This novel took me by surprise - I really enjoyed it.

In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn is a powerful and emotionally charged novel that tells the story of a family's harrowing experience in a tragic car accident. While the book is certainly heart-wrenching, it also offers moments of hope and resilience that make it a compelling and ultimately uplifting read.

One of the strengths of this novel is the way in which it explores the themes of grief and trauma. The author does an excellent job of portraying the devastating impact that the accident has on the characters, while also showing the ways in which they are able to find strength and support in one another. The book is also an exploration of family dynamics, with each member of the family grappling with their own issues and insecurities.

The character development in In An Instant is particularly well done. The characters feel like real people, with complex personalities and histories that are gradually revealed over the course of the novel. The protagonist, Finn, is a particularly compelling character, as she struggles to come to terms with the aftermath of the accident while also trying to keep her family together.

Another strength of this novel is the pacing. The author keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger that propels the reader forward. This makes for a fast and engrossing read that is difficult to put down.

While the book is undeniably tragic, it is also a story of hope and resilience. The characters are able to find strength and support in one another, and the novel ultimately delivers a message of the power of love and human connection.

Overall, In An Instant is a powerful and well-crafted novel that explores the themes of grief, trauma, and family dynamics in a sensitive and nuanced way. While the subject matter is undeniably heavy, the author manages to deliver a story that is ultimately uplifting and hopeful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys emotionally charged and character-driven fiction.

WoW! Breathtaking And Mesmerizing!

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time!

The haunting story begins with a family happily planning a a daughter's wedding, teens making plans for their upcoming formal, another thinking of upcoming graduation and college while the father and son excitedly get their huge and old traveling van ready for a ski trip over the presidents holiday weekend bringing their lovable dog and longtime friends and daughter along also for this fun and carefree excursion. Unbeknownst to all of them, there will be an accident involving everyone and some will be severely injured and dying while a blizzard will challenge love, loyalty, stamina, heartache, betrayal with devastating conditions where survival means making choices that will eventually cause guilt and regret for some. The impact of the accident is only the catalyst for the aftermath of what is to come when they finally arrive home. Not one life will be left unscathed by this traumatic event and some will come to realize that the people you thought you knew and loved were capable of making very selfish decisions that will have debilitating consequences when the truth is finally revealed.

A well-written, gripping and suspenseful thriller with notes of tragedy that is sensitively and expertly dealt with. I will read more from this author.

An emotional yet good read nonetheless. I was struggling with loss and the book gave me perspective. On grief, love, and friendship.

What a powerful read about grief, and what it means to be human. I wasn’t expecting to be all in my feels with this but that’s exactly what happened!

As much as I really wanted to fall in love with this book, I felt that it was like reading another book with a very similar plot. This could have been executed in a much better, more original, way.

Full review to follow - thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ebook copy.

4/5 stars

I can't believe I waited this long to read this book. Absolutely gripping, emotional, and fast-paced. This will probably make my top three for the year. Wow! Exploring the themes of grief, friendship, family, and acceptance, it hits deep. I truly can't recommend this book enough!

In An Instant brought me to tears - it was a beautiful story of family, friendship, loss, and determination. I think a lot could be learned from these characters. It was just heartbreaking to read. Suzanne wrote a truly beautiful story, and to read that it was loosely based on a personal experience made it all the more poignant,

I started reading this one last year and just struggled to get into the state of mind to continue it. Recently, I revisited it and I can’t believe I didn’t read it through earlier.

This book follows a family and close friends as they take a weekend trip to their family cabin and a horrible accident changes their lives irrevocably. The author does a breath taking job of narrating this story and demonstrating how fear changes people from someone you might have considered kind, into someone you wouldn’t never trust.

Based on her own life changing experience, Suzanne Redfearn shares a story about endurance and making difficult choices that will forever change the way you see yourself and your behaviors. This family demonstrated a normal amount of challenges with how marriage is difficult and parent/children relationships can be heart breaking. But when you find yourself facing imminent death – what kinds of choices do you make about your own survival and also for those around you that you’re responsible for.

I was amazed with the way this story laid out because it went much deeper than I had expected it to. She touches on topics that are hard to swallow at times and will make your stomach curl. But it’s done in such a way that represents the reality of a challenge situation and doesn’t shy away from things that you’d rather not think about.T

He main character, Finn, goes through so many variations of growth and development. As does her family – all in their own unique ways of dealing with what they each experienced.

All told from a single perspective, you get a level of closeness with Finn and a deeper understanding for her transition and overall experience.A

This is a great recommended read for anyone interested in thriller, suspense or mysteries and is also a fantastic book club choice as it has discussion questions at the end for a group to go through and expand on your own understanding of this complex story.

This book is like that movie 96hrs or something like that, where the guy is stuck alone and injured after falling into a ravine. It's shocking, heartbreaking, and raw. We see a group of characters faced with the impossible and all throughout the novel you will learn to love some and hate others for their decisions, but ultimately you will be left with the that all-consuming question... What would I do in their situation? It's terrifying.

And that's why I'm giving In An Instant 5 gold stars, because if you can really make me feel for your characters like I did for these fictional people, you have a talent with words that goes above and beyond! 😻

Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

I could not get into this thriller and I did not like the posthumous narrative. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this early copy!

This is a very thought provoking, tough, emotional novel. Focusing on 16 year old Finn, who is lost in a tragic car accident, we are taken through death, life, and emotions and a blizzard. You will love and hate characters, for their decisions and their feelings, you will be taken through so many emotions, you will wonder just how you will even get to the end of the story.

I truly loved this book! This book is one of the best written books I've ever read. The author has created a gripping story that is touching, chilling, insightful, poetic, angry, loving, and It is thought provoking. . It acknowledges human mistakes, while understanding how and why the mistaken choices were made. The author created characters who are real and believable. The book is intelligently written but easy to read. I feel changed from reading this book and I'm grateful for that change.

What a powerful book. Painful, poignant, and ultimately, hopeful. Expect heartache, grief, guilt, and loss. Rage. And all the tears.

An excellent read. I hadn't read a book with this kind of premise before and I was completely sucked in by the writing. Couldn't put it down.

Good read! The author was creative and created a relatable character for the reader to sympathize with.

What a breathtaking, heart beating out of your chest this book is. A life-changing event happens and this book unfolds with the characters, their choices and the results of those choices. It was heartbreaking, tragic, suspenseful and yet uplifting and heartwarming at the same time.

I haven't read a book like this before nor have I read this author before, but given the chance I will definitely be reading more books like this and more books from this author.

Finn has lost her life, yet she still remains to be there for the family that she lost in an accident on the way to a family trip. Each of the characters are transformed for the food and for the bad when they are stuck at the scene of the accident and it is unsure if they will survive. This book brought so many different emotions to the forefront for each character as they learned to live in the after. I was a little perturbed when I finished the accident scene in the book and began into the after. I was not sure whether there would be enough compelling story to get through the rest of the book. I wish the ends would have been tied up, but overall felt that this book was well written and covered these intense situations with relatability. I want to read more from this author in the future. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Heading out to dinner on the first night of their ski weekend getaway, Finn's dad swerves to avoid a deer and sends the motor home they are riding in careening over a guardrail, flipping several times and finally landing far below in the snow. With them are Finn's best friend, mom, sister, sister's boyfriend, brother, aunt, uncle and cousin. The first struggle is making it through the night in the cold without food, water or heat, to start hiking back to the road in the light of morning. Next, they must heal from the wounds created when not everyone survives or is honest about their actions. How can they possible continue on with life as if nothing has happened?

I don't cry when I read books normally, but this one brought all the tears, in a good way. Emotional and thought provoking, and written so beautifully, I loved every page. I highly recommend this one, but have tissues ready.