I’m afraid I just didn’t get on with this book. I requested this book because of the beautiful cover, and vague but intriguing synopsis. However the writing just wasn’t engaging for me personally and very slow moving with too much details on the mundane, everyday life and not moving the plot forward. When the plot did move it was a rehash of the usual themes popular in psychological suspense: grieving woman coping through alcohol, with post-partum depression, and a then-and-now narrative structure. I’m afraid this just wasn’t for me.

Leah struggles with the aftermath of tragedy when her husband is suddenly killed. He was only 10 miles from home at the time of the accident yet he told her he was at a conference. As Leah digs into the mystery of what her husband was doing on that fateful day she finds herself slipping deeper and deeper into a situation she can't break free of however much she knows it's wrong.
As a mother, Leah's story broke my heart. Susan Elliot Wright has written a gripping story about a subject that isn't often talked about, postpartum psychosis. A dark tragic tale but thoughtfully written.

I didn't really like this book, it took me a while to get into it and I couldn't gel with any of the characters. I also didn't like the chapters being split between past and present and just found the whole book a toil to read.

Based on this I wouldn't read any more from this author.

I’m not often hugely swayed by covers, but this one is gorgeous and immediately attracted me to the book. The title, too, was intriguing.

(The title refers to Cornelia Blackwood, but the main character is known to all as Leah - the name Cornelia isn’t even mentioned at all until a long way into the story, and this did feel a bit confusing. It isn’t really a secret that Cornelia and Leah are the same person, so I’m not sure why it took so long for her “other name” to be mentioned.)

The story is told in two timelines - present day and not-that-distant past - both narrated by the protagonist, Leah. While this initially felt a little confusing I quickly adjusted to it. So we hear about Leah meeting and marrying her husband, Adrian, and subsequent events... and we hear about Leah in the present, when she is ostracised by many of her neighbours due to some clearly horrendous thing she’s done. Of course, it takes most of the book to find out what the horrendous thing was, and this has the inevitable side effect which I think of as the “‘Casualty’ Syndrome”, whereby you’re on constant tenterhooks waiting for something awful yet inevitable to happen. However, for a long time I did not predict what it would be.

Despite this constant impending doom I found The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood a very compelling, if often distressing, read, very well told with genuine insight and sensitivity. My heart often broke for Leah as I read - I think you’d need a heart of stone not to feel for her. And the ending.... well, it left me in pieces.

You know from very early on there's something wrong with Cornelia... and then you're drip fed what it actually is.
From the distaste of her neighbours and her injuries,I was guessing at a car accident involving a child.
It turns out to be worse than that.
As the story unfolds,going back and forth between present and past,I had sympathy for Cornelia...

Then,she got a bit obsessive,a bit crazy. The real truth is revealed and yours left feeling sorry for her.... 
A book to tug on the heart strings for sur

It took me a while to get in to this book due to the hopping around of time. I didn't really connect with the main character unfortunately

The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood by Susan Elliot Wright is a story of tragedy, loss and being left to cope on your own.
This story is written one chapter in the past and one in the present which did not work for me. I found the book very slow and the character of Cornelia unlikeable.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the description on Netgalley, this novel is a very different novel than what I expected.

Leah is widowed very early on in the novel. She has to dealing with pain and loss, but seems to be ostracised from her neighbours, and has no friends. She is an alcoholic and chain smoker, trying to get back to work after an accident that has left her physically and mentally debilitated.

Leah comes across a puzzling email in her husband’s email account. She sets about investigating the puzzle which sets her off on a very different road than what I thought. Leah turns into a psycho. She befriends Cass and her son Ollie, but as good psycho books go the friendship doesn’t go as Leah hoped it would, which de-stabilises her.

I found this book thoughtful, I really felt for Leah with her accident, and grief of losing her husband, and trying to find normality afterwards when everyone expects you to ‘get on with it’.

As I said its nothing like the description on the cover, but this didn’t stop my enjoying it.

Initially intriguing, absorbing and fast-paced, the book quickly prompts the reader to ask questions: What accident has caused Leah Blackwood to suffer such intense physical pain? What tragedy has resulted in her marriage to Adrian being stretched to breaking point? It can't be that bad-can it? After all, her loyal husband is still there-for a while at least. Where are her children? Why won't her neighbours speak to her? Indeed, the number and range of queries propelled me quickly through the first third of the book with barely time to catch my breath.
However, as my awareness of the technique developed, so did my frustration at being drawn forwards, like the proverbial donkey, with a dangling carrot. My curiosity developed into frustration and consequently my sympathies dissipated.
Perhaps the division of the story between 'Then' and 'Now' was too contrived. Perhaps (despite a strong story-line) the author's unsophisticated attempts to engage the reader with figurative statements (eg, "I rewind it in my head like a film", "she gulped it down like water on a hot day") meant that , far from drawing me in, I found myself focussing too much on the writing style.
Regardless, ultimately I was left feeling that I'd read something akin to 'Single White Female' rather than a novel that appealed to my compassion and tenderness towards the central, damaged character.

I'm afraid i didn't like this at all. The writing I did enjoy and the author's other books were also nicely written. I'm just afraid that the subject matter and the 'mother gone mad' themes were just a little too far done for me and I found it hard to relate to the character. Must everyone with a problem drink heavily and take drugs? That put me off straight away although I was intrigued to know why she's gone down that path. This may well work for others and if you're a mother or having children, there's more than a few chords to be tugged I imagine. It just wasn't for me.

The author starts the book explaining that some of the themes in the book happened to her sadly so it may just be that this is not my cup of tea rather than anything else. I'm sorry she suffered like this!

This book is totally different from what I expected. The chapters alternate between the past and present day. I was totally gripped by Leah's story. Chronic pain is described so well. I think that is what made me empathise with it at the start. Everything is written about sympathetically. This is a memorable book that will stay with me for some time. Post partum depression and chronic pain need to be talked about more in the hope that they can be understood.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

First off, why did I request a copy of this book? Well, for one thing, the cover is stunning! And that really drew me in. Secondly, I was sure I'd heard/seen some mention of it on social media, although I couldn't pinpoint where. I also scanned Goodreads for a quick spy at the reviews and they were all really promising. So I thought I would give it a go - I really want to be better at taking a risk with books, picking up something I haven't heard about before and diving it without looking at the reviews. 

So, I got the book and immediately started reading it. And.... unfortunately, the writing style didn't really do it for me. The pacing was off - it started off really slow, and you would get quite in depth details about her day to day life which wasn't necessary, and then just when it was getting good you would skip forward three months?

The other thing that really grated on me was that throughout the whole book she's called 'Leah.' Now, I'm sure that many of yous would read that and immediately connect it as a shortened form of 'Cornelia.' Well, I did not. Because I would pronounce them slightly differently? Because it was over a half of the way in before it was mentioned that that was her full name? I'd gone through a quarter of the book before I had to go to Goodreads to make sure I was reading the right book! And only then because it was mentioned in reviews - the blurb is the one above so that gives nothing away. Maybe it's just me being slow, but I think that needs changing and clarifying. 

In terms of plot, the story follows Leah as she deals with the death of her husband and the previous deaths of her babies, and then she becomes a little too obsessed with a new child. It revolved around grief, and motherhood, and postpartum depression. 

I just don't think this book was for me. I didn't care too much for the storyline - yes, it was sad, but I'm not overly broody or maternal and so I couldn't relate too much. But my main issue was with the end.

SPOILERS AHEAD

One thing I did like, was how it was highlighted that the death of Leah's daughter - albeit yes, undoubtedly caused by Leah - but it there was considerable focus on the fact she was ill, her depression was altering her thoughts, and she wasn't fully to blame. She wasn't well. 

But...

did she have to kill herself?

I know you can't hate a book for not ending how you wanted it to, or not being the book you wanted it to be, and I don't - sort of - but I find it so defeatist and heartbreaking that she didn't survive, that she didn't get better and build a life, and that this message to other sufferers is almost 'don't bother'

Here a quote from the end:

'It's time. I lower myself onto the ledge below, easily now, and as I look down, I no longer feel any fear. Still smiling, I close my eyes and tip my head back, then I spread my arms like a bird, and with the soft breeze of my babies' breath on my skin, I let myself go.'

Sounds nice, doesn't it? Sounds a bit glorified to me.

I know that stories have to have drama and conflict and devastation in them, otherwise no one would want to read them, but I just feel a lot of mothers will be reading this and it there's already so much tragedy in the world - can we not have a bit of hope.

I also would have liked some answers, how would Cass have reacted if Leah told her about Oliver, was Adrian going to say anything - really, I just wanted more of a concrete ending because I hate having to image things for myself!

Overall, not my book - in terms of plot, characters, pacing, and writing style. Unfortunate really, cause it truly is beautiful!

Katie

Fabulous gripping and heart wrenching book! The main character is somewhat questionable at times and yet I never stopped feeling for her and hoping she would be happy. Highly recommemded

***Trigger warning - death of a child & post partum phychosis***

This book is brilliantly written, it's going to take me a while to be able to shake the story. It's unbelievably raw & takes you on a harrowing journey through the events of Leah.
I feel like I haven't blinked for the last few chapters & definitely need to have a huge cuddle with my child.
I don't write spoilers in my reviews, but this is an excellent read. Extremely fast paced & raw.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

This book is very different from what I expected from the blurb and rather beautiful cover: it feels like a mash-up of all the trending topics in 'women's fiction': a then-and-now alternating narrative, a woman consumed by pain who can't stop talking about her props of painkillers, alcohol and cigarettes, and the usual obsession with babies and motherhood. I felt like I've read the same story before multiple times - and it doesn't help that the author herself admits in her afterword that the scenario of the book 'is an extremely unlikely one'.

Not for me, but if you like 'maternity madness' books then this might be for you.

Leah seems normal enough, getting back to her teaching job while coping with an old back injury. However, Leah hides her past from those around her, a past which holds tragedy. A new tragedy triggers a wave of events which threaten to break her and everyone around her. At times gripping and raw, this was a pacy compelling read.

Slow to start but finishing with a bang, this novel has left me broken. As a mother, this telling of Leah's story really struck a chord. Usually reading YA and science fiction, this was a departure from my norm but it was well worth it.

First off, from the beginning it was obvious that something was 'off' with Leah. Having lost her husband, in a tragic turn of events, her life is turned upside down. In the aftermath, the full extent of the situation is realised when she discovers her husband secretly parented a child while she was locked away receiving treatment.

I found the changing of timelines distracting at first. however by the end, the crescendo of both timelines really packed a punch.

The character building was better than average, although I didn't particularly start to relate to Cornelia until around half way through when the truth about her babies was really beginning to be told. I felt that Diane could have had a little more involvement earlier on so as to introduce her prior to Leah's fall from grace. I could feel Leah's isolation, her frenzied thinking in the final pages

Setting the story in a quaint English town felt right for the narrative. - had it been set somewhere larger such as Manchester or London, the story would not have been able to take the same course. The small setting allowed a the reader to really feel Cornelia's isolation and made the close proximity of Cass and Oliver logical.

Overall, I felt this novel was well written and gutwrenchingly accurate to a mother's plight. With character's that draw you in and a heartstopping ending, I will definitely be recommending it to my friends and family. I wish i could give half stars to make it a 4.5 but alas I cannot - the half star loss is due to me almost giving up around 1/4 of the way through from feeling like it was just dragging.

This book draws you in from the very first page and keeps you in its grip until the very last paragraph. Cornelia now known as Leah is gradually rebuilding her life after a family tragedy. She is happily married to Adrian who is her best friend and soulmate. Tragedy then darkens her door once again when Adrian is killed in a car crash and the worse tragedy of all is that he lied to her about his whereabouts on the day of his accident. As she begins to unravel his secret she is drawn down a path that she knows in her heart she should not follow but is unable to resist which in turn makes her revisit the event that changed her world and caused her to change her name and identity. This is a gripping story of love, loss and loneliness and how we can make damaging choices when pushed to our emotional edge.