I loved reading For Emily! Slee has created such a wonderful and light book about an author who dedicates all her books to Emily, her grand-daughter. When she passes away suddenly, Emily goes on an adventure following clues across the world to piece together things from her grandmother's life and finding herself in the process.
I really rooted for Emily in her journey and would love to know what comes after the book for her!

For Emily is a charming, warm, uplifting novel about love, loss, and finding your way in the world. I loved this little story and found it really lovely and moving. A great debut novel and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This is a lovely story of loss and finding yourself.
Emily has lived in her grandmother’s shadow for her whole life.
The famous author helps her granddaughter to find herself after her death through a series of clues.

enjoyed this book alot! honestly cant even see how this was a debut novel because this was excellently written!
i dont want to give alot away but this book was exceptional

A story in an adventure story that teaches no matter what happens to you, you don’t need to hide away or stay isolated, get out there scars ‘n’ all, show off your talents, and enjoy all the ups and does life has to offer, you never know you might like it.

For Emily, tells the story of Emily’s famous author grandmother, whom becomes Emily’s caretaker after her parents die in a car crash that leaves her disfigured. Emily’s grandmother helps nurture Emily’s dreams and creativity through using her illustrations in her book to tell her own story, but, Emily is withdrawn and isolated. On her grandmother’s death, her grandmother takes Emily on one last puzzle adventure for her to discover who her grandmother really was, about her life, what it means to live, love, and loss getting Emily out of herself to live a little, and she might just like it.

Didn't review in time for release, premise sounds really good will be picking up a physical copy and come back to review soon.

A fabulous book that allows you to escape the world for a while.
Beautifully written, lovely characterisation and a story that encourages you to keep turning the pages, what more could you ask for.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review.
A heartfelt and bittersweet book to read. I absolutely loved it.

When children’s author Catriona Robinson dies, her reclusive granddaughter Emily starts to look at the dedications in her books. Each one was dedicated to someone who impacted Catriona’s life the most, including Emily herself. Now each dedication feels like a cryptic clue towards the location of a missing final manuscript. Emily could solve the mystery, but it means going out into a world that Emily has been avoiding for some time, Can she walk in her grandmother’s footsteps and find her last lost book, and maybe find herself in the process?

This was a joyful little book to read at the moment - when we’ve all become a little more insular and reclusive. It was also uplifting to travel alongside Emily and take part in the positive changes it makes. Her grandmothers books featured a little girl called Ophelia who travelled the world using a magic atlas. When Emily was younger her parents were killed and she was seriously injured in a car accident, Her injuries kept her separated from the world for a while and she has been reclusive ever since. Now that she’s lost her grandmother too she is lost and struggling with grief. The quest she goes on using the dedications, but also her grandmother’s letters and diaries, brings her closer to her grandmother and away from her comfort zone. As she visits Paris, St Tropez and Rome we see her blossoming and discover her inner strength.

This is a gentle and bittersweet story, as we watch someone who has suffered terrible losses, find a joy in life she hasn’t had for a long time. It was uplifting and beautiful, including the illustrations of birds that Emily draws. I would buy this for anyone who needs to be inspired and uplifted.

Excellent book with an excellent story line.
Emily the main character has spent most her life with just her grandmother since her parents died in a horrible accident. It left her in hospital and not wanting to be part of the world. Emily’s grandmother dies and leaves her a trail of clues to find her will. She travels all over to different countries and meets people from her grandmother’s life. Hears stories about her and makes her wish she asked when she was still here.

Wow! What a book! I was hooked right from the very beginning and couldn't wait to see what came next in this fab book. The title of this novel drew me in in the first place as my daughter is called Emily (she is also a great artist!), but I liked the look of the description as well. In fact, I enjoyed it even better than I thought I would. I felt that the story flowed at a great pace and they were plenty of surprises / developments along the way. I have been lucky enough to have been to quite a few of the places featured and this brought back some lovely memories. There was a lot in the story that made me think and indeed, there is quite a bit that I feel will stay with me - you really do need to try things to get the most out of life.

I would thoroughly recommend this book. As a bird watcher, I loved the inclusion of the birds and in fact, I can't see a magpie now without calling it Milton!

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book in return for a honest opinion. I can genuinely say that that is what this is - don't hesitate to read this great story.

Wow, just wow. This is the 80th book I've read this year (I was furloughed two months ago so I'm reading more than usual) and this is definitely one of my favourite books of the year.

I have a small confession. The main reason I looked at the book on NetGalley was because my own daughter is called Emily. I liked the sound of the synopsis and asked Orion Publishing Group for a digital ARC which I'm delighted to say they provided. My thoughts are my own and not influenced by the free copy.

This is a stunning novel which left me feeling bereft when I finished it, not because I didn't enjoy the ending (I loved the ending) but because I had become so involved in Emily's journey of self discovery.

The book looks at how Emily's grandmother, Catriona, sends her granddaughter on a 'treasure hunt' after Catriona dies. Emily needs to learn how to be independent, how to deal with her past (including the tragic accident which killed her parents and left her seriously injured) and to meet the people who met and loved her grandmother after she left the UK for adventures rather than marry young and settle down.

Each chapter features a different bird, partly because Emily loves birds, especially drawing and painting birds. The stories of Emily and Catriona unfold as Emily travels to London, then France and Italy. She believes she is looking for the 'last book' her grandmother wrote, however the truth is much deeper.

The strands of the stories are woven so well, including the use of the birds, the main characters are easy to visualise and feel empathy for, and the love of books is apparent (book shops, libraries, books). I will be treating myself to a paperback copy of this book - and maybe a copy for my own Emily (she isn't good at using bookmarks, so we won't be sharing a copy!).

This book is being published in paperback in the UK on Thursday 28th May 2020.

This book had a good premise, but also a pacing issue. The writing style caused some parts to be very slow and unnecessary.
Overall, I liked the idea, but the execution could be better.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Emily and her Grandmother are renound author and illustrator of children’s books. They have a huge fan based and after her Grandmother dies, rumours abound that there is another book written by her Grandmother but never published. Set shortly after her Grandmother’s death, this story tells of how our protagonist discovers her Grandmother’s past, and in turn discovers the truth about a secret book by her Grandmother. Travelling to places with her childhood friend on a ‘treasure hunt, come mystery tour, from her Grandmother’s past, she uncovers the truth.

This premise of this book was right up my street; following a diet of treasure hunt, Emily travels across Europe to discover the truth behind her grandmother’s secrets, secrets that may affect her future. However I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters or their journey. I did enjoy the bird imagery used by Slee.

A quaint, light-footed debut from Katherine Slee. It had enough mystery to satisfy me and enough charm to keep me powering through. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Whilst the story had a magical, fairy tale element, I felt I didn't connect with the characters. The slow, descriptive passages reflectd Emily's state of mind and reluctant attitude, but after a while it became labourious. Not as attention grabbing as I expected.

This book is a really special book.. I think it is the sort of book that will mean so many different things to so many different people for so many different reasons. It reads like a light easy to read book but that would be to underestimate its underlying message. It touches on grief, relationships, family, and love in a really unique and beautiful way but manages to do it without being overly sentimental or with any pity.

This book follows the journey of Emily across Europe as she follows the clues left in her Grandmother’s books and letters following her death hoping to lead her to a lost, unpublished manuscript, but with all great journeys Emily finds so much more than she was looking for.

Katherine Slee how is this your first book? This story her debut novel was so emotionally charged I felt myself holding my breath in places and marvelling at the words literally bouncing off the pages.
I loved this gentle paced melancholy story about Emily and her beloved Grandma who had recently passed away.
Her Grandmother who was famous over the years creating a series of adventures about a girl called Ophelia and her magical atlas, an atlas that takes children and the readers on adventures around the world learning as they go. Imagination soaring I was taken on a journey of past and present and learned the sad history of Emily - how her parents died in a tragic car accident and how she had been cared for and guided by her Grandmother who had secrets from her own past locked away.
A series of clues left by her Catriona Robinson the country's famous author encourages Emily to leave her country life and travel to Paris, Rome and St Tropez. She unfolds some of the secrets of Catriona's past and learns for herself to try new things. This is quite a challenge for the young girl who is not used to venturing far from her cottage in Norfolk seeking solace in her illustrations.
Perfectly put together the plot progressed and the characters entwined in Emily's life perfectly.
It made me think about my own family and somehow with life challenges we sometimes take each other for granted.
Katherine Slee you created a joyful book, thought provoking and extremely enjoyable considering the heartbreak Emily encounters. I loved the addition of the bird stories - at various times the birds that Emily illustrated become part of the story. This book paints pictures galore in your mind as you go along and embrace the story with different animals taking part.
Book lovers I say read this when you want to marvel in diaries recorded from past loves and lives and get lost in different descriptions allowing you to fill in gaps for yourself.
I would love to see a sequel - what would Emily do next with her new found bravery? I could also see this being a movie but not sure it would translate across and maybe lose something?
You've got a lot to do in your second novel Katherine - I'll be looking out for you.
THANK YOU