I have really mixed views on this one.
LOVE the cover - this drew me in from the outset. So refreshingly different.
Really enjoyed the first half - meeting Nova and Kate as they both embark on a traumatic journey - Kate in an abusive and unhealthy marriage, and Nova for the first time in her life having sight and vision. What should be a WOW moment for her in the eyes of everyone but her turns out to be a hugely life changing time, and not always for the best.
Nova and Kate meet at the hospital - where Kate is recovering from a brain injury following " a fall" and Nova as she is finding her new sight. They click immediately and embark on a really touching loving friendship.

But Kates troubles at home are likely to derail things - and this is where I started to struggle a bit - as the truth emerges about her husband the tension really started to build, but it never really went anywhere, and I was left a bit disappointed by the final third of the book where it didn't really know if it was a thriller, or a love story.

Although beautifully written and with a unique premise, I found this story ultimately disappointing.

There are some wonderful passages and insights into what it must be like to lose sight, or regain it. These elements are written with a delicacy of hand and mind that make them worth re-reading, there and then. It's when we come to the longer storyline that I start to struggle.

Love story - yes, lovely.
Sight story - brilliant.
Abuse story - weak. This is the element that lacked veracity for me, not because it couldn't happen, but because the writer didn't make me feel any anxiety, any tension or frustration. It was all rather 2D, which in a novel where vision and feeling are closely interwoven, is rather disappointing.

Nova is a police interpreter, blind since birth, who ends up in hospital after having an operation to help her see. Architect Kate is in a just-beginning-to-struggle marriage and ends up in hospital after hitting her head hard. Their paths cross and a friendship forms...

This book was two things for me - first, the developing friendship between Nova and Kate, mixed in with Nova's Rules for Seeing as she adjusts to a brand new world for her - a sort of literary romance; secondly, Tony's growing anger towards Kate and her fear of him - a contemporary suspense.

The former was nice and enjoyable although occasionally frustrating. While I appreciated the silence and peace the women had with each other, and the slow exploration of Kate's feelings (and recognition of them), I found it hard to believe that the women lived together for a month without having any major discussion about what they were. Women talk. A lot!

Also, Nova worries a few times that Kate has too many problems for her to deal with and walks away a couple of times - this is totally reasonable. No one is responsible for another person's issues. But I'm not sure I believed, the further we got into the book, that there was room for Nova to have genuine love or affection for Kate when she so easily left? I did find myself wanting them to always come back together, though. They had real chemistry.

As to the suspense element, I found Tony was in danger of becoming that cliched villain who pops up at every turn. Saying that, I do know there are men out there who behave like this, who kill their wives and loved ones over pretty much nothing at all, or some sense of ownership.

I suppose, once again, I was left feeling that some proper discussion/going to the police sooner, could've resolved the Tony issue quite quickly (he seemed to have the same reputation at work in the police as at home).

So overall, the writing was lovely, Nova in particular was an AMAZING character (a book just about her would be splendid), I was left occasionally with the niggling feeling that some moments where they realistically would've talked/opened up/gone to police were left out to extend the conflict.

I did enjoy the book and it's worth reading for Nova and her Rules alone, but I think some people will get more out of it than me.

A stunning debut novel, somewhat harrowing in places but beautifully written with a tangible sense of hope throughout. An uplifting love story with a dark underbelly.
The Rules of Seeing is literally about seeing; the obvious, the ordinary and the obscure - both physically and psychologically.

A tender, thought-provoking read that made me think about the simple act of seeing in a whole new light.. Although the pacing of this book was slightly unusual it was somehow in-keeping with Kate and Nova's story. I was particularly drawn to Nova - she's such a warm, vibrant character and I enjoyed experiencing/seeing the world through her eyes.

An interesting read but I found it difficult to engage with the main characters and found the story quite difficult to follow as it moves back and forth in time quite often.

I thought from reading the blurb that this would be a book I would enjoy reading. The idea of a book about a blind woman whose sight is restored sounded enlightening – how she learned to interpret what she can see, having been born blind. And I did enjoy that aspect of this book. It does give an excellent insight into Nova’s struggle to cope emotionally with a world she can now see as well as hear and touch, and learning what it all means. And I liked the Rules of Seeing that she compiles from her experiences, although I think they are only loosely linked to the main story.

But, this isn’t just the story of a blind person learning to see and it’s not the main focus of this book which is Kate’s relationship with her husband and with Nova, and I didn’t like Kate’s story; the violence and anger of her husband, Tony was hard to read. If this had been referred to in the blurb I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book. I also found the pace very uneven and by the end of the book I thought it was too drawn out and I just wanted it to end.

One of the drawbacks of reading a review copy prior to publication is that you can’t read the beginning of a book. And if I had read the opening pages I wouldn’t have chosen it. It is in the present tense – there are some books that work well for me in the present tense and it certainly helps if I like the plot, but this isn’t one of them. I didn’t like the constant changes of scene -a bit like watching a drama or film where the action is filmed with a hand-held camera constantly changing focus, zooming in and out. It makes me feel claustrophobic. The use of the present tense in this book made me feel I was watching TV with the audio description turned on, explaining what is happening on screen.

It’s a pity as the basic concept is good and the characters came over as real people. I’m sorry I just couldn’t like it.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for my copy of this book for review.

This book was a beautiful story about love and life and I love every single word of it. Of course, I hate bits about it too, but those are the bits that something bad is happening.
The storyline itself, is beautiful. I love how it connects two completely different people and pushes them through happy times and bad time and separate times but they always somehow end up together again or meeting up again.
The main characters are great as well. I love Nova, who as a grown woman can still act so carefree and so excited about everything. Then again, she used to be blind. And then there's Kate who needs help but does not realize it. I love the relationship between them and how they connect so well. I hate Tony and everything he put them through and I really dislike Rebecca, mainly because she just seems like a bitch.
It's been a while since I've read a book that has romance, action, suspense, and other genres included in them and this one just totally works.
I would read this again in a heartbeat and I recommend it to you all!

Nova was born blind but her brother persuades her to have an operation to restore her sight. She meets Kate in hospital after Kate’s abusive husband has knocked her unconscious and the 2 form an unlikely friendship. Part thriller, part romance, part study of the difficulties of being blind and the disorientation of suddenly being able to see things but not know what they are. I found the story dragged a little in places but it was well worth reading for the insight into the problems of suddenly being able to see after you’ve spent your whole, fiercely independent, life coping with not being able to see.

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.