Finding Eva

I found this a gripping read throughout which soon draws you into the storyline.

This is the first book I have read by this author but I don't think it will be the last, I found it hard to put down and I highly recommend it, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Finding Eva is about how Eva has coped with being brought up in foster care and how it has affected her right through to adulthood. It is about her wanting to find out why her parents didn’t ever come back for her. We get to know Celia, who was brought up in the same foster home as Eva and we meet Gareth, Eva’s now ex boyfriend. I enjoyed learning about each of the characters personalities and how their childhoods had made them the way they are now., even though none of them are likeable. There are a few twists in the story which added to the intensity. I found myself on tenterhooks leading up to the end. I would recommend this book.

Enjoyable read. I enjoyed reading the chapters from the point of view from the different characters and how they developed as the book went on. I did guess one of the twists early on, although not all the details (I assumed it had been accidental!) However, some twists came as a pleasant surprise and contributed to the enjoyment of the book.. I would welcome reading books by this author in the future.

The story flicks between three characters. Eva, Gareth and Celia. It was good to see the point of views from each person as you really get a sense of them and how things affect them individually.

Eva hasn't had the stablest of home life's being taken from her real family and put into care. I could understand why she would want to find her real parents and having lots of unanswered questions. I was very intrigued to find out why Eva had cut herself from everyone, especially her closest friend.

This is such a dark and brooding read. The author has a knack of drawing you in so that before you know it she has you hooked and unable to put the book down even if you wanted to. As things start to be revealed, well I just let the author take me hostage and stayed within the pages until I got to the end. There are a fair few lies and secrets to be revealed and I was dying to find them all out.

Finding Eva is a story full of suspense that you don't quite know what you're walking into. The author is a good story teller and kept me enthralled throughout. I really enjoyed this book and if you haven't yet red any of the authors books, then I highly recommend you doing so.

This book took some getting into and slightly confused me as to who was telling the story so much so I had to check back on occasion to the title of the chapter as to whose turn of the story it was. But that said once it settled into a rhythm it was a fairly engrossing read. The twists and turns make you want to keep going.
The story tells of how the care system can affect two people who live together in the same environment can turn out so differently, but the back story of how they came to be together gives you more insight into why they are who they are.
Finding her birth parents is the end game for Eva with Celia dogging her every move as she reaches her goal.
Unfortunately for Eva Celia has her own agenda and as she spirals out of control she takes Eva with her.
The story ends on an unexpected twist that you thought would happen but you have to keep reading to confirm it and even then it still throws you yet another twist.

I really enjoyed this book. It had me gripped and I found myself getting lost in it which is a great sign for me of a good read. I hadn't read any books by this author but I'm now on the look out for her others. Highly recommended.

Eva was given away as a baby, unwanted by her parents who were unable to cope with a child at that time. Having had a successful career in finance in London she has sold her flat and moved to Whitby where she believes her parents are living. Whilst in London she had a relationship with Gareth- a turbulent one to say the least. She found respite in the bottom of a bottle and now wishes to put all of this behind her although she does miss Gareth and finds herself calling him more than she feels she should. This is a very descriptive read. Something I wouldn’t normally go for but this is done somehow in a different way. The descriptions drew me in both to the character and the situation- the mark of a good author in my humble opinion. Chapters alternate between three main characters- Eva, Gareth and Celia. Celia is Eva’s lifelong friend whom she was in foster care with. Celia has always had a protective wing over Eva and when she moves without telling her just knows that something is amiss and goes to find her. A book to savour if you enjoy detailed characterisations. In some ways not a lot happens, other than in the minds of the characters- their thoughts of the past and how they want to put things right or confront a situation where they feel they have been wronged. A very clever plot and and ending that made me smile and left me thinking. A wonderful, different read.

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I’m a sucker for watching the tv programme Long Lost Family so this blurb sucked me right in. Someone looking for their birth parents I find intriguing but of course this is fiction so I knew I was gonna get a good story.

Eva has spent most of her childhood in foster care. The need to find her birth parents is strong so after breaking up with her boyfriend Gareth Eva takes herself to Whitby to look for them.
Celia is Eva’s friend who has been through the foster care system with Eva.

Although I found this a tad slow to start off with I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a really well written story full of suspense. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Wow just wow. J.A. Baker has written a truly riveting book. I was hooked from the very first page and just couldn't stop reading much to the annoyance of my dog Fiona who was clearly insisting that I take her outside. Now or else. LOL. Definitely pick up this winner of a book if you love tense and emotional stories. This will definitely hit that spot. Happy reading!

A good book, well developed and tense, I prefer more of a psychological type thriller than this type, but still was able to get into and enjoy this story. It had the tense, taught, twisty nature I enjoy.
I will be recommending and using in a daily challenge in Chapter Chatter Pub.

Finding Eva is J.A. Baker's fourth novel and I found myself horrified that I seem to have missed one, something I shall need to rectify immediately. It is only 18 months or so since J.A. Baker released her debut, Undercurrent, so it is amazing that she is currently working on her fifth novel. What a writing machine! So I couldn't wait to see what Finding Eva is all about.

Eva has left London and headed North to find her birth parents. Eva has left under a cloud after breaking up with her boyfriend, Gareth, and not telling her best friend, Celia, that she was leaving. So Gareth and Celia follow Eva to Whitby, both of them desperate to find Eva for very different reasons. Gareth could kill Eva for what she did to him, and he just might if he gets his hands on her, but what did she do? I certainly couldn't read fast enough to find out! Celia, meanwhile, is quite another matter and she really creeped me out. She sees herself as Eva's soul sister as they were both brought up in care, but with similarities in appearance, it is clear that Celia doesn't just want to be like Eva, she wants to be her. Creepy!

With Gareth and Celia chasing down Eva, the story is told from these 3 different perspectives. Each character has their own motivations which taints their point of view so it's up to the reader to decide which one is nearest to the truth. I really felt for Eva as she just wants to meet her birth parents and find out why they gave her away but, after reading the first chapter, I also worried whether she had some ulterior motive for visiting Whitby.

There's always a keen sense of place in J.A. Baker's novels and Finding Eva is no exception, set on the cold and wet cobbled streets of Whitby, a little fishing village in North Yorkshire. The setting seems to add to the suspense as Eva finds nowhere to hide, despite there being plenty of narrow alleyways and lots of people visiting during the famous goth weekend.

I found this book a little darker and more menacing than J.A. Baker's previous novels but there is so much suspense that it's virtually impossible to put down. Finding Eva is chilling, suspenseful, dark and menacing; it's another superb book by J.A. Baker.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Being in foster care for most of her life, Eva is searching for her birth parents and when she finally finds her birth mother, not only her life is at stake. The first half of the book was a little slow and I had to make myself read on a few times. But when Celia is introduced, things pick up and get more interesting and I found, I couldn't stop reading. In the end I'm glad I didn't quit, 'cause it proved to be a really good book.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books!