The book started out very intense and with twists and turns . It engaged me right up to about three quarters way through and then it started to slide off a bit . An ok read but just found the ending lacked a punch .

Thanks to #NetGalley and publishers for an #ARC of #ThingsDontBreakOnTheirOwn.
Flicking between people and time, the story follows the lives of Willa and Robyn and revolves around a dinner party, and life after Willas sister Laika goes missing 25 years previously.
There is mystery intertwined in every sub story of this book, and I only put it down when I had to, ie to sleep. I made my own conclusions and they came crashing down.
I honestly couldn't have asked for more out of this book. Highly recommend.

Twenty-five years ago Willa’s teenage sister vanished without a trace. So why does Willa think she sees her sister everywhere? A chance remark at a dinner party makes Willa revisit the memories she holds. With the dinner party of the blurb playing only a small part, this is more a story of childhood and early adult recollections. Ideal for readers who like detailed flashbacks told in straightforward language.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

I was anticipating a mystery with some twists and turns, as well as a fundamental thesis of how our memories may all appear different - even when we're experiencing the same incident. I expected a profound mature emotional exploration with an intriguing mystery from 25 years ago to bind everything together. That wasn't exactly what I got, and I wasn't prepared for what I did read.

In short I think the premise was really interesting but it just didn’t deliver what I was hoping it would. The premise depicts a dinner party scene, which I assumed would be the setting for the most of the work. In reality, the dinner party occupies surprisingly few pages, and the remainder of the book is recollections of the past (which I wouldn't have minded if they were flashbacks prompted by the dinner party). I expected an intriguing mystery, perhaps some psychological interest, or perhaps some emotional conflict, but instead I got a horror show of childhood trauma and abuse. I was surprised at the number of horrible details of marital violence and child abuse in this, and to be honest, I believe things might have been handled better. If you're doing this type of book, it has to feel 'real,' which means gritty, and the conclusion simply felt excessively nice, as if everything is now sunshine and roses. Things Don't Break On Their Own felt harsh and raw in all the wrong places for me, and it ultimately didn't feel credible.

I was hesitant about ranking this because there were several things I really liked, but altogether, I think the theory was greater than the execution, and I was disappointed.

Going into this I was expecting a mystery with some twists and turns and a central premise of how our memories can all look differently - even when we’re recalling the same event. I was hoping for complex adult exploration of emotions with a captivating mystery from 25 years ago to tie everything together. Well that’s not quite what I got and I definitely wasn’t prepared for what I did read.

In short I think the premise was really interesting but it just didn’t deliver what I was hoping it would.

The blurb describes a dinner party scene, which is where I expected the majority of the novel to take place. In fact the dinner party takes up surprisingly little page and the majority of the book is recollections of the past (which I wouldn’t have minded as flashbacks that were triggered from the dinner party). I went into this wanting a thrilling mystery, possibly some psychological intrigue, or even some emotional turmoil and instead I got a horror show and childhood trauma and abuse. I was not expecting to read the quantity of harrowing descriptions of domestic violence and child abuse in this and truthfully I think things could have been handled better.

When we did finally have some more scenes of the dinner party and we got to see other’s interpretation and recollections it was great. I loved those moments of connection when we saw different people’s memories and perspective on events and for me these elements were the absolute star and drove my interest. I just wish there had been more of a focus on this as these were the moments that kept me hooked. (SPOILER: I loved seeing Robyn’s take on Willa’s comment about her sister at the table versus Willa’s understanding of the table and why she brought up her sister - these moments of flipped perspective where really interesting and I love it.)

The premise stringing everything is Willa’s missing sister; The 13 year old girl who suddenly vanishes 25 years ago. While the book does try to explore the impact of this and we do see some of the ramifications I didn’t feel the adult emotional turmoil was handled amazingly and so this didn’t hold my interest. What kept me turning pages was wanting to know what actually happened those 25 years ago. And boy was I disappointed. After all the suspense and build up the actual reveal just didn’t feel real to me.

I feel like if you’re doing this style of book then it has to feel ‘real’, and that means it has to be gritty and the ending just felt overly sweet and like everything is now sunshine and roses. Things Don’t Break On Their Own felt gritty and raw in all the wrong places for me and ultimately just didn’t feel believable to me.

I was conflicted in rating this as there are some elements I really loved but overall I think that the premise was stronger than the delivery and I was left disappointed.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I found this book very hard to get into the storyline and it didn't grip me, nor could I engage with the characters fully.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General for this ARC which I was hoping I would enjoy more than I did unfortunately.

I find this book difficult to review. Because it had a very strong plot and seemed very interesting but in the end it got me bored for the way it was elaborated because I couldn’t engage but a big part of the book. I almost DNF it. I liked some of the characters but didn’t enjoy completely how the plot end and how the whole book finish, is not a bad book, is well written and I think some people may enjoy it lots.

I had some issues with this book, although I do think it told an interesting story that kept me engaged the whole way through.

This book revolves around the sudden disappearance of a 13 year old girl. Throughout the book we learn more about her disappearance, what lead up to it, and the impact it has, mainly on her sister Willa and her sister's friend/girlfriend, Robyn. 25 years after their disappearance Robyn holds a dinner party.

Although the book opens with this dinner party scene, it took up less of the story than I expected, probably only 5-10%, with the rest of it exploring the past from the perspective of different characters.

Some of the characters at this dinner party had incredibly tiny roles which made me wonder why they were included. I also felt some of the interactions didn't feel totally natural. For example, at one point we see teenage Willa ask Robyn's brother who collects rocks if he has ever collected birds eggs in the same manner. It is later revealed that the missing sister had a traumatic experience with a birds egg which is supposed to explain why she asked but I want to know in what world would anyone collect birds eggs? Why would a teenage girl genuinely wonder/ask this, even with the additional knowledge we gain? It felt like the author was going for symbolism at the expense of authenticity.

On a similar note, I also found it frustrating how little details would be hinted at, but not explained fully until later. I get that this is to build a sense of mystery and suspense, but it didn't really do much for me.

I will say I did enjoy the heart of the story which is the mystery of the disappearance, and I wanted to keep reading to find out more. Unfortunately, once more was revealed, I didn't find the situation to be very believable.

I don't tend to read thrillers, so I'm not sure if this would fall into this genre but this might be more up your street if you enjoy that kind of story.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

There seems to have been a problem with NetGalley whereby the wrong book was provided. I was sent a copy of the berry pickers rather than things don’t break on their own.

I am just leaving a little line here because I was sent the completely wrong book which I have read thinking it was this one. I did wonder halfway through that it didn’t feel right. Once I’ve read this book though which I’m hoping will send through the correct manuscript, then I will edit this review 😊
My review which I wrote earlier was for a completely different book and now I can’t delete it!

This book felt very tense throughout which added to the suspense of the unsettling and on edge feeling around the dinner party. I really enjoyed it overall.