Only Hummingbirds Fly Backwards

This is Rosie Parker's debut novel, and she writes Jake's story, about life after his accident. His life will never be the same, and neither will his family's.
Fifteen months after the accident, Jake's wife, thinks Jake's twin, Ronnie and her family should all go away together on a holiday to France. Life moves on, and life is moving on for them. They decide to go on holiday together, but each one has a different thought about what would help Jake. Reading the story, it is one day at a time. Each day brings something different, and it is trying to figure out who they are now. There is life before the accident and life after the accident. This is a life that they weren't prepared for, but it is the life they have, so, they are trying to figure it out.
It isn't smooth sailing, there are mistakes, there is hurt and anger, and there is love. Rosie Parker, shows us the many facets of their life, as they struggle to move forward, into the unknown. As I was reading the story, I felt like it was their lives unfolding, and you didn't know what was coming until life revealed it. This was an amazing first novel.
I received an ARC from The Book Guild through NetGalley.

This drew me in quickly and there was that instant tension of a drama unfolding. An incredibly well thought out, very original plotline and one I had not foreseen. I turned ever quicker and devoured this- the sign of a gripping, well written read. A captivating, rollercoaster of a book. Loved it.

This is a beautifully written story. It starts with a terrible motorbike accident in which Jake receives life-changing brain damage. The story is then taken up by his twin sister, Ronnie.
The author creates an emotional rollercoaster alternating between the inevitable thoughts of guilt ... of tragedy ... of a personality lost ... but then there is love ... and with love comes hope, and love is the most important thing in all our lives.
I applaud the author for her bravery, and her integrity, and her literary talent.

A really engaging study of the impact of trauma on relationships as well as a cracking plot more generally. Great characters and faultless descriptions make this an easy book to get lost in,

Ronnie and Jake are twins - obviously not identical, but close as. They even have that twin intuition thing going on.

Ronnie lives with her soon-to-be husband and new-born baby, and Jake is happily married with two daughters. One sunny April day, he hops onto somebody else's motorbike to ride home when a horrific crash leaves him lying brain injured on the road.

On hearing the news Ronnie rushes to Jake's bedside. Having once been a physiotherapist, she knows it's bad, and her life threatens to crack apart as she begs him to return to her.

Fifteen months later, it's suggested by Jake's wife that the two families go away to Brittany, France, on holiday. But surely, it's too soon, thinks Ronnie. The tensions and events which follow threaten to rock both Ronnie's marriage and her relationship with her sister-in-law, as she tries to reach Jake. And when secrets from their past begin to surface, will Ronnie seek comfort from another man?

At the heart of it all is Jake, who is more than her brother, he is her twin. Once they floated side by side in their mother's womb. Can Ronnie somehow remind him of the person he once was, or is he changed forever?

The world turns with or without them, a butterfly flaps its wings, and only hummingbirds fly backwards.


This is an amazing first novel.