One of those books that felt like coming back to a familiar friend, though everything had moved on a little.
A couple of years on Suzanne is now 19, still very much in the process of recovery and just about to start living alone. She gets a bedsit in Brighton and returns to the place that made her so happy, though her best friends Rosie and Caddy are about to leave for university.
The actual situation Suzanne is in is upsetting, but not unfamiliar to many. It was mildly amusing to see her going through the process of learning to be independent, but I still felt rage at what she had been through at the hands of her family.
I was fascinated by the way Barnard wrote about the therapeutic relationship, and the after-effects of trauma. It all felt far too intense at times, and the ins and outs of the story didn’t always appeal as much as I’d hoped they would. However, Matt has to go down as one of the loveliest characters I’ve read about for a while, and I have a new soft spot for Dilys.
I’m very grateful to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my thoughts, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy to pass on to those I know who loved Beautiful Broken Things.

I adored this book.

I had read Beautiful Broken Things a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so seeing the progression in characters in FFH was very interesting. I think Sara Barnard writes teenage voices incredibly well as I remember having many of the same thoughts when I was younger, and seeing how she has aged the characters appropriately, I just think it's so well done and age appropriate.

The plot of the story is also great, and my heart was often bursting with joy or sadness. I loved that this was more like a slice of life, a year look at someone who is on the road to recovery with no definitive end because as was said at the end of the book, there is no cure you just keep on going.

Overall I think this is a beautiful book and I would not hesitate to recommend it. I did have to put it down on the train at one point though to stop myself from crying in public!

I was so excited when I saw that this was available to request on NetGalley, and even more so when I was approved- I had LOVED Beautiful Broken Things last year so I definitely wanted to read this.



Fierce Fragile Hearts starts with Suzanne moving back to Brighton after moving away and getting help after her spiral in Beautiful Broken Things.

This time Suzanne is trying to stand on her own two feet, she has her own bedsit, she has a job and she ends up befriending the elderly lady Dilys from the flat below- I honestly believe this may have been my favourite friendship because it was just so pure.



Caddy and Roz are moving off to University, and unfortunately, long distance friendships can have problems, especially when you have a tendency to shut people out when you start to spiral and get stuck in your head.



It was interesting reading from Suzanne's perspective- although it was also quite hard at times as well as she has a LOT of problems and my heart was breaking for her the more we found out about her history, Sara has a way of writing that I wanted to reach out and just hug Suzanne, I don't have my own children but I have nephews and a niece and the thought of anyone harming them is soul destroying so for Suzanne to go through what she did and have people act like she is over reacting broke my heart.



I think that Caddy and Roz being away at university was better for Suzanne in the end, it helped her form connections and bonds with other people, while there is a potential for a certain romantic relationship I love that Sara left them as just friends in the end (with maybe something in the future... just saying, if Sara wants to give us a third book with these characters I would not mind at all).



For all the faults Suzanne seems to think she has I honestly believe she has more strength than she ever realised.



I will 100% be purchasing the paperback when it is released in February next year.

I didn’t realise this book is a companion novel to beautiful broken things until I’d started reading it, I wasn’t sure if it would work as a stand-alone read but it does and I loved the characters so much I’ll be reading beautiful broken things too!!

First off I'm so so so happy I got sent an ARC for this book, because it has been KILLING ME waiting for this to be released, and now I don't have to wait (still got this pre-ordered because oh boy will I be re-reading this!)

For those of you that don't know, this is actually a sequel to Beautiful Broken Things which I believe was released about 2, maybe 3 years ago. I absolutely loved BBT and felt like I needed more on those characters, and thankfully Sara has answered my prayers. I loved how we got the story from Suzanne's view point (as opposed to Caddy's) and my heart just broke for her multiple times. It hurts knowing that even though Suzanne is a fictional character, there are so many real people out there who have to go through the horrible things that Suzanne has had to go through.

I really liked the progress of Suzanne's internal battle with finding herself and being independent. I loved how we finally get to watch her grow and I'm so proud of where she's at by the end of the book. I feel like there are so many unanswered questions, but in the good way, where we can decide for ourselves what happens after the book ends... although I would not be upset if there was another book, just saying (I really love Sara's writing)

Loved this book. The author writes about abuse and recovery in such a thoughtful way. We know just enough about the characters to feel like we know them, without knowing every detail about their lives. It dealt with romance between young people in a way that i've never seen; refreshingly, romance was complicated and realistic and still romantic and I related to it more than the sweeping epic romances that young adults are usually saddled with in books. I really love this thoughtful novel and highly recommend it.

So...as I write this review it's 2018. I've already decided what one of the top books of 2019 is, and it's this one - the sequel to the equally wonderful Beautiful Broken Things.

I was so desperate for a copy of this book, and I'm so glad that I was approved on NetGalley to read it early! The only reservation I had was that it was so long ago that I read Beautiful Broken Things that I thought I wouldn't remember anything about it and would struggle to get into the new title, but how wrong I was! It's a testament to how brilliant Sara's writing and characterisation is that I was thrown straight back into the world with some of the most wonderful characters!

A key factor that makes Sara's books so popular and loved is that her characters are real. They're perfectly flawed, relatable and diverse. For example, as we've previously seen in her books, mental health is a key theme that she gets right - in Fierce Fragile Hearts, whether or not you have experience of anxiety, depression or bipolar, there're parts of Suze (our main character) that are highly relatable to all readers on some level. However, the thing that I love is that those heavy topics that in so many books you have to put them down, such as abuse and mental health, don't define the book and overshadow the story. I guess what I'm very badly trying to say is that a subject that could be incredibly triggering is presented in a way that doesn't detract from your enjoyment of the book.

I could witter on about how much I love this book for ages, and as the day has gone on the intensity of that feeling has grown, along with my feelings for Matt *swoon*. Yet again, a five-star read that I urge everyone to get their hands on!