An odd but enjoyable mix of psychological thriller and romance. Enough undercurrents to drag you ever deeper.
The plot is packed to the brim with issues, all handled with aplomb. Lots of twists and turns and unexpected events kept me hooked throughout.
The characters are engaging, endearing and easy to relate to. The interactions between the characters are realistic and believable.
A beautifully written and well crafted book. I enjoyed it immensely.

I didn't feel that this book fell into the thriller category. more of a family story, but still well worth a read. It is an intriguing story

Thank you Net Galley and Orion for this book.
This was down as a thriller mystery but to me it wasn't. It was slow paced and just not for me.

Mine is a book that deals with some very important but difficult subjects.
Written in two different POVs - Luke's (present) and Alice's (past), tells us the whole, complicated story of their lives.
Luke is 27 years old. He was eight when his mum told him that he was adopted. After his son was born, he decided to look for his birth mother. That's how he finds Alice.
Alice, who was too young when he was born and couldn't look after him.
After their first meeting everything happens so fast (too fast?).
Alice meets his girlfriend and their son. Then she meets Luke's friends.
Then she becomes Samuel's nanny. It's a perfect solution for a young couple - Alice looks after their son, cooks for them and they don't have to pay her too much.
Luke thinks that it will be a perfect way to bond with Alice. But soon he finds out how wrong he was.
Alice is more interested in Samuel than in him.
What I really liked about this book is how inperfect everyone is. They are not good or bad. They are human. I can understand why they were rushing in. I could understand their mistakes.
Alice's backstory is heartbreaking and I really couldn't hate her. I felt so sorry for her.
Just like I felt sorry for Luke and his adopted mother.
It was a very good book, a great, but very heavy read.

This is billed as a thriller mystery and yet, I didn't really think it had many elements of either in honesty. Instead what I found here was a slowly paced family drama that interweaves the present and the past in order to build up a very character and relationship centred novel. Some of this was undoubtedly done very well and Empson draws together multiple threads of complex family relationships. She is particularly adept at capturing the tensions and struggles of trying to balance an adoptive family and a biological one.

My issue is that so much of the novel is spent on drawing these relationships that actually nothing much happens until the last few pages... even paragraphs of the book. I found the explorations of Alice's life before Luke's birth interesting enough but again, it is close to the end of the novel before they really add anything to the novel and there seemed to be a huge amount of filler that I just didn't care about. I'd realise they were going on about art or music again and switch off, skimming paragraphs until we got somewhere more interesting again. Luke's narrative held less of this for me, although there were still moments.

I suspect the reasons that I found the present narrative with Luke more captivating are twofold; firstly, the complex relationships caught me and secondly, I didn't know where it was going. I had guessed all of the 'twists' from Alice's storyline very early on - and I don't normally get plot twists, so it says that the level of predictability was higher than average. I felt that there was a real understanding of the challenges of adoption though and this was clear in the present day narrative however. Luke's relationships with both his parents are complex and his underlying sense of abandonment show in various aspects of his personality and behaviour. His own new fatherhood is an excellent example of this and he is clearly terrified of his own son feeling any of the same fears.

So it's a bit of a mixed bag here. There are some really heartfelt moments and some touching truisms. The reflections on the nature of relationships and family are honest and real. Her views on mental health are distinctly black and white though, with an all or nothing approach to breakdowns. So whilst the very real dangers of serious mental health illnesses are depicted well, the slow decline and borderline are not. I just found the historical aspects overtook the more pressing modern day challenges. And the ending was so very blunt and truncated that it lost the real power it should have had. That said, I'll be looking for more of this authors work.

I loved Clare Empson's first novel 'Him' so just knew I had to read this one! It did not disappoint.

If I had to sum this up in one word it would be 'powerful'.

I dont think I've ever read a book like it. A really unique novel that literally goes through every emotion know to man (& woman). Traumatic, meaningful, scary, raw, anger, happiness... it has them all.

Packed to the brim with suspense, even though I pretty much guessed the plot line the delivery of it was exceptional.

I found myself completely submerged in the characters and Clare Empson has written them amazingly well, you can picture them so clearly.

Written from the POV of the adopted son & biological mother it flits between the past and present so smoothly you dont even notice.

A fantastic story that explores the lasting impact of adoption on all involved.

Biggest thanks to netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC.

Suspense filled book that has you turning the pages.
Even though I guessed the plot-line I love this story it kept me intrigued and entranced. I found myself submersed by the characters. I could feel the emotions from each character flowing off the page.
I fully admit I laughed, got angry and cried. The story flows from the past to the present with an ease that not many authors can do.
I loved this book it had everything you could need. Laughter, tears, suspense and so much more. I also enjoy the small sections before Luke’s story that informs you on small fact that the author has worked into the chapter.
I love this book and it will be staying on my kindle so I can enjoy it again.
Thank you to Netgalley/Clare Empson/Orion Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a well written and interesting book with good characters which I enjoyed. In my opinion it wasn't an edge of seater for me but did hold my interest throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Absolutely fantastic couldn’t put it down loved all the twists and turns that you don’t see comeing I also loved the way it went backwards and forwards to the past and present and the ending was such a twist perfect ending

Although I have some criticisms of this book I firstly want to say that I really enjoyed reading it. The characters were very well formed and easy to imagine in every way. The theme was embellished and created from Luke, who was adopted as a baby, looking for his real mother. That mother was Alice and throughout the book we are taken on a dual ride of the younger Alice and Jacob and Alice in real time who becomes Luke and Hannah's childminder for their baby Samuel. Jacob reminded me of a less jovial Noel Fielding.
must admit, by the time I got about a quarter way through I did wonder if I should give up as nothing really seemed to happen but how wrong I was, after that everything happened and I couldn't put it down. The chapters with the younger Alice and Jacob were far too long, in my opinion, and sadly I did end up scanning some of them where descriptions became tiresome. I could relate to present day Alice but not so much to young Alice, they often seemed to be completely separate people. The end was unexpected but dealt with quite quickly, I felt that this could have been extended out or changed. We weren't party to a full description of what was going through Alice's mind at it's conclusion. I would definitely read other books by this author.

I voluntarily read this ARC for an honest review - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

A great book

Well written, great characters - brilliant storytelling, full of tension and twists

A great read

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. This book sounded really good by the description, but I felt it was very predictable until the last page.

WHAT A BOOK

HIM made me love this author.

The blurb for MINE had me desperate to read Clare's latest novel.

And ...

It didn't disappoint.

A psychological thriller filled with emotion, tension, if, buts and maybes.

Written from 2 POV, mother and son. It is clever and creepy. A sort of cautionary tale.

I read this in a single sitting, unable to put the book down.

This is going to be a must of read of 2020!

This book had an intriguing premise but was disappointing as a whole. I was particularly disturbed by the somewhat negative attitude to adoption (terminology like "real" mother/father/parents) and also the way Alice and Jack's obsessive relationship was signposted as the ultimate love.

It also wasn't the thriller I was expecting -- not a problem for me, because the writing was decent. The dual timelines worked too, though Alice's backstory was predictable, which killed the suspense.

I adored HIM and its intricate, moving plot. Empson's writing is so detailed and emotive, you become so attached to her characters that they remain in your head for some time.

Empson's writing is still golden in this novel, but for me, the plot didn't quite work. Although there are some thriller elements in it - especially in the second half, I felt the pacing was a bit off and it was a bit too ... intense for me. I think it's more that this book wasn't for me, rather than it being badly written - as I know lots of people who loved it. I think I felt it was too emotional and dragged me down too much.

Clare Empson’s second novel drew me in immediately and didn’t let go.

Luke, adopted as a baby - and spurred on by the birth of his own son - meets his birth mother, Alice, for the first time. The meeting goes well, but the damage wrought by their early separation runs deeper than anyone could suspect.

Luke, Hannah and baby Samuel are a lovely little family and I really didn’t want things to go wrong for them, but they were obviously going to, or there wouldn’t be a story.

We move between Luke’s narrative in the “present” (actually 2000) and Alice’s past life as an art student at the Slade in the ‘70s, when she meets and falls in love with Jacob, a beautiful but damaged young musician who draws comparisons to both Bowie and Jagger. Both Alice and Jake have survived traumatic childhoods and their bond is immediate and heartfelt.

It’s more an exploration of loss and grief, and the lasting impacts of adoption on both birth parent and child. A very well written, thought provoking story which is genuinely gripping.

Wow! This is an absolutely brilliant book and one that I’ll be telling all my friends about.
Luke meets up with his biological mother, Alice, and instantly forms a connection with her. His wife also loves her so when they discuss who will look after their baby when Hannah goes back to work, Alice jumps at the chance.
She is the perfect choice as Samuel loves her too and all seems to go well.
Luke’s adoptive mother is more traditional and they’ve drifted apart lately so he struggles with telling her that he’s made contact with Alice.
As Luke wants to get to know more about Alice, she seems to want to spend less time with him but more and more time with the baby.
Luke begins to worry but Hannah can’t see the problem until Luke makes a shocking discovery.
I’ll leave it there, as I don’t want to spoil this fantastic story as there is so much more to it.
I loved this book and my heart is still racing from that ending.
Thanks to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was not was I was expecting, I thought I had an idea of what the plot was going to be after reading the blurb but I was totally wrong and so glad to be!
The poignancy of the adoption storyline was so powerful and I found it really moving as well as suspenseful and compelling. The dual storyline added extra depth.
Clare Empson is getting better with every new book so I'm looking forward to the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a emotional story I was engrossed from start to finish it had fantastic writing and fantastic characters I would highly recommend this book .

A good story, dealing with an emotional issue that I am sure will touch a lot of people. This is something you could imagine happening and you can feel immense sympathy for all involved. Well written, and keeps you interested right up to the end.