Holly Seddon is going from strength to strength. I loved her previous books but Love Will Tear Us Apart (nice to see the song-title-as-book-title tradition continuing and a great one to choose, though a Smiths title would also have been fitting) feels like a new departure.

It’s a book about love in its many forms - the story of Kate and Paul and their history together and apart, as children and as adults, but also their relationships with others around them. The characterisation is a huge strength with complex, believable characters, particularly Kate, Paul, and Paul’s parents Viv and Mick. I found it to be a beautifully structured, compelling and at times emotional read which unfolds satisfyingly and ends with a genuine sense of resolution.

Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

We've all done it. When your so young that you can't possibly fathom what your life will look like 20 years from now, you feel safe in making a promise with a friend that you don't think could ever come around needing to be kept. But what if it does? Do you keep your word? Hope they've forgotten? Can something done out of keeping ones word ever really work out? How big does a secret have to be to dismantle everything you thought you knew of a life long friend? Love Will Tear Us Apart asks all these questions and then some. I recommend reading this book to find the answers! Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to preview this book!

Paula and Kate have been friends since they were very young and then one day they made a promise to each other’s. Now ten years later, married to each other with two children Kate has found something out from their past that could potentially ruin everything between them.

This is a lovely easy read which is told in a time frame about Kate and Pauls lives in both present and past times, however it is easy to follow. It is set from the 80’s onwards and I loved the way all the bands and trends at that time were weaved into the story.

I absolutely loved both Paul and Kate, they were very likeable and could easily have been myself or any of my friends in that era. I enjoyed reading about their lives, feeling both happiness and sadness as I kept reading about them. Now the book has finished I will miss them.
Many thanks to a Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Love Will Tear Us Apart is a moving story about friendship, loyalty, motherhood and love. It illustrates how easily we can be misled when we can't communicate with each other for whatever reason.

Kate and Paul have been friends since they were children and one day make a promise to each other. Ten years into their marriage Kate is about to reveal a secret to Paul. that she fears will pull them apart. Holly Seddon writes with understanding of the human condition and I enjoyed her portrayals of Kate, Paul and Paul's parents particularly. I would have liked a better knowledge of Kate's mother and father. The reason I give the book 4* is that I found the reveal of the secret rather weak but fans of Holly Seddon's writing will not be disappointed. Thanks to NetGalley and Corvus/Atlantic Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A really lovely story about marriage and relationships. A plot twist is teased throughout and whilst I was disappointed with the final reveal I did still enjoy the book overall.

I’ve read a couple of books by Holly Seddon now and will be sure to look out for more in the future.

4 Stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Holly Seddon and Atlantic Books Corvus for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely, easily readable story of heartache, pain, love and friendship. The characters were well developed and very believable. At times I found the flashbacks overlapped and repeated themselves but on the whole they allowed the reader to understand the bond and friendship between Katie and Paul and how Katie's relationship developed with her own parents and with Paul's. I was frustrated with the teasing of the letter and kept turning the pages in the hope of finding out what was in it! When it eventually came out I was too emotionally tied up in the circumstances surrounding why it was being told to take it in immediately and had to re-read it several times! This was the first book that I have read by this author but will definitely want to read more.

My Review For "Love Will Tear Us Apart"


Sometimes a promise becomes a prison, a marriage can feel like a business contract, if you made a promise should you Honour that promise no matter how long ago that promise was made? because sometimes love can tear us apart!

Childhood friends Kate and Paul have seen it all they know each other inside and out they know each others likes & dislikes & despite being from two different financial backgrounds Kate going to a private girls school and Paul going to local comprehensive school they become thick as thieves best friends with Kate even becoming like a Daughter to his parents, they was even each others escape there safety net there safe place!

So they made a childhood vow that if they was both still single by the time they reach thirty years old they will marry each other, as the years go by that promise locked away they each go there separate ways to university but like always they are not apart for long and as Kate gets Paul a job at her work place and he moves with her in her flat in London, with Kate feeling the pressure at work and having casual sexual encounters with her boss and with Paul being there again as a shoulder to cry on and with now with the deadline of their 30th birthdays fast approaching Paul asks Kate to marry him and she says yes! " a promise is a promise after all"

Now, on the eve of their 10th wedding anniversary with two beautiful children they will discover that love between men and women can be more harder & complicated no matter what promises was made. As Kate struggles with a secret that shocked her a secret that reaches far back into the past she plans to reveal to Paul on there anniversary dinner. but will this secret shatter everything they have thought for the promises that were made, after all these years after all they have been through will this secret be the key to open Pandora's box will it leave them thinking "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

WOW!! that's the first thing that comes to my mind after reading! Love Will Tear Us Apart" Holly Seddon has this magical ability to bring the reader in to the pages of her books it's like the moment you open the book your sucked deep in to the pages that you can feel the pain the joy the sadness and the happiness of the characters you will laugh with them cry with them your heartstrings will be pulled you will feel apart of there lives you will feel you know them know whats best for them and that is what makes a Holly great writer Holly's last book "Don't Close Your Eyes" has a big space in my heart and i still think about the Characters now, but "Love Will Tear Us Apart" will have a place too, love comes in so many forms sometimes love can test you make you brake you and sometimes Love can tear us apart! i loved this book to be honest i didn't want it to end i wanted to keep reading i needed to had to know what happened next but now i know i understand what i thought would happen didn't it twisted and turned down another road i did not expect! i want to congratulate Holly Seddon on an amazing 3rd book you have pulled my heartstrings again i had a lump in my throat holding back the tears " i know i sound like i cry all time time" after each of your books i always say its going to be hard to top that but you have done it again well done and i hope this will be another hit for you! ill look forward to your next book! id love to Review that too :)

This beautiful story about childhood friends who grow up, marry and have a family, whilst keeping emotionally resonant secrets from each other was a wonderful wonderful read. It made me teary at the end and their lives panning out in present time and flashback was pitch perfectly plotted to maximum effect.

Holly Seddon is proving more talented and, for me importantly, more diverse in her storytelling, with each passing novel. I'm a huge huge fan. This is a very different kettle of fish from her last book but just as full of excellence. Loved it.

Full review nearer publication as part of the official tour.