Cover Image: You Never Told Me

You Never Told Me

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Member Reviews

An enjoyable read that I will go on to recommend. I found the characters interesting and the plot line engaging. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I'm not sure how to review this book because I didn't really enjoy it. The premise promised so much more but by the end there were so many questions and loose ends.

A year ago, Charlie had it all - a beautiful house, a lovable dog and an upcoming wedding. But feeling trapped and ignoring all warnings from her family, she left it all and fled to the other side of the world. A year later in Thailand, Charlie has nothing to show for it but a restlessness for home and an empty bank account. Logging into her email at an internet cafe, she sees an email from her sister and calls her. Their mother has taken ill and is in hospital. Charlie needs to get home now. But with no money for her ticket, she panics...until a friend talks her housemates into repaying her for their share of the rent.

Now she is back in dreary England. Stepping off the train and no money left for a taxi, she walks the remaining distance to the hospital...in the rain. She arrives to find she is too late. Her mother has gone. Why couldn't she get here earlier to have just one more moment with her?

The reception from her father and sister is somewhat distant as they return to the family home. The house needs to be sold and their father is moving in with her sister Eleanor and her family. But what is Charlie to do? This was her home once upon a time. She had less than a month to find a job and somewhere to live...because she didn't suppose her boyfriend Max would take her back. She's not sure she would want to go back. But she did want Bella. She missed Bella, her scruffy lovable dog.

But then Eleanor hands her an envelope. Inside are some documents relating to a bank account in Eleanor's name and a key. What's the key for, Charlie asked. Oh, it's for her boat, says Eleanor. Their mother had a boat? A narrowboat or canal boat. So Charlie took herself down to the canal and so began her journey of discovery, I guess you could call it. She met a few people along the way - Bob and Lydia, Dave, Margereta - and even reconnected with Max in a way. But as Charlie steered through the locks, canals and junctions...she discovers her mother had secrets. And she travelled the canal looking for the answers to her questions about the mother she never really knew.

From the premise I had expected YOU NEVER TOLD ME to so much more exciting with the layers of secrets their mother kept hidden but instead it was more a journey of Charlie's own self discovery. Sure she uncovered some of her mother's secrets but we still don't get all the answers at the end. It left everything up in the air with an unsatisfactory end. I even questioned some characters' roles in the story because they didn't appear to go anywhere either.

The only part that had me in tears was the picture painted of poor Bella looking all forlorn on the back step, with just a plastic bed and thin blanket for comfort...chained up in the rain, cold and alone. No dog deserves to be treated like that. I cried buckets for the poor thing and whooped for joy when Charlie rescued her.

I loved the canal boat setting. These narrowboats have delighted me and I would love to travel one should I ever find myself in the UK. There is something peaceful and so tranquil about being on the water. But that is where my interest ended.

I really can't say much else about this book because I honestly felt it was a waste of my time reading it, sadly. I didn't enjoy it and found the ending unsatisfactory.

I would like to thank #SarahJasmon, #NetGalley and #RandomHouseUK and #TransworldPublishers for an ARC of #YouNeverToldMe in exchange for an honest review.

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Mystery with emotions were the crux of the story. A mother with secrets, and a daughter, who had run away to see the world, had to come back to solve the puzzle.

My first book by this author, I found myself swallowing the lump in my throat many a time. That family had quite a few secrets, and the book explored the dynamics of it. Relationships were complex, I was quite engrossed in the book

The book was a journey for me as I don't read such emotional ones generally. The writing made me keep going until the end. Overall, a great read.

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I found this book intriguing although I wasnt gripped with it like many books but it took me much longer to read than normal.

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This was a great story about the journey of discovery for Charlie and her family. When tragedy falls they will learn life has not always been the way they thought. The was a great read for me as I read it in almost one day as I was intrigued to learn the secret her mother had been keeping for most of her life.

I was a little upset at the ending as I wanted a little be more information about the future of these characters that I had come to care about. The author had a way of giving you just a little to keep you interested and your imagination coming up with scenarios of your own.

The author writing style gave the read a nice smooth and easy read full of interest, secrets, grief, loss, longing, discovery, hope, understanding but most of all family.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this ARC to which I am giving my honest opinion in this review.

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You Never Told Me is an easy read, one that can be picked up and put down at anytime and can easily be picked back up and get back into.
The book starts with us meeting Charlie, she has just received an email from her sister Eleanor to get home as quick as she can as their mother is unwell and in hospital. Charlie is travelling the world after splitting up with her husband to be so just has enough money for the flight home! Charlie is full of guilt that she hasn’t done enough to help the family out but it soon becomes apparent that their mother, Britta has quite a few secrets. One of them being she had bought a boat and here Charlie starts to unravel her mother’s life.
This was an easy if sometimes emotional read, it was nice to see Bugsworth Basin mentioned as that is a fifteen minute walk from where I live and have often pondered on what life is like living in these barges. The descriptive writing was very well done it was just the ending for me that left too many questions unanswered but a good read nevertheless.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Black Swan for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

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An easy read about family secrets and trying to work out what you want in life.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

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Charlie and Eleanor's mum was known as Britta but after her unexpected death, theynrealise Britta wasnt who they thought she was. Britta had secrets that neither of the girls new about. Charlie had been travelling the world when she got the call to come home. She felt guilty that she hadn't done enough to help her family.

I found this quite an emotional read. The family dynamics are quite complex with secrets that have been hidden. The storyline flows seamlessly. The ending was a little disappointing, ideas left wanting to know more. There was still some loose ends. Hopefully there will be another book to continue where this book left off.

I would like to thank NetGalley. Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author Sarah Jasmon for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Charlie is on the far side of the world, running away from a life she's found increasingly stifling, when she's told her mother is seriously ill. Before Charlie can return home, her mother has died, but the past in its various guises is there waiting to be faced up to - the boyfriend she left only a few months before their wedding, the dog she had to abandon, her sister left juggling the care of young children and elderly parents. Charlie's mother has also left unfinished business behind - unknown to her family, she'd bought a canal boat; a link to her own past, and secrets that had been hidden for years.

Having nowhere else to live, Charlie moves into the boat, and finds herself drawn irresistibly on a voyage of discovery - learning the practicalities of canal life alongside the story of her mother's unknown early life.

You Never Told Me is an enjoyable and intriguing tale of self-discovery and family secrets, set on the semi-hidden world of northern England's waterways. The various threads of the story - twist round and complement each other well. As her confidence in handling the boat and coping with life on the canal increases, so does Charlie's faith in herself and her ability to make decisions rather than just run from them. At the same time, she uncovering aspects of her mother's life which have never been talked about. Most of us probably dismiss parents as just that - parents - with no life or feelings before they gained that status; most of them fortunately don't have such tremendous secrets from us.

I found the whole description of canal life fascinating. I've walked alongside them often (including Bugsworth Basin which gets a mention in the book), stood at locks and watched boats move up and down, but never actually tried my hand at doing any of it. I'm not sure I'd actually be much help on a canal boat - I'd probably fall in the water - but it's nice to dream ...

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Having split from her fiancé, Charlie went off into the world to find herself. Unfortunately it didn’t work out how she’d imagined, and just as she was ready to come back, she gets an urgent message from her sister, Eleanor, that their mother was in hospital, and Charlie needed to come home immediately. Feeling guilty that she hadn't done enough to help her family, she heads home, Her mother, Britta, had secrets that neither daughter knew about. This is the story of how Charlie comes to terms with her own life, as well as discovering unexpected revelations from her mothers past.
A really nice, light read, that gently rolls along at a steady pace. I loved the descriptions of the waterways and barge life, and was interested in Brittas secrets. The relationships between Charlie and her family develops very nicely. Slightly disappointed in the ending, but not enough to put me off reading the next book in the series.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

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Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for recommending this book.

It was a emotional read. It was more about the protagonist's self journey and family secrets than about romance. It is seen that this book can be considered of both genre. I don't usually read book this deep and insightful. I tend to keep it mostly romance but I am glad I got to read Charlie's story. I loved the plot and how the story spans and untimately the secrets folds which has a great impact not only on Charlie and her future but also the storyline and her entire relationships with the people she loved deeply. It was a special book for me. A very new and extremely entertaining journey. I loved everything about it. Starting from this great cover yo an amazing story build up and lovable but flawed characters. This book was truly an experience. This was my first book by the author but definitely not my last. I was recommended to read this one and for that chance , I am extremely grateful to both Netgalley and Random House UK. If you are a fan of self discovery and women's fiction and ofcourse romance and family secrets then it's a must for you. I highly recommend you to real this atlsast once.
Happy reading.

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A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

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#YouNeverToldMe #NetGalley This was a gentle paced easy read book depicting the journey that Charlie (and to a lesser extent Eleanor) have piecing together their mothers life following her untimely death. A bit too descriptive and not enough action for my personal preferences and an ending where, for me, there were too many loose ends untied. Nevertheless an easy and enjoyable read.

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Family secrets and a journey of personal discovery. I also loved the detail about life on board a canal boat.

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Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this book, secrets within the family, good characters. An enjoyable read.

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I really enjoyed this book about a woman unravelling the truth behind her mother and who she really was and finding happiness along the way. Well written with engaging characters and a good story line! Thank you.

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A lovely story of a woman searching for life's fulfilment, really enjoyed her journey along the canal & getting to know all the intricacies of the journey along the way.

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What a lovely story. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the canals and I felt I was with Charlie learning how to navigate the canals on her journey. Highly recommended

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Overall this book was a good well developed story with interesting characters but I wasn't overly thrilled with the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK (Black Swan) for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

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I enjoyed this book but would have liked more of the family connections and experiences. However, the book is beautifully written with good strong characters and leads you into the wonderful world or barges. Its just a personal preference but I do enjoy more family experiences and interactions. There seemed to be a lot unsaid throughout the story and for me I found this a little frustrating.

Would definitely recommend this book though as its something unique and relateable.

Thank you Random House UK and NetGalley.

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