The beginning of this book sends you back and forth between the current day life of Pip and the past of Evelyn. Both characters were strong on their own and I enjoyed getting to know them. I did feel that the first part of the book was disjointed as you skipped from present day Pip to Evelyn’s past to Evelyn’s diary. With each change I wished that I had gotten to spend more time with that person in that moment. Because of this, I found it took me a little longer to get the connection I was looking for with these characters. Once I felt that connection, I better understood the lives of these women as they dealt with loss, anxiety, acceptance, and moving on. The end of the book brings Pip and Evelyn together as they both work to come to terms with where their lives have brought them and where the future will take them. A wonderful read that touches on places we get stuck in our lives and moving on.

This book is less mystery and more in-depth character study of the two female protagonists brought together by separate tragedies. How they meet and help each other heal is the core of this book. It is well written and brings up the question of whether you can go home again.

Pip has left her job as a barrister and moved back to the family farm when debilitating panic attacks cause her to be unable to work. She was fine until a young boy runs in front of her car and dies. Evie a 70 yo is existing and hasn't left her house in years. Her life ended when her three year old died by accidentally drowning. Can this unlikely pair form a strong enough friendship to save them both?

I received an arc of this book and voluntarily provided a review.

This was an interesting book. Two women come together to get through traumatic events. The end comes a little quickly. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is told through the perspective of two different women. At first it was a little difficult to keep track of the two different story lines, but once the two characters merged I really enjoyed it. There is a hint of romance, and I wish that story line was developed more, but still, it was an overall good read.

4.5 stars. I loved this novel about stories you tell yourself, coming home, and learning to forgive yourself and live again. Pip and Evelyn are great characters - the first part of the novel we learn about their lives separately (and Evelyn's in flashback/diary form) but when they meet the novel becomes even more lovely and heartwarming. The parallels between their lives help them form an unlikely friendship. The book ends on a note a hope.

"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.

When Pip and Evelyn’s paths cross in real life they slowly begin to reveal the hidden stories that are holding them back. Can they help each other forgive what happened in the past and, perhaps, find happiness in the future?"

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

Many thanks to Imogen Clark, the publisher, and Netgalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the book. Pip has returned home (reluctantly) after having panic attacks following a tragic car accident. While working in a charity shop, she finds a diary that has accidentally been donated, by Evelyn. It was. kind of slow for me. There were of course two POVs and Pip's and Evelyn's. stories seem familiar to Pip. It kept my interest after the slow start. I wished there had been closure in the end.

The story revolves around two ladies. The first is present-day (2019) and is about Rose, also known as Pip to her family, who was the driver of a car resulting in a death. Rose was genuinely blameless, but unfortunately, she can’t stop blaming herself. Rose elects to return home to her parent's house in the English countryside because she had debilitating panic attacks leaving her unable to function at work. Rose volunteers at a resale shop, and while organizing donated items, she finds an old diary back from the late 1970’s- 1980’s and starts reading the diary leading her to wonder what happened to the diary's owner. By this time, Rose is at a low point as her boyfriend ends their relationship, her horrific panic attacks continue, and she faces an uncertain future. But the diary, written by a former actress who was on the cusp of stardom, helps Pip/Rose realize that other people have suffered tragedies as well. Evelyn, the diary’s writer and a former actress, suffered a life-changing assault resulting in her return to her childhood home in the English countryside many years prior. Once Rose and Evelyn meet, it becomes a chance for self-reflection, discussions about their tragic life journeys, and how they might find a way to move forward in life. I can’t explain it, but the writing feels very British and has a little different vibe to it. But I got used to it, and the ending brings it all together nicely. I thank NetGalley for the ARC, but my thoughts and review are my own and without bias. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 stars #triggers #assault #metoo #tragedy #loss #redemption #struggle
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader copy of Reluctantly Home -- thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me a preview.

Pip Appleby finds herself back on the family farm after a tragic accident upends her posh London life. She doesn't want to be there, smothered by her parents and the life she left behind, but, unable to cope with the aftermath of the accident, she is unable to resume her life in London. She's stuck in neutral, working in a thrift store and wondering if she'll ever feel like herself again.

After reading a diary she found at the thrift store, Pip goes looking for Evelyn Mountcastle, a local recluse and aging actress who is the owner of the diary. Evelyn has been through her own tragedies and has also found herself stuck in their tiny town, unable to cope with the past and move on. The two women help each other reconcile the past and embrace whatever lies ahead.

Reluctantly Home doesn't have any major plot twists, or any real mysteries to solve. Overall it's fairly predictable and even a little saccharine -- it's a pretty typical tale of prickly characters finding each other and learning to loosen up along the way. It's even got some loose plot ends that I don't feel were tied up all that well, which usually bugs me. But with all that said, this is a charming little book. The characters are likable and believable, if a bit predictable, and their stories, while unique to them, are easy enough to extrapolate to yourself or those around you. If Evelyn and Pip had been less endearing, this book might have made me roll my eyes -- too sappy, too predictable, too "chick lit." And yes, it's all those things. But I liked it anyway.

Like many current novels, Reluctantly Home contains a #MeToo plot line, and when I first saw it coming, I was sort of dreading seeing the book take off in that direction. Too often, I find that storyline poorly written, shoehorned in to fit current events. I'm happy to say that's not the case here. The #MeToo plot elements fit naturally into the story, and even allow for some disagreement about the topic between a woman in her 20s and one in her 70s who experienced life in very different ways.

Pip is a bit too naive to be a high-powered barrister, and Evelyn is a bit too uninformed about current events for a woman who's supposed to be worldly-wise. Pip's mother is a cliche, as is the old boyfriend (and the new one, come to think of it). But even with these flaws, and the lack of resolution we're given about Pip's love life, I found the characters charming and I cared what happened to them. And that was enough to keep me reading.

This is a pleasant, rather predictable read that I recommend if you're looking for something not too heavy and not too dark. This book is about light at the end of the tunnel, and here in the spring of 2021, we can all use a little of that.

(Posted on Goodreads 3-20-2021)

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Pip who is a lawyer who lives in London, appears to have it all. On the way to work one day she is involved in a car accident that changes her life in many ways she returns home to her family farm and replays the accident that happened. She us not sure if she will ever be able to go back to her previous life. This book captured my attention from the beginning.

Reluctantly Home is a story of two women, generations apart, who are struggling with situations in their past that are strangling them from moving forward. Pip found a diary amongst some books that were brought to a thrift store near her childhood home. She grapples with whether she should read it and does. Learning more of Evelyn Mountcastle’s life and her lovely, little daughter, Scarlett. Pip decided she should find Evelyn and return the precious diary. As Pip gets more familiar with Evelyn there are many similarities in their lives. Pip is taking some time off from her job in London. The friendship helps each woman come to grips with things they need to change for their own progression. Author, Imogen Clark, describes thoughts and actions with intense feeling and a beautiful story of redemption and courage is born. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to friends.

We all have experiences that shape who we are. Sometimes, those experiences happen because of circumstances beyond our control, but such events have an everlasting impact. “Reluctantly Home” by Imogen Clark is a great example of when one accident can throw your life plan and how you perceive yourself out the window.

Pip (or Rose, as she now prefers to be called) is a lawyer/barrister in London who did not look back when she left her rural childhood family harm. But when a horrific accident leads to a serious of panic attacks, Pip flees London to return to her roots. In the hope of doing some good, she begins working at a thrift shop and it’s while going through discarded belongings that she discovers a forgotten diary. As she begins to read it, she becomes drawn to the writer’s story.

I related to Pip’s plight a lot. It was also believable how she connected to the diarist. While there is some suspense as to who the writer of the diary is, I really thought this story was at its strongest when it forces Pip to reconcile who she once was with the person she was trying to become before the accident. With so much ugliness going on in the world right now, I really appreciated the chance to read a novel that offers hope. Because of that, I give this novel four stars.

Thanks to Imogen Clark, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

Another great read from Imogen Clark. Two women have a chance meeting and both share a great deal in common. Evelyn’s tragedy was many years ago whilst Pip’s I current. They form an unlikely friendship and with some help and sharing are able to find new and positive paths. It did take a little getting into at first but it is a nice cosy read. Thanks for an advanced copy to NetGalley.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for this advance copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I thought I might have difficulty getting into the story as I didn't warm to the main characters, both of whom seemed self-absorbed at first. However, there were many themes present in the story - escape from one's roots and return, reinvention, tragedy, friendship, recovery and even a touch of the MeToo movement - all of which the author competently brings together in a compelling story.

Although the book deals with very difficult topics, having had first-hand experience with the issues of child death and mental illness, I felt that the author handled them deftly and sympathetically, bringing together 2 damaged and broken women who help each other to heal and go on to live life beyond their tragedies. I would definitely recommend this book.

Well written heart wrenching book of people trapped by tragedy. Tragedies that they are suffering from& the healing they need.Well written involving emotional will be recommending.#netgalley #amazonpublishinguk

Reluctantly Home is story about grief, trauma and friendship. I had a hard time reading this story. It deals with child death and trauma. I'm not sure I would have picked this one up If I knew this. However, I did enjoy the story after I moved past this. It's a story of a unique friendship forged in grief. The writing was good and I enjoyed the characters.

IMOGEN CLARK – RELUCTANTLY HOME

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a story of parallel lives, and, although I don’t wear one, I would eat my hat if it didn’t become another 100,000 best seller like Imogen Clark’s other novels.

Two women’s lives are devastated, one, Pip, in the present, a high-powered successful young lawyer, going about her daily business, when tragedy strikes; the other, Evelyn, back in the 70s and now aged 70, a naive aspiring actress who reluctantly succumbs to the casting couch.

Pip is distraught after what happens to her, and reluctantly goes back home to the family farm near the seaside town Southwold, Suffolk, where, by coincidence, Evelyn still lives, though as a recluse.

Evelyn’s inheritance-seeking relative throws out by accident one volume of a set of personal diaries that Evelyn wrote in the 80s, and, by chance, it ends up in Pip’s hands. Reading it, she realises the tragic parallels in their lives and seeks to find her and return the diary. And this is their story.

Attitudes towards women by men in the television industry, about what was acceptable in the 70s compared with the present, is dealt with very adroitly, through the two friends.

Without giving away more of the plot away, this is another of her page turners, with sympathetically drawn characters, with fascinating and tragic backgrounds, and with a generous supporting cast.

In short, this is a novel I can recommend without reservation.

A story of two women caught up in the messy circle of their lives trying to find a way out. I liked how Pip and Evelyn each had their own stories, and how the novel showed that with a little help from friends we can find our paths again.

Returning to the family farm after a tragic accident, Rose is forced to accept a quieter life away from her law practice and her active social life in London with her successful Queen's Council fiancé, Dominic. On the farm, Rose loses her identity, even being called Pip, a childhood nickname. Finding a diary in the Have a Heart Thrift store, leads to Pip's discovery of another life that somewhat parallels her own. Exploring past lives as she reads through the pages keeps Pip and the reader guessing. Set in the bucolic English countryside, the mystery unravels for fans of cozy fiction.

Thank you so much for a pre-publication look at Reluctantly Home to Lake Union and the author in exchange for an honest review.

I had not previously read Imogen Clark but I intend to correct that omission. This novel was a refreshing take on the MeToo Movement. Having found a diary in a box of books while unpacking thrift shop donations, Pip can't help her curiosity and takes it home to read.

Pip's own situation is precarious. She suffers from panic attacks after having hit and killed a child who ran in from of her car. Despite her inability to avoid the accident, Pip, filled with guilt, has come home to her parents' farm to recover. She has left her job as a barrister in London and is back in the bosom of her family. It's not easy.

The MeToo aspect enters in the diary a story of Evelyn Mountcastle, a TV actress in the 70s. Evelyn, it turns out, became pregnant in a couch casting incident where she was forced to have sex with a producer which changed her life. It is Evelyn's explanation of how this kind of abuse was expected and accepted in the past on which this story hinges.

Ultimately, it is a story of how friendship and empathy can create healing and change lives. And Imogen Clark is so very good at involving us in the process. (Aside: for those of us who are not Brits, Clark's repetitive use of the word "whilst" gets a bit wearing. I began counting them till I lost count.)

I received an e-ARC through Netgalley.
This book contains scenes of child danger and mental illness.
This book is told from 2 different POV of 2 women in very different times, Evelyn in the 1970s-80s, and Pip who is born in 1990. They both experience traumatic events and return home to a place they couldn't wait to escape from. The book brings them together and helps them heal. The book kept my interest throughout and wrapped up pretty well although I was expecting a little more closure with Jez, but maybe there will be a sequel.