Ella has barriers; ever since her mother walked into the sea and disappeared when she was five years old she has allowed no-one to get close, not her aunt and uncle who brought her up, not her work colleagues, no-one...that is until she sees an advert in a newspaper one day. The advert contains just ten short words - 'I am always with you. I will always be here;' the very words that her mother used to say to her before she disappeared forever.

Ten Little Words is a story with heart, and lots of it. Told through the the dual perspective of Ella, and the historical voice of her mother Jude, we learn of a heartbroken little girl, abandoned suddenly by her mother, the aloof and distant adult she becomes, and the story of Jude and Bertie that resulted in her birth.

Ten Little Words is a lovely story told with warmth and compassion that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Enjoyed this one, though having it veer from Ella in Present Day and Jude in the past made it a bit jumbled and I couldn't stay with one character long enough to settle in. The writing was beautiful, though, and it flowed nicely and I really liked the unusual world Ella works in - it was fun to see how a museum and its audio displays and all that come about.

What a good book this was great storyline, great characters,  thoroughly enjoyed this,   was hooked to it x

What a great read. Really got into this book and loved how the story was told from start to finish. Interesting characters

Anyone who fancies shedding a tear or two would enjoy this book!  Mum Jude disappears one day leaving her five year old daughter Ella, who never gets over it.  She then becomes a human iceberg, letting no one anywhere near her.  A bit of a slow burner as each chapter features the women in turn,  They were both selfish and treated Carolyn despicably.  The feeling of heartache is strong enough to feel some empathy with the characters but the ending was a little simplistic for me, too cosy to ring true but an enjoyable read nonetheless.  I liked seeing Hastings play such a big part in this book too.

Such an emotional, poignant story of loss, love, and unanswered questions. 
As Ella struggles to understand why her mother took her own life all those years ago, she comes across 'ten little words' printed in a paper that will change her life forever.
Although Ella was not always the most likeable at times, you couldn't help but feel for her regardless. The discoveries she makes about herself and her life along the way really pulled on my heart strings. The topic of this book is a difficult one, but the author tackles the subject perfectly. I would certainly recommend it!.

Having lost my mother as a child, I was instantly drawn to the premise of a woman who is still feeling the absence of her mother as an adult. I was intrigued to find out the events surrounding Jules’ disappearance, who left her five- year- old sleeping at home to walk into the ocean and never be seen again. I thought this would be the perfect book to elicit an emotional response from me.

Surprisingly, though, I felt very little as I turned the pages, trying to bond with a cold and stand-offish Ella as she vacillates between wanting to find out things about her mother, then in the same instant hating her and vowing never to let her disappearance affect her life again. Even though I understood her trauma on a deeply personal level, I found it difficult to get into her head. At 35, it seemed unlikely to me that she had never before questioned her mother’s fate, or tried to find out something about her. Her detachment from friends, colleagues and her loving adoptive parents bordered on a personality disorder, even taking her childhood trauma into consideration. She was full of contradictions, which got the story off to a rocky start for me and never really recovered. Lacking any insight in any of the characters’ motives (including Jules), I soon floundered and found that I wasn’t emotionally engaged at all. With a fairly predictable, clichéd storyline in which I knew the outcome from very early on, I struggled to muster up enough interest to keep reading to the end.

Seeing that 2020 has been a year that has heavily affected my reading enjoyment, perhaps this was a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”, but this was at best an average read for me. However, readers who may not look for the same emotional depth I had hoped to find may disagree and find TEN LITTLE WORDS to be a pleasant, unchallenging weekend or holiday read. That just wasn’t what I had been hoping for.

Wow, what a book, This book was such an emotional one for me, I thought I was going to hate Jude for leaving her daughter and not being woman enough to handle her responsibilities, but then I got to understand her more, and even though it was wrong how she went about everything and even wanting to commit suicide to end this misery that even I didn’t know? The way the story was told, the fact that the narration was split between mother and daughter, and then how Carolyn being Jude’s older sister did everything in her power to protect them made me cry like a baby.

So, Ella, lost her mother 30 years ago, Jude committed suicide and left her daughter and older sister behind. Jude was a free spirit, she was an aspiring singer with dreams bigger than herself, and even though she lived in this fantasy world where she met her dream man who loved and supported her and even had a sister that was supportive of her dreams as well, Jude had it MADE! But then Jude was also very naïve, and because of that years later she ended up pregnant, alone and miserable, and that was the saddest part for me. Bertie was her dream man, even though he was a lot older, and wanted to settle down, he was always so supportive of her, but someone closest to him did something so bad and Jude wasn’t herself anymore.

Ella is such a complex character, because she is so hard to love and even when towards the end she learns to let go and live her life, it was still so hard for me to love her. So on her mothers birthday, Ella was reading this free newspaper, and then those ten little words that her mother always told her was placed on it. This threw her off, aside from her being so damn weird and such a loner, this threw her off. She has this crazy feeling and she has been having it for some time that her mother is alive even though everyone says that she’s not. Then she finally askes her aunt Carolyn that she wants to talk about her mother, which is crazy because before she never even wanted to talk about her mother. In everything that her aunt has given her there were letters between a man named Bertie and her mother Jude. There is this mystery man that feels just like her and she needs to go see him. And she does and she finds out things that made her question damn near everything.

She goes and tried to find her mother after Bertie told her that he has seen her in London, she goes to London, and this spiraled out, and I cant even say because it was just so damn beautiful, I didn’t think I would really like this book, but I can honestly say I am in love with this book, this author did something that its hard to do and that is creating the image of a character that we will all really dislike and then out of nowhere, POW, we love them and we forgive them the way the characters have as well. Amazing. 

Thank you Netgalley, Leah Mercer for such a sweet read and her publisher Lake Union Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Heartfelt about a tough topic, Leah Mercer brings the character of Ella through the emotional struggle of attempting to understand why her mother would leave her by walking into the sea.
As she navigates her life, one day she discovers a phrase her mother often used that's been printed in the paper. 
Now, she must decide if the answers she's told herself she's wanted all these years are what will really fix her wounded heart and help her heal the relationships she's rejected with anyone all this time. 
The book had some tough moments for the character as she was hard to like at times, but a classic example of someone who's so deeply wounded, they don't realize how much they hurt those who want to help them. 

*I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

A beautiful story which dealt with the issues of abandonment and its repercussions.
Written in dual timelines, the story captured by heart with its vivid portrayal of life's circumstances. This was a new author for me, and I would love to read all her other books. 
Overall, a beautiful read

There were so many intriguing twists, not only in the plot, but also in the telling of the story. I love the fact that we get more than Ella's point of view, which allows us a greater glimpse of the motives and intentions of the characters.

It's difficult to say more without giving away spoilers. Thirty years is a long time, but in some ways, when there's love, it's no time at all.

This was an interesting story.  The plot is good and explores the psychological effects of abandonment.  I liked the writing style and was kept engaged throughout. 
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have enjoyed all of Leah Mercer's books, even though they are heavier than the ones she writes as Talli Roland. So I was eagerly awaiting the chance to read Ten Little Words, and it did not disappoint!

I read this novel in two days. It was an enjoyable story, even given the circumstances. It moved at a good pace which kept me turning the pages. I like how it went back and forth between the past and the present. Both Jude and Ella's perspectives were interesting and they were sympathetic characters. I cared about both of them a lot. I was definitely eager to see what would happen and liked seeing how the story unfolded as more information came to light.

Fun side note: Jude and I share a birthday!

If you haven't read Leah Mercer's novels, definitely give them a try.

Movie casting suggestions:
Ella: Emma Watson
Jude (1980s): Ellie Darcey-Alden
Caroline: Caroline Quentin
Angus: Peter Gadiot
Bertie (1980s): William Moseley

Such a relaxing lovely read. Just enough to keep me interested. The characters were so likeable and relatable it was easy to become drawn into their lives! Perfect summer read!

While this book definitely went to some dark places, it ultimately felt full of light and hope. A little cutesy at times, it really draws you in to the story of this broken family and how assumptions and the inability to cope with trauma spread so quickly.

"Because love can't be buried under the weight of time.  It's not something you can forget, or that you can root out.  No matter what, it's there, just waiting until the ground has thawed and it can bloom again."

Thirty years ago Jude Morgan disappears and is presumed dead. She leaves behind a five year old daughter Ella, who is raised by her Aunt Carolyn and her husband Rob. This story is told in different timelines by Jude from the 1980’s and by Ella in the present day. Ten little words refers to two phrases her mother always said to Ella which remain of utmost importance to her.

I am always with you. 
I will always be here.

Ella remembers how her mom used to make her feel safe, so Ella creates a life for herself where she holds a steady job, lives in loft and her only companion is her cat.  She has closed off herself to building relationships, even with her aunt and uncle that love her.

I enjoyed how the story played out, the character development and progression throughout the story.  Needless to say, everything was wrapped up in a perfect bow and I wouldn't have had it any other way!

What a read this was! 
I sort of had an idea what had happened from the start but I think that was Leah Mercer’s intention.
Difficult topics throughout but definitely a book that you want to finish to know the outcome of the lives that were destroyed years and years ago.

Thank you to Netgalley and Leah Mercer for my copy of Ten Little Words, for an honest review.
The story tells about Jude and Ella ( mother & daughter) from each woman’s perspective. We see Jude struggling with depression during one of the happiest times of her life. Then we meet Jude, who lives with her aunt & uncle and has for years. Her mother is gone and she doesn’t feel a connection to her aunt and uncle. This is a deep story. It even kept me guessing the whole time. Difficult topics written beautifully. I loved hearing Jude and Ella’s versions of their lives, during different times.. present day and during the 1980’s. See my review on Goodreads 
The words:
I am always with you
I will always be here
Are said and heard throughout the story and I love how it tied things together.
This was a 4 star read for me and I have recommended it to friends and family.
I really enjoyed this book.

Ella sees an advertisement in the newspaper that was anonymous, just repeating the ten words her mother always told her.  After her mother’s disappearance which was assumed to be suicide, it took years for Ella to believe her mother was dead.  She closed herself off emotionally from everyone, including her aunt and uncle who raised her.  But now, was her mother alive?  Discovering some old letters written to her mother, Ella starts on a quest to find the truth.  I really enjoyed the book, especially the descriptions of the relationships between the characters.  Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The premise to this story features Jude (mid 20’s and mother to 5 year old Ella) walking into the sea following a period of hopelessness and depression. A flashback gives clues as to the circumstances that has led up to this significant moment. Nothing further is divulged until you progress through the book in a kind of dance between Jude, and Ella (aptly named due to her mother’s love for the singer Ella Fitzgerald and wish to emulate her professionally). 3 decades ago Jude was feared dead following a bag of her personal items being discovered on the beach near to where she had last been sighted approaching the water. Carolyn (Jude’s sister) took on the role of mum to Ella in addition to maternal aunt and it was one in which she cherished, albeit her surrogate daughter stubbornly refusing to give up on the woman who gave birth to her. 30 years later however, and Ella has resigned herself to the ‘fact’ of her mother’s suicide and that she would not be coming back for her. And that’s where she wishes to leave it...

Yet ‘I am always with you, I will always be here’  

...10 little words that just won’t go away 

This story was really rather touching and heartwarming along with some tragic experiences. It wasn’t challenging at all to try and keep up with who was who, and the characters were very well written. Although a little predictable there was a twist at the end that did have me sitting up straight in a ‘well I didn’t expect that’ moment in addition to it being a highly emotive one. The tears will fall out of your eyes, I confidently predict