Cover Image: The Sight of You

The Sight of You

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Member Reviews

This is a well written story, with nice but quirky characters and an original plot. I did find the going a bit too slow for my liking, so although I liked the book I didn't love it, but I am sure many people will.

I think this book will appeal to contemporary romance/fiction readers.

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It has been a while since I have read a book which moved me as much as this one did.

This is not a standard love story, the characters are so well written that you feel their happiness and their sorrow.

Joel and Callie first meet in the cafe where she works when he left without paying for his coffee; he did return later to pay. They are instantly drawn to each other but Joel is reticent to commit as he has an amazing secret which haunts him day and night.

With echoes of 'The Time Traveller's Wife', I would recommend this book to be read with a glass in one hand and a tissue in the other.

This story will be remembered for a long time.

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This book was such a great unique but heartbreaking read.

At 25% in I knew that I would need tissues, this was a very emotional read. It told the story of Joel and Callie. Joel has a unique gift and dreams about the future of his loved ones. Can if over come these dreams and live a happy life with Callie.

This a beautifully written story, told from both Callie and Rory's point of view. I was holding my breath for the last 40% of the book and wanted to keep reading. Callie and Roy's story will certainly stay with me.

Overall a great unique story, which I didn't want to end.

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This is a romance novel, though not in your typical lust and sex kind of manner. The reader follows two characters in mainly alternating chapters over the span of several years. One of the characters is a woman named Callie, who is working in a cafe and is struggling to move on from the loss of her best friend. The other character is a man named Joel, who has an almost special power, which could be seen as a blessing or a curse. He is able to see snippets of the future of the people he loves via his dreams. Sometimes these dreams happen the night before the event he dreams about, other times you are looking at weeks, months or even years. He will see things that are deadly serious, to mundane things such as what they will have for dinner, and everything in-between. This has led to him being at the point where he is struggling with his own mental health. He has quit his job as a vet, and has started frequenting the cafe that Callie works in. This is where their story begins, and is all I wish to say about the plot, as this story is best experienced totally for yourself.

To say this book broke me into a million pieces would be an understatement. I reached new levels of ugly crying while reading this, along with hatred towards the author for putting me through this story. At times I wanted to stop reading and throw my Kindle across the room, which is not usually a characteristic to be found in a book that I rate five stars. This book was beautiful! It was a character study, it had friendships, romance, iconically stunning scenes, and dogs, what more could you want?

The author has a very special talent for writing. To evoke such strong feelings in me, is nothing short of impressive. I also loved her descriptions, which helped set the scene for me perfectly. I could picture each place i visited in this novel, and meanwhile felt like I knew all the characters personally.

I would highly recommend you pick this up if you are looking to read something different, as this isn't a typical romance. If you're a dog lover and enjoy reading contemporaries this again may be the book for you. If you don't enjoy crying your eyes out at a book, you may want to give this a miss. I do think you should give this a read if you can though, as it's just exceptional, and one of my favourite reads of the year, possibly of all time.

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I really enjoyed this heartwarming love story between Joel and Callie. Joel has been suffering from stress and has given up his job as a vet. He meets Callie and they fall in love and move in together. However, Joel often dreams about future events, sometimes involving his family and friends. When he has an unsettling dream about Callie dying relatively young he tells her about it but she is adamant that she doesn't want to know any details. They decide to split up, well Joel ultimately decides that they should go their separate ways. The story then is told from alternating perspectives of what happens in the next few years. Callie finds happiness with Finn but Joel seems destined to be alone. I'm not sure I agree with Joel's decision but I can see why he made it.

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The Sight of You seemed like a light, easy read at first. I soon realised it’s a book laced through with emotion and anguish, but is very readable.

The protagonists – Joel and Callie – are incredibly likable, and I enjoyed following how they met and the difficult decisions they had to make afterwards. The book alternates between Joel and Callie throughout and I loved being in both of their heads equally. The Sight of You is definitely a book that makes you think about what you’d do in their situation, and this is partly why it’s such an emotional read. Of course there’s parts which require some suspension of disbelief, but that’s to be expected given one crucial element of the storyline.

One of the things I like most about this book is the way Holly Miller has portrayed their relationship. It’s not too cheesy or over-dramatic; though there are some sentences that use incredibly flowery language to describe their thoughts and feelings, particularly from Callie, it doesn’t rely on cringiness or cliches to keep the reader’s interest. Rather, there’s some suspense (because we sort of know what happens at the end but we don’t know a lot of other detail) and also some surprises along the way, where we’ve been lulled into a false sense of security and we find out that what we thought was about one character isn’t…

I don’t want to give too much away in this review, but I will say that I didn’t think I would cry until the end when I bawled like a baby! So prepare yourselves!

Beautifully written and full of heart, The Sight of You is ideal for anyone wanting a poigant and sweet read, and if you want something romantic but, like me, you’re not really a fan of the usual type of ‘romance’ novel – this is the book for you!

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Beautifully written. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It’s been a while since a book make me cry. Would highly recommend.

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The Sight Of You, by Holly Miller is a heart-breaking story of love, life and loss.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Synopsis: Joel vows never to fall in love, until he meets Callie. The two give each other a new perspective on life and love, and challenge each other to become their best selves. But Joel lives in constant fear, his dreams are accurate visions of the future and one night he dreams of Callie. Can the two move on from this? Can they continue to live normally knowing what the future holds?

Holly Miller has created a heart-breaking and unmissable tale of love, fate, personal choices and challenges. This is a beautifully written book with a fantastic story, but as a warning it is a sad story, it has an excellent love story intwined within it but it is not a romance with a HEA.

The Sight Of You is written with a dual perspective; Callie’s and Joel’s – and this was very effective for the story’s pacing and for the emotions evoked over the course of the book. The dual narrative allows us to gain insight into both of their views on the relationship so we can genuinely see how these characters love and care for eachother, but we also get to see their perspectives on life – their values, ideals, beliefs, passions and goals. This allowed the characters to come across as very realistic and it added depth to their relationship, it gave the characters an identity beyond their love and made us connect with them on a deeper level which resulted in the book having a significant emotional impact with an effective pay off.

The writing in this book is beautiful and complements the narrative and story perfectly. It is emotional, descriptive and heart-felt, the empathetic style is perfect and truly makes you feel connected to the characters.

The story/plot is character driven as it is based around Joel and Callie’s emotions and their lives. As a whole it is an engaging story because the characters motivations are realistic and have complex effects on themselves and their personal/professional relationships. The story is centred around love but it is so much more than a love story, it is a story about life and the challenges it poses. We follow both characters as they fall in love, navigate their careers and decide their futures – Joel’s ability to see into the future via his dreams adds a distressing element to his life limiting him in many ways, this as an interesting element in the story as it added an theme of fate versus free-will. Joel can prevent certain events from occuring (i.e accidents) but cannot prevent natural occurences – this creates a significant conflict for him, particularly when he dreams of Callie because it becomes a problem of ‘how is her life meant to go and is it meant to grow with me?’

I really loved how this story worked around real issues but with the incorporation of this supernatural ability. Moreover, it was unique to see how this kind of ability can be rather negative in terms of the effects it may have on the person who has it, as well as on their lives and relationships. The conflicts created in this book are truly heart-breaking because Joel and Callie are actually good together, they push each other to take on challenges that will better them, and encourage each other to go for their goals and passions – the two characters have excellent chemistry and it makes the conflict of ‘are thy meant to be’ so much more devastating. I loved the relationship between these two characters, it is not perfect but it comes across as incredibly real.

I also enjoyed that the story also explores the two characters outside of their relationship. Both Callie and Joel have a lot of difficulties in their lives before they even meet each other and these issues are also dealt with over the course of the story. Being able to see the the devastation and challenges in their lives as individuals leant a lot of power to the story as a whole as it added depth to these characters and their lives – they have messy, flawed and confusing lifestyles and this makes it all the more realistic because life is like this. Each of these elements has an impact on the central characters and allows us to understand them entirely – we can believe them and understand their choices due to these elements.

I haven’t said much about the actual plot itself because it is heavily character driven so it would be far too easy to spoil but it is a lovely story full of emotion an heartbreak and I highly recommend it. The ending truly captures the beautiful heart-break that many books and movies strive for, it is devastating and moving on multiple levels. The sacrifices the characters make throughout this book for the sake of others is heart-wrenching and the conclusion truly defines this. By the end there is a part of you that will question if the characters truly made the right decision, but another part of you will agree whole-heartedly that they did. It is a beautiful story that will leave you devastated.

Overall this is a brilliant book that is beautifully written. It is a powerful, emotional and heart-wrenching story of life and love. With realistic characters full of hopes, dreams, goals and passions, this book is easy to connect with and love and it will leave you in tears.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a beautiful emotional read with a heart-breaking ending.

*Thankyou to #Netgalley #Hodder&Stoughton for my eARC in exchange for an honest review*

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Wow this book is so emotional as well as being a good romance. However hard love can be you need to follow what you think it right. Would recommend.

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This is a lovely read and the 2 different perspectives bring it to life. Joel and Callie are both endearing characters and although the story does not have a 'typical' ending, it is not sad as they both have ways of coping and being happy. Joels self-sacrificing is amazing, as is Callie when she faces the truth.
Later in the book, there is a scene on a train when Callie breaks down, and the lady opposite sympathizers saying "the one that got away". Many of us may have been in a similar situation and can feel the pain.
Overall I would recommend this book as a page-turner and with bittersweet moments but full of empathy

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With bookshops currently closed I miss the lure of book covers enticing me over to the bookshelves. One beauty though has continually caught my eye on social media with its delicate and simplistic pretty cover, The Sight of You by Holly Miller there was something about this book that kept intriguing me and once I read the synopsis I was sold, I just HAD to read this book.
Our main character Joel has what some people would call a gift but that isn’t how Joel sees it. Troubled by dreams he has about those close to him that come true he is scared to let anyone close to him. Callie has been affected by the loss of her friend and it is time for her to start living again, try to achieve some of her ambitions and dreams she had.
What a praise worthy novel this book is, Holly Miller has such a beautiful style of writing that sweeps you away and she has a true skill at developing such detailed and believable characters it is so easy to become invested in them and their story which is why I found their romance and situation had such an impact on me.
I love a storyline to feel believable and although you may think that a man whose dreams come true is far fetched it didn’t feel like this at all. Both Callie and Joel were very down to earth likeable characters who have hearts of gold and all you hope for is a happy ending for them both as it is what they truly deserve. I loved watched the friendship and then the romance between them both blossom.
This is such a beautiful tragic storyline that has well and truly broken me without giving to much away and there is one scene in this novel particularly that without giving too much away, was so heartbreaking and was written with so much tender care an emotion that a full on ugly cry escaped from me.
This was a remarkable read that will stay with me for a long time to come. One word of warning is to make sure you have those tissues to hand because this is a heartbreaker. Holly Miller is definitely an author to look out for and this book is one to share far and wide.

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I loved this book.

Joel has, what some people would described as, ‘a gift’. When he dreams, he often has premonitions. For Joel, however, this is often a peek into the future of his loved ones.

He meets Callie in a local cafe. Callie runs the cafe after the death of her best friend. Because the cafe was her friend’s dream, Callie feels stuck, putting her own ambitions and dreams on hold.

When the two come together, they fall in love. This is despite Joel trying to put up every barrier he can. And then he has a dream about Callie’s future ...

I wanted so much for Joel and Callie to have a happily ever after together, but this isn’t your usual, checklist romance novel. They both have battles and issues to face, to move on through their lives and whilst I cheered them on (or groaned because it wasn’t the decision I wanted them to make), the whole novel felt real.

It is a tearjerker, I will warn you.

If you want soft and fluffy romance with a predictable ending, this isn’t the book for you. If you want a novel where you feel that you live the lives of the two protagonists, where you have to ride the emotional rollercoaster with them and where you sit, having finished the book, feeling slightly in awe of what you have read, then you won’t be disappointed.

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Goodness me! What an emotional read! It genuinely moved me to tears.
Joel has is good-looking, charming man who shies away from having meaningful relationships because he has a gift or curse depending on how you look at it - he sees the future of all those he loves in his dreams. These can be good, like seeing his sister with children, or bad like his neighbour having a car accident. In some cases he can instigate changes so that things can be avoided but some things are inevitable..
Callie works at a cafe, giving up her dreams of working in ecology and travel to look after her best friends business after she died tragically.
The story of Joel and Callie is told in alternating chapters from the two characters points of view as they meet, fall in love, move in together and ...

The Sight of You is about unconditional love and sacrifice framed within a classic modern romance.

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Heartbreaking, thank you Holly Miller for destroying me in such a beautiful way !
No spoilers here because you have to read this book. ( but bring tissues)
I just adored Joel so much and I could always see why he thought the way he did, even if I wasn’t sure of his choices.
This is just a wonderfully original idea for a story, well executed and so beautifully written by Holly. It will stay with you long after you finish it and like me you’ll be thinking about Joel & Callie still and just wondering.

Simply beautiful

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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I knew this book was going to be right up my street the moment I read the synopsis way back last year, and so I was beyond excited when my request to read it on Netgalley was accepted!
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Joel has dreams predicting the future of his loved ones. The good and the bad, he's scared to love anyone else and is broken by his desire to stop the glimpses of what's to come that weigh heavy on him
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But then he meets Callie - healing after the loss of her best friend, Joel and Callie click. They're soul mates. But when Joel dreams of Callie, he has to make one of the hardest decisions of his life. Sometimes loving someone means letting them go
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I adored every word of this book. It's tender, romantic and heartbreaking. Joel's predicament is unique, a curse he struggles to live with. I felt so bad for him, and I'm not going to lie, a little bit in love with him too. The romance between him and Callie is so beautiful and pure - I yearned for their happiness. Both characters are gorgeous and likeable. I was fully behind them throughout
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I felt every emotion while reading, Holly Miller's beautiful writing takes you on a rollercoaster of hope and heartache that is physical. The Sight of You was everything I'd hoped for and more. If you enjoy books with an epic love story with a unique twist, like The Time Travellers Wife, The Light We Lost or In Five Years, then this one is for you. Stunning 💗

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This is one of those books that will touch your heart. It is so beautifully written, and so emotional. From grief and fear to happiness and love, and everything in between. The story is so unique that you can't help falling in love with it, and the characters. Callie and Joel are the main characters, and they each have such strength to do things in life that they possibly do not want to. Joel has to be one of the most selfless characters I have read, and Callie one of the most understanding. They both loved fiercely, and it was that love that gave them the strength they needed.

As emotional as the whole book was, at 98% the simplest of lines and actions were the most powerful - two words and a nod, and my heart broke.

This was the first I have read from this author, but I will certainly be looking at more of her work, and would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

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This story is similar to The Time Traveller's Wife in that the main character, Joel, has a supernatural ability (dreams which predict the future), which makes his life very difficult. He meets the love of his life but has to give her up when he finds out something about the future that he cannot live with. The romance is very touchingly written, with much breathless sex (which was a step too far for me). The supporting characters are all believable. It is a tear-jerker, but overall I found it only just above chick-lit, and a little juvenile in the way the characters act - like they are in their twenties, when they are nearly forty.

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The Sight Of You by Holly Miller is a very beautiful contemporary novel about love. It is a tale that made me smile and that also made me cry. The love radiated from the pages and wrapped around me.
Love is not all hearts, roses and chocolates. Love demands so much more. Love is not self-serving. Love is sacrificial. It gives away no matter what the personal cost.
The characters are wonderfully drawn. There is a chemistry between the leading two which is palpable. It is their voices that tell the story as the chapters alternate between them. The reader becomes acquainted with both. We feel the love and we feel the pain.
Some gifts we are born with are both a blessing and a curse. The reader understands the tension within a character and we empathise with the choices made.
The whole tale is beautifully written. It is about a love so great that the reader cannot help but get caught up in it. My emotions were all over the place as I read. You definitely need tissues.
I think The Sight Of You would make a marvellous movie … any producers out there please take note… Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling would be perfect in the leading roles.
I want more, more, more from Holly Miller please.
I will leave you with a powerful quote:
“Love isn’t about the easy choices… it’s about hard graft and tough calls, the sacrifices you don’t actually want to make.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

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The Sight Of You is a breathtakingly beautiful love story between Joel and Callie and it quite literally took my breath away. Both are sensitive individuals haunted by the past and their own losses so when they come together you know this isn’t a relationship that is going to be all plain sailing. Especially since Joel has an unique ability to see into the future of his loved ones, which for him is a curse rather than a gift. Plagued by dreams, Joel is a walking wreck of a man for whom insomnia and a fear of getting too close to anyone are ever present. He wears his vulnerability, fear and shame like a suit of armour, hiding his unwanted ‘super power’ using it to ward off those who come too close. Joel is already damaged by his premonitions, very much living half a life. That is until he meets Callie. Someone who is still in the throes of grief but who has such a wonderful caring and loving nature, she could be the calming and settling influence he needs to enable him to love fully and lead a life free from guilt. Together, can they become the people they were destined to be before grief dimmed their zest for life?
I will remain tight lipped about how this love story unfolds except to say it is exceptionally moving. I was on tenterhooks throughout, reading each page with trepidation, caught up in a will they won’t they mindset. After all, let’s be honest, who doesn’t want a happy ending? I thought the writing superb with some often profound statements voiced between them. Callie saying to Joel ‘you don’t have to be flawless to be lovable’ at the start of their relationship is just one example.
Apart from loving the very bones of Joel and Callie, I found the way the author explores the beauty of nature and the landscape just as compelling. Callie’s love of the outdoors combined with Joel’s profession as a vet make them the perfect couple. As often gets said when reviewing romantic fiction I could easily see this translated to the big screen and spent some time considering the ideal accompanying soundtrack whilst losing my heart to Joel and Callie.
Swept up in the romance, this love story made me feel quite reflective and I could identify with Joel’s need for self preservation.
Be prepared to have every ounce of emotion squeezed and wrung out of you once you enter Joel and Callie’s world. I believed and felt every bit of their pain, their suffering, their courage, their selflessness and their love, all the while my heart was shattering into a million pieces. For an author to provoke such intense feelings is the mark of great writing and a clear sign that you are invested in these characters. This love story absolutely floored me with all their hopes and dreams either realised or cast aside and hope standing side by side with the kind of love few of us are lucky enough to experience.
Every once in a while characters pop up in fiction that are so incredibly vibrant or loveable or so relatable that you find it impossible to believe they are just figments of someone’s imagination. Joel and Callie are those character for me . With their souls laid bare I could picture them stepping off the pages hand in hand into my living room where they would be welcomed with open arms and bombarded with plenty of questions. Many a time I had to pinch myself and say GET A GRIP, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT REAL!!! I am an avid reader (slight understatement) so only a very few special books remain in my conscience long after the final page but I can imagine this love story to be one I’d happily re read again and again. The Sight of you has to be one of my favourite books this year and I cannot recommend this novel highly enough and would award ten stars and beyond for the way it made me feel.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read. This is one you don’t want to miss!!!

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This story draws you in gradually then suddenly you realise you’ve been reading long into the night and you aren’t going to stop until you’ve finished.

Joel has visions of the future. He keeps everyone at arms length, trying hard to surreptitiously control the safety of those he loves. When he meets Callie he tries hard to remain distant but their love overwhelms him. Until he dreams about her death.

The story is told from both perspectives and while you know how it will end, every fibre of your being wants it to change. It’s a moving, beautifully written love story and I’m so glad I read it. One of my favourite reads this year so far. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

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