This brilliant story takes you on a journey and gives a fantastic insight into how it would feel to not be able to see, it will also make you realise just how much you take for granted.
It is heartwarming yet emotional rollercoaster of a story that will leave an imprint on you for some time.

I have seen this book advertised and after reading the blurb really wanted to read it. What a book, this story talks about Nova who is born without vision and is holding down a job as an interpreter, living independently and having a fun life with her friends. Nova is happy and well adapted until her brother mentions an operation to her that may enable her to see, through this she has a chance meeting with Kate in a hospital waiting room. Through this chance meeting a friendship transpires that takes them both on individual journeys whilst forging a friendship between them.

A fantastic book that takes you on a journey with fantastic insight of what it would be like not to be able to see and all the things you take for granted. This book is heart warming, it makes you want to cry and it makes you hold your breathe. A truly brilliant story that leaves a firm in print after you finish reading it and takes you on an emotional roller coaster with Nova & Kate.

A highly recommended read with brilliant character descriptions and written with fantastic empathy and brilliant insight.

A great story that really addresses the challenges of impaired vision and makes you realise that life isn't a bed of roses having it repaired! Plus a lot of emotionally challenging moments dealing with other issues and relationships around this.

Nova was born blind but when she ends up getting an operation to restore her sight, she wakes up to a whole new world and one in which she needs to learn everything all over again. Kate on the other hand finds herself dealing with anxiety after an accident that’s left her with a lot of questions. Nova brings Kate light again but Kate may be bringing Nova down and soon, tough decisions have to be made.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It’s written really well, and easy and I fell into the story really quickly so it moved at a great pace for me and after a couple hours I was already halfway through. Nova is a character that is very easy to like - she’s fun, bubbly, infectious and from the moment we meet her, when she’s still blind, she’s the type of person you know would make your life better and make you happy.

I really like Nova’s individual storyline and her journey of rediscovery and relearning everything about the world now that she could see again. I never really thought about hard it must be for people with bad sight to suddenly be able to see clearly, and everything they would have to learn to just get about everyday. I also loved some of Nova’s observations about sight, particularly when it came to how food looked compared to how great it smelled.

I would have liked more of Nova’s job to be in the novel, particularly before her operation. I feel like the whole ‘she can tell people are lying by their voice’ thing was sold in the blurb and made it sound like it was a bigger point in the book when really it was a non-entity. Nova’s job wasn’t important at all, and I was disappointed by that as it sounded really cool to me.

I definitely had a hard time warming up to Kate as a character but she is definitely going through the wringer, even more so than Nova and is not in a good place in her life before. I did like the friendship and romance that sparked between the two but the second part of the book when the romance was heavier completely fell apart for me and i stopped enjoyed the book so much.

I felt like the story became a bit drawn out, and I was ready for it to be over. As a reader, I felt like i was waiting for the super obvious thing to happen for ages, and even when it did eventually happen, it was just so all over the place and almost over the top, I didn’t enjoy it at all.

The first half was much stronger than the second, which was a real pity.

I started this one with high hopes, but I'm afraid it just didn't gel with me at all. The story seemed to speed up and slow down at a whim - one minute Nova was discussing the possible operation with her brother, the next she was getting the bandages removed and he was nowhere to be seen (apologies for the pun).
Kate's husband was there when she was hurt but, as a serving officer, left her alone with a head injury and didn't seem to be around when she was in hospital or when she was released.
I kept hoping that the story would suddenly 'click' with me but, in all honesty, I found it a bit pretentious and eventually just gave up.

This book was really thought provoking. How would you adjust to seeing for the first time after years of being blind? It was very well written and left me thinking for a long time after finishing it.

I first saw the cover for The Rules of Seeing by Joe Heap in Twitter and I was drawn in by the simplistic, unique cover with the green textures rabbit which was strange and after reading the synopsis I was desperate to read this debut novel.

Nova has been blind from birth but this hasn’t stopped her from securing a job as an interpreter for the met and she has an active social life too. When her brother approaches her about an operation that would mean she would gain sight Nova is hesitant, she doesn’t miss what she has never known but as she talks with those close to her she makes the decision to have the operation.
It is whilst Nova is recovering from her operation that she meets Kate who has been admitted to hospital after falling backwards and hitting her head. Nova and Kate strike up a strong friendship, putting their trust in each other and being each other’s rocks in their time of need.
What a thought provoking read, I realise how much I have taken my sight and hearing for granted after having an insight into the day to day challenges people with visual disabilities face. We go one step further with Nova though as the operation wasn’t about regaining sight it was about having her sight for the first time and how disturbing it can be as they she has to learn everything from scratch as she has never known what a person looks like or that as people walk away they look like they are shrinking. Joe Heap as described in such fine and precise detail the difficulties that Nova was facing.
The author brings a touch of humour to the storyline through Nova who has a wicked sense of humour one particular part that got me was the discovery of a pineapple!
Both Nova and Kate are very strong and intelligent women which made me sympathetic of their situations but I didn’t pitty them I just willed them to find a happy ending.
There is a disturbing and somewhat sinister side to the storyline that centres around domestic abuse which gave a slight thriller feel to the book towards the second half of the book.
I think this is a praiseworthy debut with an original and unique storyline that will educate readers and pique their interest as well as raise awareness to the difficulties of living with any form of visual impairment. I know this one will stay in my mind for a long time to come. I look forward to reading future releases by Joe Heap.

An interesting read which makes you think about how you take for granted seeing the world around you. You feel sympathy for the two main characters and want to find out how things workout for them.

This is a really well written book and I was not expecting the different themes that this book was going to cover. The topics of domestic violence, starting a relationship post marriage breakup, challenges of seeing after spending a lifetime being unable to are all written about with such intricate detail and at times the descriptions are so realistic that you can picture every scene being described.

A book that began with originality and intrigue somehow ended up as a cliche. The writing was fine and the inner emotions described with sensitivity but unfortunately the plot line became very predictable.

An operation gives Nova her sight , she has been blind since birth, and so this has got to be a wonderful thing right? Unfortunately it isn’t as plain ailing as one might have imagined however and Nova struggles with her new sense and is not sure she has done the right thing with having the op. Whilst at the hospital she meets Kate who is married to a violent policeman, just how violent he is becomes apparent later in the story. The women’s relationship evolves and changes until they become firm partners.

Interesting reading, a bit scary at times, a book that pr9motes empathy and explores relationships and the importance of being true to oneself.

Both Kate and Nova felt very real to me. I loved how they struggled to overcome their personal challenges, and failed several times, in such a human way. Their relationship was sweet and natural, and the gentle humour between them was endearing.

I enjoyed experiencing the world through Nova’s eyes - it made me appreciate things in a new way. The writing was fresh and the pace of the story was just right.

This is a tale of Kate and Nova. Nova is blind but undergoes an operation to give her sight. Kate is an architect and wife of Tony, her abusive husband. Kate and Nova meet and help each other get through their trauma. It's a love story and a story about coping with the unexpected. It's very sweet. Tony is a very scary character. I would really recommend this book.

A fantastic read. Thoroughly enjoyed this and it is not something I would usually pick up. Will look for more from this author in future.

The Rules of Seeing by Joe Heap a four-star read that will make you look differently. What a great debut, the author has done a great job of making you see how hard I can to cope when you finally get the thing everyone thinks will make you normal. In this case its Nova and her sight, even though she already has a great life, she speaks five languages and has talents that you can’t imagine, but when she gets the operation you see how she struggles and Nova has been a great character that you will be behind all the way through. The other main character Kate has a hard but great story, and together they will make you see the way they see life together. It’s a refreshing and honest read, making you see life isn’t always what you see.

From the blurb I read, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get on with this book as it wasn’t my normal genre but I’m so glad I tried. This book really is incredible, a beautiful story of friendship and love, told with such imaginative description that you really feel you are seeing things through the characters eyes. It was a joy to read

**3.5 Stars **

Nova has been blind for her entire life - she’s 32 years old and is about to undergo a new procedure that will enable her to see the world around her for the first time ever. This should be an amazing time for Nova, but she’s scared that she won’t be able to cope with all the new experiences that come with seeing. She’s an intelligent young lady, an interpreter, who speaks five languages, and works for the Metropolitan Police.

Nova’s fears about not understanding or coping with her new life are realised, and it’s not until she meets Kate that she believes she can learn to overcome her problems. Kate though has some scary times ahead, and little do they know, but the clock is ticking for both of them!

First off I have to say what an amazing job the author did in describing Nova’s difficulties, of having to learn how to live as a sighted person. It’s certainly not as simple as it would appear to be, and situations presented themselves that I would never have imagined. I thought the narrative was a little slow at times, but I was intrigued to see what would happen within the relationship, and there were some extremely tough and scary times ahead. I can only thank the author though, for allowing me to ‘see’ and understand the world in a completely new light.

*Thank you to Netgalley, and HarperCollins UK for my ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *

This is a beautifully written book, it is quite harrowing at times but I enjoyed reading it. It made me realise how difficult it would be for someone who has always been blind to see and learn everything all over again.

I really struggled with this, felt like it took me ages to read, didn't really get the story or the husbands role in it, I'm sure some people will love it, just enough to keep me interested but I was glad to finish it, wasn't my cup of tea

The rules of seeing, depends who you are. Nova is born blind but her brother Alex is a doctor who hears of a new procedure that may be able to give her her sight back a no brainer you may think but then i have never been blind so the thought of sight is well known to me. However being blind and having never seen or only seen the odd shape and light of a sort to have to learn to see is a new world that you have never known or ever expected to know is scary and a big step into the unknown.
Kate had sight but having been married for two years to a policeman or rather a detective from the Yard who is becoming a scary man rather than a loving man, you'd have thought after this first violent indecent she would leave but as is often the case she didn't. Something else you need to know about Nova is she is very good at languages and as such had worked for the police as a interpreter for the last ten years (and yes will know the violent man called Tony that's married to Kate but that's not to relevant for now).
The story takes a time in a very good way, so for the first few chapters they are shared with the telling of Novas story then Kates till they collide well meet actually at a hospital appointments they have with the same doctor at the hospital. Nova is having to learn to see and it is a lot more to it than you'd think but i will let you read her account as it is impossible to understand in the few words a review has space for. Kate's life is traumatic as is any when the person who is meant to love, cherish and protect becomes the cause of all your pain and fears. I guess all lives that implode and become the opposite to what you expert take a lot of adjustment and will be to two people experiencing the same thing all be it in very different ways. So they have something to give but will also need some take and that is the best way i can think of to sum up the first half of this book which looks at several issues including the most important of all i think that of love. However i will stop here with the story and let you read for yourself but just say that i loved this book in many ways and learnt a lot even though i really choose to read more to escape in to a book but found i got a lot more than an escape which has made this book a even greater pleasure even through there is pain as with any good thriller its needed to get there. But if you read it i hope you will understand that as i now do i think.
Thanks Joe Heal and NetGalley and hope you enjoy and understand my honest review.