A beautiful but sad story about a lady who had everything, just To have that all snatched away from her. A beautifully well written and emotional read

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is so believable as it could happen to anyone! Being a parent is tough especially when the worst happens and Angie has it all, you can't believe how much can impact on one person

Angie Watts has three children. She's a widow who is still coming to terms with the brutal murder if her husband, Steve and the disappearance of her eldest son, Liam. Liam had once been a loving son but he gets into a notorious gang that brings trouble to their door.

This is a well written story. The characters are true to life and the circumstances that they find themselves in are current and poignant. It covers the unfair way that Universal Credits were handed out and the effects that this had on many families. Some having to sell their beloved possessions just to make ends meet. There are parts of this story that are sad. I liked that Angie and her sister stuck together through thick and thin. This is the best book so far, that I have read by the author.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and the author Susan Lewis for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very powerful book, incredibly heartbreaking and very true to life. It’s an excellent representation of life on Universal Credit, the long wait for money, the debt, the helplessness and despair. I have friends in this situation and at times I could have been reading about them.

This is definitely a book I will read again and no doubt find it just as emotional each time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

This is the story of Angie and her family, above all it is the story of how Angie has tried to keep her family together against all odds and an uncaring society. It is not an easy book to read although very well written, it shows that even people who try to do the right thing, work hard and care for their families can struggle to survive. It is a very disturbing read at times and a harsh condemnation at how people are treated in Britain especially by the benefit system. It is also a reminder of how quickly your life can change and from a comfortable life it is really easy to end up having to fight for survival.

Angie Watts lived with her soulmate Steve and their three children. The oldest of their children had always been troubled but when Steve finds their youngest child playing with a syringe, he decides to act, unfortunately this costs him his life and Angie finds herself a widow trying to raise a family with limited resources.

This book is recommended, well written and a good story, but it is not a book to take with you to the beach.

This was a real mixed bag for me. The first half was brilliantly written, quite dark, brutal and harrowing at times and really shone a spotlight on a wide range of issues current in our society and the impact of poverty and austerity on families. The second half however, was just a bit too good to be true and frankly, twee. It didn’t feel real, all a bit too neatly tied up with a bow on top. A real shame I think as though a tough read, it had started gritty and very real.
I noted at the end that the author thanked her publishing team for steering her away from some of her earlier writing and making it more readable - not sure it did that for me. Well written and important messages but took the easy way out in my view.

Angie Watts find her world turned upside down after her husband, Steve, is murdered and her son, Liam, goes on the run. She finds herself in a world of poverty, debt and exploitation. As everything crashes around her and she loses everything Angie struggles to find a solution to her problems and make a new life for herself and her family.

I'll be honest and say that I found this book hard work. I actually felt emotionally drained everytime I finish reading for the night as it was just so depressing for the first half of the book. I'm a big Susan Lewis fan and I was miffed that I could not get into this book the same way I did with her past books. It was only towards the middle half of the book that I started to feel myself actually wanting to read on.

I'm glad the book wasn't entirely bleak the whole way through but I found the ending slightly too sugary coated for my liking.

Another great book by Susan Lewis, this emotional story is so beautifully written in a way that will capture you’re heart and made me shed a few tears.

In a blink of an eye Angie’s life is turned upside down, how one decision dramatically changed Angie’s and her children’s life’s forever!!

When Angie’s husband Steve finds their five year old son with a syringe Steve seeing red goes looking for their eldest son Liam, and is attacked.

Angie not only loses her husband that night but when she finds out her son was present, she tells him to go for good.

Angie now has to bring up her children without their dad and add to that all the money worries she has, trying to find money for food, rent and their clothes.

This really opened my eyes to the hardships families endure, it’s heartbreaking that someone can work full time and still have to rely on food banks to survive.

The topic of homelessness is a sad one, but Susan Lewis writes in a very compassionate and understanding way and proves that there are good people in the world.

A book that will stay in my thoughts long after reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

This book wasn't an instant hit with me but the more I read the more drawn in to Angies life I became.
Unfortunately there were some bits that were so fictional that it could never happen, which almost spoiled it for me, but then on the flip side there were alot of parts that were very true to life (as sad as it is)
A good read and one I would recommend.

This is my favorite book ever. It is so moving I cried many times along the way and really related to the characters and the many tragedies they suffered along the way. Although there is a happy ending it isn't the usual predictable one and there are many heartaches before you get there. A book to make you appreciate what you have and to remember never to take it for granted.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this insightful book

this will hit a lot of nerves with some people with what is happening with todays society....gangs, drugs, benefits, universal credit...the good and the bad in society its all in this book

very well written and the characters could be the person next door..your best friend or a work colleague...its life ats its best and worst...

well worth a read

A well written book about many issues,- homelessness, poverty, drugs and county lines.
I found this book interesting but rather depressing to read because of its subject matter.
Feel it has shown alot of insight into present day social problems in this country, which would not all be happening now, if we got rid of the Tory Government.
Angie had a difficult life after her husband was murdered , became homeless and struggled for money to keep her family going and to look after her children.
Towards the end she does get a happy ending, but feel the help from a millionaire friend was a bit far fetched.
Thank you to Netgalley for an Arc.

I’ve read many of Susan Lewis’s books and really enjoy that they are all so different. This time she Introduces county lines and modern day poverty and how quickly lives can disintegrate. I would have liked our heroine to find a way out of the situation without a “rich man “ stepping in, but thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

I really enjoyed this

I found it thought provoking - well written, quite suspenseful

a great summer read

Just imagine your partner died unexpectedly, something you never planned for. Debts build up until you're drowning unable to keep you or your family afloat. In a horrendous twist of fate your first born is somehow involved. A book that tackles gang crime, homelessness and vulnerable children. One you really get involved in and find yourself devastated for the lead characters and hoping for a change in their luck. An example of storytelling at it's best, keeping you hooked until the last page.

Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty novels based on family drama, thriller, suspense and crime genres. “Home Truths” is her latest publication and is a powerfully emotive family drama, focusing on how far you would go to keep your family safe.
Angie’s happy life is shattered when her son Liam falls in with the wrong crowd and leads to her husband’s murder. It is left to her to hold what’s left of the family together. With her son missing and her daughter looking for help in dangerous places, Angie is barely able to keep a roof over their heads. But when the world is falling apart, a mother will do anything to protect her children....
I had never read a Susan Lewis novel before but I knew she was a well respected author who writes very powerful women’s fiction. I did feel an instant connection with the story when I started reading and found it initially to be quite brutal. Angie is portrayed as a strong character even though she infuriated me as she continued to bury her head in the sand, instead of seeking help from debt consolidators. Her daughter Grace, in my opinion, was the steal of the show and I liked how together with her friend she was adamant to try and help her mother with the financial difficulties.
Sadly as the story developed I did feel that the plot started to lose its way and focus more on the plight of the homeless and those in poverty. Although a huge amount of research has obviously been carried out by the author, I personally felt she surpassed what was needed to convey her feelings and emotions regarding those impoverished, to the reader and it soon became rather tedious reading. I was also starting to no longer be invested in what happened with Angie and where she was going to live. Without belittling the subject of the homeless, the story lacked depth and I wasn’t too impressed with the instantly predictable outcome and the sickly sweet, happy ever after, fairy tale ending. There was some emotional content during the closing chapters that I did experience, though I was saddened the author chose this route for the character involved. However, I appreciate she was trying to keep the story realistic to true life and through her research with the homeless she must have discovered these things sadly occur and wanted to tell their stories and do them justice.
Saying all this, I did want to see the story through to the end and I may still be tempted to read more by Susan again, subject depending. If women’s fiction, featuring poignant family drama is to your liking you should enjoy this book and I wish the author every success with another suspected bestseller.

3 stars

If you like "Mills and Boons" books with a modern twist then you will enjoy this book.
I really wanted to like this book, but far to many cliches that it was sickening.
Husband dies,a wayward teenage son with learning difficulties, losing everything then gets it all back from a handsome millionaire!,

I enjoyed reading every minute of this book
They say we are all only 2 wage slips away from homelessness, how would we cope ?
Angie watts has a nice life lovely husband Steve who works hard as painter and decorator a son Liam and desperately trying for another baby
Then when she finally has her 3 children she thinks her world is perfect except Liam is going off the rails big time, drugs and everything that comes with them

Then before she knows what has hit her she is a widow and Liam is missing she is trying to keep a roof over their heads with very little income whilst working to help the homeless in her job
She would never tell anyone her troubles apart from Emma her sister
But how long can she keep the pretending up about where she is staying after their landlord edicts them?..

A very moving story about how easily we can be pushed over the edge. There but for fortune, is very much a takeaway message of the book. A work of fiction but based on some very sad reality. A system which fails the most vulnerable in society and how one debt can lead to another and how one’s comfortable existence can disappear in the blink of an eye. Yet, through it all, a mother’s love gives her strength to carry on and keep fighting. An excellent read and a memorable story.

What would you do if your husband was murdered and you believe your son may have had something to do with it.
Angie has to deal with this her son has got into trouble with drugs & gangs and one day things come to ahead and her husband ends up being killed by the gangs and her son disappears.
Angie has to deal with that and spiralling debts. While working as many jobs as she can and with the help of her sister Emma will she be able to keep her house and her head above water..
Grace her daughter is trying to help her mum out with money while doing that she gets in with some nasty people .
Can a knight in shining amour save her or will she go under.
Another brilliant book Susan Lewis
Thanks Netgalley