It wasn't a poorly written novel, and the premise was a little intriguing but it just wasn't for me in the end. ...................

A good story beautifully conceived and written.
I have read this I one setting as it was impossible to put down... excellent read.

Emotionally gripping and hard to put down. Interesting characters to follow through this web of secrets and deceit. Intriguing with all of the twists and turns that are in the story. Good read.

This is very much a family drama with lots of hidden secrets.

It’s emotional but not always sad. Does make you invest in this family though like you belong to them no matter how dysfunctional.

Secrets are in families, and they sometimes need to be, but, a lot are destructive and knock the core of family life if you let it.

This isn’t a fast paced book, to the contrary this is an ease book which you need to savour at a slow pace to get the most from it.

This author was very good at drawing me in. It’s a book I’ll remember for quite a while.

This booked sucked me and I couldn't have been happier! The story revolves around 3 siblings, Willow, Charity and Hope, and is told through multiple perspectives. I thought the book gave the characters a lot of dimension and the detail was very engaging. I did find that it dragged a little in some places and just wanted to see the story keep moving. As the title suggests, this novel explores secrets and how whether they are big or small, they can really affect a lifetime. While it's hard to discuss much more than that without giving the plot away, it really was a wonderfully crafted story. I think if you enjoy domestic suspense, you will like this one!

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I came across this book whilst browsing Netgalley looking for something different to read. The synopsis caught my attention, and if I was flipping through channels and this was a movie I would have watched it.

I can’t say I found it particularly gripping or emotional. By half way through I was bored with the plot. I’m usually wary of books that claim things like “the most emotional gripping thing you will ever read!” (or along those lines) in a title headline. It’s always seemed unnecessary to me. Let the novel stand on its own and let the readers judge. Don’t bombard the title lines with crap like that. It’s annoying! (Certainly is to me, anyway). I don’t remember seeing that bit when I initially requested the title).

The story focuses on a then and now method of telling. There were initially three sisters, Hope, Charity and Faith who lived in a small English village by the sea, where they hung out with their mate Niall. In their late teens Faith is tragically killed in an accident, Niall the guilty driver. In 2016 Charity’s daughter Willow has returned to the cottage where Charity lived with Hope looking for some answers about her mother’s past. Charity had an interest in diving looking for underwater forests. So does her daughter. Aunt Hope is stingy with information and comes off as quite cold. Charity is deceased as well now and Willow has mostly been raised by Aunt Hope. Clearing out the cottage Willow finds some things about Niall and Charity and sets off to find out more, especially since Niall is now a big name in underwater forest diving and photography.

The then chapters tell the story taking place in the late 1980s of when Charity and Hope are living together running a little café in the same town they’ve always lived in. Charity still wants to do her diving, but it’s more a hobby these days, she’s a social worker whilst Hope is a budding poet/writer. The town is captivated by dazzling rich new comers David and Lana when Charity inadvertently winds up rescuing Lana from a car accident. Getting to know the couple, Niall winds up coming back into the picture and before long sparks are flying.

The novel flips between the stories of Charity and Niall, David, Lana and Hope in the past, whilst in the presence Willow is following in Charity’s footsteps going along what appears to be the same route Charity took in her youth. There seemed to be a lot more going on in Charity’s storyline. She’s developing strong feelings for Niall which brings up a mess of emotion due to Faith’s tragic accident, which is Hope is furious about. Then there’s David, there’s intense chemistry between them, not helped by ditzy Lana who’s a total lush by this point with her own problems.

I did find the plot got a little repetitive. It’s the same troubling feelings for Charity over and over. I can understand where she’s coming from. Some of the little twists in Willow’s chapters are trying to be deep and emotional, and again I can understand why but there was just something missing for me. To be fair the twist at the end revolving around some secrets before and after Faith died were quite a surprise I didn’t see coming. One character was considerably more twisted than they appeared.

There was an awful lot of it about underwater forests and diving which kind of made my eyes gloss over a bit. Though there was some interesting info in the author’s note for those interested in looking into more about the subject. I did like the sense of family and togetherness between Charity and her sister Hope, and later on echoed in the relationship between Willow and Hope. Though there was just something kind of “meh” about the whole thing for me.

It wasn’t really a bad book, just not my taste in the end, I guess.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for granting my wish to view the title.

This was an interesting read by a new author to me. The story hooked me in from the get go. And the ending surprised me. There were spots the story dragged a bit but nothing that kept me from finishing the book.

I look forward to reading more by Tracy Buchanan in the future.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I couldn’t finish this book, I like the author’s writing and have enjoyed many of their books before but this one wasn’t one I could get into. I will try again when the author’s next book is released as I am a fan of theirs.