A heartfelt - say that I did find it challenging to read at times. But it is so beautifully written.
Thank you to both NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending me a eARC of the book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

The description and premise of this book had me eager to read it. The idea of a woman in her 30's suddenly being able to see after being blind from birth was a fascinating subject. In fact, this was the only thing I found fascinating about the book. It was my favourite part and very thought provoking bringing to mind things I had never even considered. Suddenly coming face to face with objects, people and places that only ever figured in a person's imagination and the comparison of the imagined to the real was indeed very interesting. However, the story of Kate and Nova was less so. I did like Nova but just couldn't find much to admire in the character of her friend, later to become her lover. The third sub plot featuring the abusive husband was another strange addition to the book and one that didn't keep my interest. There were a lot of unanswered incidents, e.g. what was the point and/or outcome of the drugs hidden by the husband? What was the outcome of the 'missing' mortgage papers that Kate turned the flat upside down to find without success? Neither of the foregoing was ever referred to again. When Kate and Nova holed themselves up in the flat making 'forts' out of blankets and living in there and engaging in lengthy drawn out conversations it just seemed to lose all credibility for me, I'm afraid. The whole story was long, drawn out and meandering and didn't grip me in any way at all. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity of reading this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This book was a début novel in a class of its own! If I'm honest, I had no real idea of what this book was going to be about but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. "The Rules of Seeing" turned out to be such a thought-proving, smart and deeply intriguing combination of a great love story and dark thriller. I was totally gripped from the very beginning.

I was completely won over by the author, Joe Heap's great writing style and the clever use of drama and dark tension was impressive.

If you have a penchant for inspirational stories with a soupçon of romance and friendship, but also shades of darkness, then this is the book for you!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from HarperCollins UK/ HarperFiction via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Lovely story! Great concept, very well executed. Everyone always assumes that getting your sight after being blind would be an incredible thing, so it was really interesting to explore this alternative approach.

As someone whose blind dog had surgery to restore his sight, the concept of this story intrigued me. It did kind of lose its way slightly in the middle for me but, overall, I liked it. I really liked the character of Nova and I thought the writing relating to her thought processes and the challenges she faced post-surgery was brilliant. It certainly made me contemplate things that, as a sighted person, would never have occurred to me.

3 stars.

What a great premise for a book, the two main characters Nova and Kate are very well developed and I totally fell in love with Nova in particular.

Nova is blind and has been from birth but after having a newly discovered operation her sight is restored and she has to see the world differently.

Kate is married to her husband who works with Nova in the police force, they become friends and I love how the relationship began and developed through the book.

Totally different read to my usual and I really enjoyed it

Very good first novel which is beautifully written with strong characters. Will be looking out for more books by this author.

This is Joe Heap's first novel and I was so looking forward to reading it after hearing so much about it, seeing so many wonderful tweets, and watching an interview with him online.

From a journey of darkness into the light, this book is an incredible account of a lady called Nova, and her determination to see. We learn all about her hopes and dreams of regaining her sight but the issues, frustrations and emotions which she had to deal with once she was able to see. Nova goes from a world which she only knows without sight to a world where she can see and as much as it is very exciting, it is also a very frightening world to live in. Expectations are high but the world can be a totally different place to the one you imagined it would be.

A huge amount of research has gone into this book by Joe Heap and the knowledge we learn about sight and vision is incredible and we should never ever take our vision (or anything) for granted. We live in a digital age where we tend to look at our phones and tablets but in fact we should be looking far more at the world in front of us and around us. Don't walk looking at your phone, don't travel looking at your phone ... instead look out the window, look at what is here and now and appreciate the beauty of the world we live in.

I found The Rules of Seeing to be a very moving emotional but tense love story with lots of surprises and twists. It is a must read that really opens up your world. You learn so much about the two main characters, Nova and Kate and the issues are all dealt with very sensitively. It definitely catches your imagination and keeps you hooked until the end. A great read which I highly recommend.

I look forward to Joe Heap's second book!

This review is based on a NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

I enjoyed this book. Nova has been blind all her life but has just had an operation which has restored her sight. Being able to see needs a huge amount of adjustment and 'training'. At the hospital she meets Kate who has suffered a brain bleed after a fall. Kate is in what is becoming an abusive relationship with her husband Tony. The 2 women become friends. As their friendship develops they support each other through all their difficulties. However, Tony is hell bent on destroying their bond, to the extent that their lives become endangered. This is a love story with a difference, and is a very enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

This book follows the stories of 2 different people, 1 who is blind and the other in an abusive relationship. This story follows Nova who has an operation to see again and how she meets Kate and their lives come together and they fall in love. Nova teaches Kate all different rules of seeing. It makes you think how we actually see but forget about how we have learnt to do this

Nova was born blind but a revolutionary operation gives her the gift of sight, forcing her to follow the rules of seeing that other people naturally understand. Kate is an unhappy architect with a husband who she knows keeps secrets although she doesn't know what those secrets are.

I liked the relationship that developed between Nova and Kate, seeing them navigate Kate's realisation of her sexuality as well as Nova's sight being a gift and a burden all at once.

While I enjoyed the book and found it engaging, I couldn't really work out what kind of book it was, a I suspect that Joe Heap also didn't really think about this. Is The Rules of Seeing a romance? Is it a drama of sight and blindness both physically and romantically? Or is it a thriller? All of these genres could apply to the book but because they all do at different times, it makes for a slightly uneven reading experience.

I need to be honest and admit i struggled a little with this book to begin with, but i soon got into it. We follow the journey of two people who meet whilst in hospital and become friends. One of the characters has been blind from birth. We read from her point of view about the experiences of learning to live with gaining sight after surgery gives her vision. Makes you appreciate being able to see that's for sure.

I loved this book, it was amazing trying to imagine what it must be to see, to not see, to nearly see, and then lose it... so good. The female interactions were also excellent, I honestly forgot this was written by a man, and was surprised when I finished to discover that it was - even though I'd known it at the beginning, that knowledge just slipped away. Recommended

This was really beautiful. Part love story, part thriller, told from the point of view of two women. Nova, the blind woman, was particularly fascinating. Her attempts to learn to see are heart-breaking and lovely. I loved her view point on the world, and on seeing for the first time.

I loved this book. Nova, blind from birth is offered an operation to enable her to see. She’s not sure she wants it as blindness is all that she knows and she copes well.
Kate is in an abusive marriage with a police officer, but is in denial, always finding an excuse for her husband when he hurts her.
The two women meet in hospital and become friends, each wanting to help the other. Their story is together is beautifully and sensitively told. Nova is gay and Kate knows she has feelings for her, but neither woman wants to hurt the status quo and spoil their friendship.
After being badly hurt by her husband, Kate moves into the flat she and her husband are preparing to move to together and begin separate lives. Eventually Nova also moves in and the two women live together platonically - with strong undercurrents running between them. However, Kate’s husband becomes a very dark and threatening cloud on their horizon and the book takes a very dark turn.
You must read this book, there is far more to it and the characters than I have written, and I highly recommend it.

A book of two halves for me. I very much enjoyed the first half where Nova, blind from birth, has her sight restored and finds that seeing is not as easy as we think. Plenty of fascinating detail about how the brain interprets the images it receives - perspective in particular, things moving in different directions at different speeds. As Nova says, learning to assimilate all the information is a full-time job, one that sighted people have been practising all their lives and take for granted. If only the whole novel had been devoted to this process and Nova’s struggle with it I’d have been happy. As it was, the Kate/Tony/Nova interaction took over at the halfway stage and left me cold. I didn’t find the psychological drama at all compelling and wonder really why the author thought to introduce it at all. I’m still thinking about blindness and the issues raised several days later so the book was a success for me in that respect, just a pity the rest of it was underwhelming.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wow what a book, this literally opened my eyes (pardon the pun) in ways it truly did not expect. A beautiful novel, read it you won't be disappointed.

It's a little confusing in places to be honest, you're flicking from one character to another, and also sort of flicking from one time to another at the same time as changing characters. There is a little bit of drifting too - but it does keep the interest of the reader. There are 3 individual stories that eventually merge into one. It's worth keeping at it as it's a good read and there's lots of emotion in there.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Rules Of Seeing’ by Joe Heap in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Nova has been unable to see from birth and her brother Alex recommends she undergoes an operation that could hopefully reverse her blindness. Sight isn’t instantaneous but Nova gradually learns the variations in vision and writes Rules of Seeing to help her to understand and differentiate between shapes and colours. During a visit to her neurologist, Nova meets Kate who suffers problems due to a head injury caused by her controlling husband Tony and their friendship gradually blossoms.

‘The Rules Of Seeing’ is a wonderfully inspiring story of friendship and love between two women, of their trials and tribulations and the problems they face being gay. I loved the characters of feisty and talented Nova who speaks five languages and translates for the police, and architect Kate who has an interior designing business. Their story is beautifully written with love, empathy and warmth and is an absolute joy to read.

I loved this book. Beautifully written, heartbreaking at times, but so wonderful. Although I could never truly understand you get an idea of what it just be like for someone who has never seen to experience the world anew. Such a joy just to read this book


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion