Enya Pettigrew Is an amazing creation. Not particularly likeable, she is nonetheless compelling and I found myself swept right into her world and concerns. This author knows how to create back stories which compel the reader to keep reading and this is no exception. The setting is almost gothic at times and, with the family history, it is truly engaging.

I just struggled to get to grips with this book
I didn’t really find one character throughout who I found I could like, it was a quick story line at the beginning, only to drag on, I just didn’t connect with this book.
Thank you to @HarperCollins Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early addition.

Dr Enya Pickering is married to fellow GP Alexander and has a teenage son Finn. One night in December she's driving home, the weather is terrible and visibility is poor, when she finds a boy in the middle of the road, she gives him CPR while a taxi driver calls an ambulance. The teenager reminds her of her son Finn, what's he doing on a remote mountain road near Dublin and it appears to be a hit and run?

Enya’s life has been spiralling out of control for a couple of months, she feels trapped in her marriage, and her once happy and loving son spends most of his time in his room. Enya moves to a remote a village called Abbeydooley in the Irish Midlands for a break and to think, she rents the former doctors house and surgery.

Enya's expecting peace and tranquillity, instead it's pitch black outside, spooky and a tree branch keeps scraping the window. The Hawthorn Tree or Rag Tree is sacred, a ritual going back to Celtic times, it’s believed if a person ties the cloth to the tree, whatever sickness or ailment their suffering from will fade away as the rag rots and they will be healed.

I received a copy of Into The Storm from HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have been a big fan of Cecelia Ahern's books and writing style for years, but her latest novel left me feeling somewhat perplexed and confused. I think it’s a story about dysfunctional families, not dealing with the loss of a loved one, superstition, making bad choices, secrets, mental illness and regret?

Three stars from me, I do understand both Irish and Scottish people believed in folklore and have done for centuries, my mother’s from Scotland and the information about the Rag Tree is interesting and please read this book for yourself and see if it makes any sense to you!

Well written book with great intrigue but I was let down by the ending and overall theme for this one. It felt a little wish my washy for me & there was not a single character to really root for.

I have read, and enjoyed, a number of Cecilia Ahern's books. I don’t feel this was one of her best, though I still enjoyed it for the most part. The main character, Dr Enya, is struggling with many aspects of her life, and makes some poor decisions. She sometimes comes across as not very likeable which can be challenging in a novel.
At times the pace of the book was a little slow. Choices made by characters had me wanting to shake them and tell them not to be so stupid. But I think the ending saves this book. I will admit it didn’t go where I was expecting, and I liked that. The issues often facing women of ‘a certain age’ were deftly handled. Into the Storm is well worth a read.

This is an enjoyable read that discreetly brings to light some of the issues that face many women of about the age of the main character, Dr Enya Pickering. While it seemed at times to get bogged down fortunately the author in building the plot gives it a surprise ending.

Dr Enya and her husband, also a doctor, run a very sophisticated medical practice but it's becoming quite noticeable that Dr Enya isn't coping, once a highly organised person, now things are getting a little ratty. Some of the reasons for her unhappiness and muddled mind are easy to identify, she is now living in her deceased mother-in-law's house bequeathed to her husband knowing that it wouldn't be sold as it would have been had it been left to her husband’s siblings, he is a class snob, one who insists on keeping all the expensive decorative pieces (dust collectors) on show for all visitors to be in awe of. He is a controller and shows little empathy for his wife. The house is uncomfortable, so different to their previous home they had built together that allowed interaction with their son Finn. Finn is growing up, independent of mother and father but for whom Enya doesn't recognise, rather she wants to hang onto him like he was as a child. She has an obsession with her forthcoming age, one that will mirror the one at the time of her mother's death. Her mother, a strong swimmer, had drowned at the age Enya is approaching. Her body has well and truly started her change of life and for a doctor it is strange that she doesn't recognise this.

Enya and her sister are close but her sister has chosen a very different lifestyle. Married with children, the couple homeschool, have an alternative lifestyle, herbalists etc very much down the same track as their mother. Life is harmonious, one of deep contrast to Enya.

It's at a particular time that Enya against her better judgment is driving in an unrelenting storm, one where she should stop and wait for it to beat itself out but instead she keeps going. Out of the blue she is stopped by a taxi driver who has discovered an injured boy on the road. The boy is badly injured but Enya in the middle of this tempest is able to revive him in time for the ambulance.

The read now gets a little heavy with a lot of emphasis on the hit and run and the developed relationship Enya pursues with the boy's mother. Because of her profession she is able to keep tabs on the boy's condition and improvements. Without the family's consent she crowd-sources funds for them, she becomes too involved with the boy's mother which eventually turns sour. The taxi driver stalks her, he is naturally concerned that he may be blamed for the accident. Enya decides to move away from the family home and takes over a country practice but her demons are still there.

The rented house she moves into adds to her instability with a Rag Tree of Irish spirituality background which is practically growing into the house. She is condemned when she tries to have it cut down. It has served many people in times of need and so in leaving it she understands with the change of season how it begins to regrow and show its magnificence. Finn, out of the blue visits her where he reveals to her why all her calls and texts had not been answered. He also reveals his involvement with the injured boy, the Garda are investigating the hit and run incident with the truth eventually revealed.

I have to say that I really struggled with this book as it was so slow and seemed to drag on woth not much happening. I didn't feel any real suspense and to be honest didn't feel like anything was happening a lot of the time until maybe 3/4 way through when we started to seem some things unravelling through the doom and gloom.

I don't really know if Into the Storm is a mystery/ thriller or a woman's literary fiction. In short, I think Into the Storm tries to be too many things and ends up being mediocre in all. This feedback is mainly because I have read most of her books, and this one misses the mark for me.
For me, Enya Pickering is a fractured soul that makes little sense in what she is doing. She's a doctor, but yet she has certain beliefs that, if it were her patient, would yield a different outcome.

Enya is the main character of the story, and her narrative seems mostly reliable. Even when she moves to Abbeydooley, the things that haunt her seem to be just that: hauntings. After all, Ireland is full of lore and stories about the other folk. After she finds a victim of a hit- and-run, Enya's life takes a turn and lands her on a journey to self-discovery.

Into The Storm is a literal and figurative title to a story, but it falls a little short on the delivery. I didn't mind it, but I know the author can do better.

I haven’t read Cecelia Ahern before so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC. I struggled to put it down.

It’s about Dr Enya Pickering who, while driving home in a storm, comes across a teenage boy hit and run victim and she comes to his aid. Meanwhile she is fighting her own demons which affect her marriage and relationship with her son resulting in her moving to a regional town to take over a practice there.

Into The Storm has some colourful characters, explores some Irish folklore and superstitions and is a rather emotional journey with a twist at the end.

I enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more of Cecelia’s work as a result.

Thank you NetGalley.

Dr Enya Pickering is a mess - her marriage is breaking, her relationship with her son is distant, and then she experiences a traumatic event in the middle of a storm that she can't seem to move on from. Added to this, she's approaching the age her mother was when she died. What follows is a nostalgic journey through grief and the tearing down of a life to build something new. It's a haunting, looking-over-your-shoulder read: who was that at the window? Is her husband going to turn violent? Is that guy stalking her? Are we witness to a woman falling into madness?
There is small town warmth, too, with characters like Margaret being allowed their own development, as well as Enya's sister Flora and her family.
The Irish countryside and pagan folklore become their own characters, and are woven through as we journey with Enya, waiting for something sinister to happen, and trying to unravel the story.

Although a very slow burn, it was a very enjoyable page turner!

A GP, a rainy night, a marriage in trouble and a distant teenager all come together in a storm to create this gem. Cecelia Ahern has brought together an eclectic group of characters and situations in a rural town and given us all someone to root for. The plot is excellent and there are a few twists and turns. The ‘rag tree’ was a new concept to me but such a beautiful aspect to include.

Thank you Ms Ahern for yet another great read.

I usually enjoy Cecilia Ahern books, but this one was just a bit off for me. I could appreciate where the main character was coming from, but it all just didn’t hit the spot for me. Mental health is always a tricky topic to write about in an engaging way. I liked the concepts around the rag tree and her mother’s writing, but how it came together was just a bit forced for me. It may have been that the main character was a bit unlikeable, but it was more that there were too many stereotypical characters that made it fall short. We never really got to know Enya or Margaret, so it felt lacking in depth. Enya's ultimate ending was very good however. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to review this book.

You know that feeling you get when just a short way into a book you realise it’s going to be unputdownable? Into the Storm is that with bells on. The story delves deep into the psyche of its protagonist, deeply troubled Dr Enya Pettigrew, and the consequences of the choices she makes in her life.
Enya is driving through a wild, heavy rainstorm at night when she comes upon an accident. A young boy is lying on the road, the victim of a hit and run. Enya does CPR which keeps the boy alive until an ambulance arrives. That is the beginning of the story. The drama, the ups and downs and the twists and turns which follow are completely engrossing, and unpredictable. Enya has many issues she is trying to resolve by herself, and nothing comes easily for her.

The (mostly) dark, gloomy, wet Irish weather provides a terrifically atmospheric background, together with folklore in the form of old writings by Enya’s mother, and a mysterious ancient tree. There is no knowing which way the story is going to go, right up to the end of the book. I still didn’t want it to end, though. I could have gone on reading Cecelia Ahern’s fascinating words for a lot longer.

There are some brilliant Irish women writers, and Cecelia Ahern is one of the best. Readers of beautifully written, psychological fiction are going to love this book.

Published by Harper Collins

On the longest night of the year, frazzled GP Enya finds herself swept into a perfect storm. She must face her past and anchor herself in the present before she can find freedom in her future. This tale has all the charm of rural Ireland and weaves present-day pragmatism with ancient mysticism. It had me equally intrigued, giggling, and in angst from start to finish. A wonderful read that I know will stay with me for some time.
This was my very first read and review on NetGalley and I have loved the experience! Thank you so much HarperCollins for this opportunity. Can’t wait to keep reading!

Into the storm tells the captivating story of Dr Enya Pickering, who saves a young boy's life after he was tragically hit by a car.

Our introduction to Enya reveals she is unhappy in her marriage and feels disconnected from the son she dearly loves.

It quickly becomes apparent that Enya is experiencing mental and emotional distress, triggered by her 46th birthday, then exacerbated by this traumatic event.

In an attempt to heal, Enya leaves her family and moves to Abbeydooley, a small country town with an aging population, and becomes their sole GP.

This book is not action packed, nor is it filled with romance or humour. It's an intricate story focusing on Enya's emotional journey as she experiences anxiety, paranoia, acceptance, then finally peace. The storyline moves reasonably slow due to this, therefore will likely not be for everyone. A good portion of the book is dedicated to unravelling Enya's emotions, although the plot definitely picks up in the second half of the book as the investigation into the hit and run intensifies. I did not expect the reveal in the final few chapters and thought it was a good suprise.

There were moments where I struggled to understand why certain situations would negatively affect Enya's emotional state. In one instance, she has a panic attack after speaking with her husband; the reason behind this confused me, I was unsure why she reacted so severely to what he'd said.

I enjoyed the different references to Irish folklore, including the significant days throughout the year (e.g winter solstice). I hadn't previously heard of a rag tree, and I admired how Enya's perception of it changed. It was incredibly relevant to her life, and I liked learning about the symbolic meaning and importance of the tree to Irish culture.

Overall, this was a really good story.
Into the storm is the second book by Cecelia that I've read, and it has established her as an author I will continue to follow.

It's beautifully written, and I am rating it 4/5☆.

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this book*

My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Enya Pickering is a GP who is struggling. Struggling in her relationship with her cold and selfish husband, struggling with maintaining a connection to her 15 year old son, and mostly struggling with approaching the age her mother her mother was when she drowned, and the feeling that she faces impending doom.
The book opens with Enya driving home in a fierce storm, with limited visibility on narrow Irish roads, when suddenly she comes upon a taxi driver flagging her down saying there is an injured person on the road. The person is the same age as Enya's son Finn, and whilst the paramedics eventually turn up and take him to hospital, the act of resuscitating him in the storm, the water, the cold, the feeling that the boy on the road was her son, and the oddness of the taxi driver and subsequent questioning by the gardai all lead to Enya leaving her husband and taking a posting in a small village.
Her house in the village has a 'rag tree' in the garden and it is this element of weaving Irish folkore into the story that gives it added interest. We can't quite figure out what is going on in Enya's mind, is she going mad? Or is something more sinister happening?
I read this book in one sitting, Cecelia Ahern is a very accomplished author and keeps the story moving, and I loved how 3 dimensional the characters were, with no one being all good, or all bad. I didn't predict the ending at all, but then again, I wasn't trying to, I was just enjoying the story and along for the ride.