Full of twists and keeps you awake at night. Interesting characters, very convincing story plot. I hope to read more from the author.

This was too much family drama and not enough suspense and thrills for me . I found the story very hard to get stuck into,

Mine wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would be a psychological thriller but it was more of an emotional read than what I was expecting. Once I was drawn in - especially to the storyline based in the 70's - I could not put it down.

I don't know that I would necessarily class this as a thriller - it's more of a dark exploration of family relationships. Still, I enjoyed reading the two timeline stories, one based in the present, the other in the past. It's one of those books that gets under your skin and then leaves you wanting more so you have to read it until the last page is turned.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

When I started this book I was expecting it to be a psychological thriller but it was more of a domestic drama and I absolutely loved it. This story was told in two timelines , current day and the 1970’s. I think I enjoyed reading about what had happened in the past a bit more but saying that the whole story was excellent. This was for me quite an emotional read at times . I highly recommend this book.

I was absolutely drawn by Luke and Alice’s story and devoured each page. Flicking back and forth from the past and the present, the author manages to bring these main characters to life and keep me hookd page after page

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'm afraid this book wasn't for me. I thought from the cover and description that this would be a psychological thriller, something pacey, dark and exciting, but it feels like a different genre all together. This is not a bad thing, just not the type of book I enjoy reading, so I stopped at 25%. I appreciate this is subjective so won't share this review on Goodreads or Amazon, as I don't feel that's fair. Thank you so much for sending me the copy to review.

Wow, I have just finished this one and I'm shook!

This was such a great read, and very cleverly written about such a sensitive subject.

With a Now/Then story that intertwines itself the further that you get into the story, this will take you on an emotional rollercoaster of a ride!

Prepare to be in love with this compelling story.

This was such an emotional read, Luke was adopted at birth, he found out when he was eight and when he was a lot older decides to contact his birth mother. They get on well initially, but when Alice offers to look after Luke’s son Samuel Luke starts feeling pushed aside, can they get past it?
Told in two time frames, the past when Alice was a young girl and the present day. I thought this was a good touch as I felt I got to know both Luke and Alice equally. I felt almost every emotion going while reading it and I keep thinking about it now I have finished. I think it will stay with me for a long time.
Clare Empson wrote this beautifully, it flowed well and kept my attention throughout. It really was a remarkable book.

A good book. I really enjoy the writing style. Very intriguing and original plot told expertly well through well-drawn characters.

This novel is stunning! I loved the author’s debut novel and this one absolutely lives up to it. It follows two characters – Luke and Alice. Luke’s storyline is set in 2000 where he’s married and has a young baby. Luke was adopted as a baby and he’s finally meeting his birth mum Alice. The alternate chapters are told from her perspective in 1972 when aged almost nineteen she meets a singer and falls head over heels in love. I was enthralled equally by both timelines and I wanted to know what was going to happen. There are such devastating moments in this novel that broke my heart and actually made me cry. It made me feel such sympathy for both characters, and I never lost that sympathy for them even when things begin to go wrong. There is so much depth to this novel, and so much is explored about adoption and the affect it can have. I loved this novel and already wish I could go back and read it all over again for the first time. I highly recommend this one!.

What a great read - had me absolutely captured from page one right up until the end. You will not regret reading this book

Oh my what an incredible, roller coaster ride of a story!! I loved this; it was tense, it was exciting and gripping. Everything you’d want in a psychological thriller. Great plot, great characters and full of suspense. I highly recommend

Oh I loved this! Clare Empson is now one of my favourite authors and will be getting added to my must-read list! She tackles the subject matter of adoption with great empathy and her writing draws you in from the beginning.

Wow. Another book which quite a different read for me.

A son Luke getting on touch with his birth mother Alice. Told in two timelines, the prose showed me Luke's emotions at meeting his mother and Alice vs reasons for giving him away.

Everything was not as it appeared. The author cleverly added some twists along the way. I was slowly pulled into the story as the dynamics were revealed.

My first book by this author, I was completely immersed in the characters' lives by the time it ended.

A fun read.

Thank you so much #NetGalley and #Orion for an advance copy of Mine in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of those books that I choose because of its cover but then surprised me very much!

I loved this book! Really enjoyed the reading experience, how dynamic it was, how it was narrated and the writing style!

I thought the way the book was told was great. We have two narrators: Alice and Luke. They are mum and son and have finally being reunited after 27 years apart. He narrates the present, how meeting his real mum is affecting him, how weird, hard and exciting is, and she narrated the past, what happened to her up to the moment she had to give her son up.

I loved both characters. Both storylines were very interesting. I was hooked up from the beginning and I only wanted to know more about what had happened 27 years ago for Alice to abandoned her son, and I also was very intrigued about how that was changing Luke's life.

I knew there was some mystery behind it all, and I suspected that not everyhting could be so easy and good but I never expected such a twist!

I really enjoyed the end. The final turn of events, how the story got wrapped up and what happened to the characters.

I didn't have high expectations about this book because I hadn't heard about it much but I liked it a lot!

Life for Luke is pretty perfect. A wonderful girlfriend, a beautiful baby boy, and a great career. When he finally makes contact with his birth mother Alice, it’s like the final piece of the puzzle slots into place, especially when she offers to look after Luke’s son while he and girlfriend Hannah are working. But how much does Luke really know about Alice? Why is she so attached to baby Samuel? And what really happened to lead to Luke’s adoption all those years ago?

Ok, so this one was a mixed bag for me. The book itself is told from two perspectives, which occupy two timelines, with chapters from Nick in the now (2010) and Alice in the then (1972). This worked really well as it meant that the information about Nick's past was revealed very slowly and in a way that really gripped you. While I did find Nick's chapters interesting, especially his emotional turmoil over reconnecting with his birth parents, I absolutely adored the chapters set in the 70s. There was such a fantastic sense of place and time, everything felt incredibly authentic and so it really made me look forward to Alice's chapters!

However, while I did enjoy this book, I would question to what extent it could be described as a thriller. There are the obvious questions about Alice's mental state and the nature of her relationship with Samuel, but to me this never felt sinister enough to qualify it as a thriller. Similarly with the ending - some small elements of a thriller to it, but not anywhere near creepy enough for me to justify assigning that label to the book as a whole. Instead, I would categorise it as something along the lines of a domestic drama, with the real meat of the book being focused on relationships (both familial and romantic) and their complexities, along with an unexpected focus on the challenges that accompany struggles with mental health.

All in all, I did really enjoy this book. However, it was incredibly different to the synopsis provided by NetGalley, and so if you're looking for a traditional psychological thriller, I probably wouldn't recommend this one, as the thriller elements of the book were actually the weakest parts of it. However, for Alice's chapters alone I would recommend this to people who enjoy domestic dramas with a twist.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy from NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Mine by Clare Empson is a gripping psychological thriller that once started you will not want to put down. Focussing on family relationships, lost love and issues surrounding adoption, this is an emotional story that captivated me from the opening page right up until the final page had been turned.

Luke was adopted as a child and has always felt like an outsider. Now, with a family of his own, he appears to have the perfect life. But then he reconnects with his birth mother, Alice, and feels an instant connection with her. So when Luke’s girlfriend, Hannah, goes back to work it seems obvious that Alice should be the one to look after baby Samuel. But Alice begins to fall in love with baby Samuel, with the grief she felt all those years ago at the loss of her son beginning to become all consuming.

What follows is a gripping and beautifully written psychological thriller that’s told from the perspective of Alice in the past and Luke in the present day. The tension slowly increases as the story gathers pace, leading to a shocking turn of events that I did not see coming. A tale with family at its heart, Mine is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and I can’t wait to see what this talented author comes up with next!

Clare Empson has written an emotional rollercoaster of a thriller that I would highly recommend.

The fact that the main character in this book was bipolar added an interesting dynamic to the narrative. The premise for the book was engaging with an interesting cocktail of themes and the writing flowed well.