was young. A home she was ashamed to show. A life she 'd been ready to forget.
Evelyn Mountcastle''s dream was to be an actress. She moved to London and was casted for a role that was the ticket to play in the big leagues. But her dream remained just like that... Like a dream. Reality presented itself a bit different as planned, and she found herself coming back home, even when it was the last thing she thought she would do in her life.
Both women, although going through different situations, found themselves walking along similar paths. Will they find the way to find peace at last? Will they be able to leave tragedy in the past and move toward the future?
There's an item that can open the door. And it's in their hands.
This is a beautiful story. Full of humanity and randomness. And the author made a great job combining both of them. The characters are so much adorable, even in their weaknesses. And the pace, going back and forth works like a charm. Never confusing, always enlightening.
It's not my first book from Imogen Clark and it will not be the last.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Reluctantly Home
Author: Imogen Clark
Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Reluctantly Home" by Imagen Clark

My Opinion:

"Reluctantly Home" was a well-written story of how two women suffered from awful events that greatly affected their lives. 'Reluctantly' will capture one's attention from the beginning to the end.

I enjoyed how this author puts these two women [generations apart] together by losing a diary that brought them together and how each of their stories helps them in so many ways through a developed friendship. For each of them...Pip and Evelyn there was 'loss, anxiety, trauma, acceptance, and finally moving on with their lives.' One can see how when life offers you lemons. One can still move on. It was a beautiful read of how each of these individuals was able to help one another, forgive their past, and maybe even find happiness in the future that had dealt with issues of a child's death and mental illness.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I gave this book 5 stars, firstly because the first chapter had so much energy I actually felt as though I was in the middle of all the action.

The second reason is that I fell in love with the character of Evelyn Mountcastle. My heart broke over and over at the hand she had been dealt and the way people treated her. She is a woman who I will remember for a long time.

Unfortunately, I was not as captivated with Pip Appleby. If the author’s intention was to make her so snobby that she felt her family and the place where she was born was beneath her, then that definitely came across. Although Pip did redeem herself a little along the way, I think the path she eventually went down, although not to my liking, was very much in keeping with her character.

Imogen Clark has approached the issue of sexual abuse in the 70s in a sensitive but pragmatic way which is so in keeping with that era. She writes with the utmost compassion, honesty and intelligence about the subject of death and the hurt, anger and sense of loss which follows.

This is not an easy book to read, which makes it all the more worthy of setting aside time to delve into the friendship between Pip and Evelyn.