Jude’s Mom is presumed dead at the age of 5. She always repeated 10 reassuring words to Jude and then didn’t fulfill the promise to always be there for her daughter. Ella, Jude’s mother, is presumed dead at sea leaving her little girl behind to be raised by her sister. Honestly, the story was boring and predictable. I could see the ending coming from a mile away. I also didn’t really like the lead characters who were shallow and selfish. Thanks to Netgalley but simply not that great.

While I love the cover and the premise of this book was looking so interesting, I had a very hard time to get into the story from the beginning to the end. 
I’m sure many people will enjoy it but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. 


Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy

Ella decided a long time ago, that she would keep herself protected from life and unexpected situations after her mother's unforgettable betrayal. Ten words her mother had been saying very often,were the symbol of their unbreakable attachment. Until that day, 30 years ago.
Then one day in the present, is with unbelievable apprehension that she reads these ten words in the paper and her world starts to spin uncontrollably.

The premise of the book was a real challenge. How would the author work through the pages without falling in the usual cliches? How would she keep the readers turning the pages without giving up too much or too little?
Well, I have to say that the outcome is satisfactory. The pace is good and the characters are strongly developed. I would have liked a more detailed epilogue, but that's a personal opinion. I liked what I read and I might admit there were some tears involved.
It was not my first book from this author. I think she keeps improving and would love to read more from her in the near future.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It was very hard to get through this book because I could not really get into it. I felt like I knew what was coming from the very beginning, and while I normally find this happening a lot, I did not enjoy it this time around. Even so, this book is very well written, and I believe that other people may enjoy it.

The story begins with Ella's mother's disappearance. She is later presumed dead, after promising in 10 words, that she will never leave Ella. Ella moves to London and is raised by her Aunt Carolyn. The move to London and her love of music help Mia deal with her anger and resentment that she feels towards her mother. She discovered something in the newspaper that will shock her. Those same 10 words, that her mother left her, appear in the newspaper, making Ella relive her mother's death. Is her mother really dead or did she fake her death?

I enjoyed how thd story shifts between Ella and her mother, Jude. You get insight into Jude's younger years leading up to her disappearance. There are so many twists and surprises in this book that I really enjoyed. I found myself emphasizing/siding with Ella rather than Jude. Ten Little Words is well written. Definitely filed with emotions and a real page turner. I definitely recommend.

I would like to thank Leah Mercer, Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I don't know if I wasn't in the mood to read this but I didn't like it very much. I ended up skimming most of it and am not sad about missing much. I feel for Ella and recognize that she had some trauma but I didn't like her at all as a character. She was too depressing and wallowed in grief. 

I didn't like the ending and feel it ended really abruptly. Carolyn and Ella both accepted Jude's explanation very quickly and I didn't feel like her explanation was acceptable. 

Many readers on GoodReads loved this book but I just couldn't get into it.

I found this book got better as it went on. The first 80 pages o found quite slow. Not to say I didn't enjoy them but there wasn't very much happening. I suppose you could call it a slow burner. I loved the character Bertie. He was just lovely. The story was good and came together in the end. Thank you to netgalley and the author and publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest opinion

“I am always with you. I will always be here.” Those are the 10 little words that Ella’s mom would always tell her until the day she walked in to the sea, never to be heard from again.

This book was told from two points of view and two different timelines. Ella, current day, and Jude, her mother, in the 1980s. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While it was pretty predictable in my opinion, I really appreciated the character growth throughout the book. I also really liked Mercer’s writing style so I’ll be on the look out for other books by this author. Thank you Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for my honest review!

Emotional and heart wrenching this story will stick with you long after you're done. Will make you sniffle at times. It will make you gasp and it was so hard to put down because even when I wasn't reading I was thinking about what was going on. A must read. Happy reading!

When starting this book, I was a little skeptical. The main character seemed lost, drab, and boring. I was hopeful the pace and character would develop and pick up. I was not disappointed. While the book was predictable, it was well written with great little quotes by characters throughout. While the main character changed and developed over time, it was really the secondary characters that shone through in this book. I've never read this author before, but will be looking at more of her books.

I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend to others. Even though some parts of the book were predictable I still went through the roller coaster ride. Throughout reading it I had questions of my own. I liked the back and fourth time line between the two characters. Thank you for letting me read your book.

“I am always with you. I will always be here.”  Those are the 10 little words that Ella’s mom would always tell her until the day she walked in to the sea, never to be heard from again.

This book was told by 2 POVs and 2 different timelines. Ella, current day, and Jude, her mother, in the 1980s. Over all, I enjoyed this book, although I knew how it was going to end within the first half of the book, but I liked the ride it took me on to get there.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for early review.

This is a really good read. Sad in places and happy in others it tells the story of Jude and Ella. It is beautifully told and a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book showed great representation of identity and loss. I would recommend even though at times I got a little confused with the plot

Never have ten little words ever held such powerful meaning, at least not for the characters in this heartbreaking drama. 
I am always with you. I will always be here. Those are the words that little Ella’s mum Jude used to whisper to her before deciding to abandon her daughter and drown herself at sea. Such a desperate act has defined Ella’s life so that growing up into adulthood those words are a constant refrain, an echo of a past she cannot leave behind.
Shunning family life with aunt Carolyn, relationships and friendships, Ella prefers to live a self contained life, with just her cat Dolby for company, yet she has remained in Hastings, the seaside town which is where it all began. For Ella has never come to terms with her mother’s death, instead believing somehow, someday Jude will return. When Ella reads a classified ad in a newspaper containing those same ten words she instantly believes this has to be a sign, a slim possibility that her mother is still alive. With the mystery gathering momentum, reading through a box of unopened letters addressed to Jude is what propels Ella on a journey towards the truth surrounding this tragedy. Taking herself out of her comfort zone and away from her job at the Musical museum,  Ella travels to Edinburgh where Bertie, Jude’s one true love, lives, determined that this is the starting point for her long held questions to finally be answered.

It’s Ella’s search for her mother that provides the main focus for this novel with a timeline alternating between the present and Jude’s past. I couldn’t understand why Ella harbours such resentment towards her aunt Carolyn but having been abandoned at such a young age I suppose it’s inevitable Ella would have issues with allowing herself to be truly loved. Unfortunately she does come across as terribly self pitying so rather than feel sympathy for her I mostly felt exasperation. She’s a character completely in denial, pretending that she’s fine living in a shell but being in a situation whereby you’re unsure if your mother definitely drowned or deliberately walked away to begin a new life somewhere else can’t be easy. I’m not sure which of these scenarios is worse, hence why up to a point I felt Ella had every right to feel such hurt and anger. Except I felt her anger was misdirected so letting these feelings fester for thirty years means she’s missed out on so much potential happiness. I couldn’t help but feel sad for a character so terrified to move on from her past yet her  self pitying became too repetitive for my liking. Thats not to say I didn’t feel incredible anger towards Jude for abandoning people who clearly loved her and can’t imagining committing such a selfish act. 

I much preferred reading about Jude’s past life if I’m honest. Her ambition to become a recognised successful singer in London rather than confining herself to singing in the pubs of Hastings showed a driven character with more spirit than Ella seemed to possess. Her chance meeting along the promenade with Bertie and brother Frank ultimately leads her life in another direction, seizing an opportunity to settle into a life in Edinburgh with her adoring man. These two are like chalk and cheese and whilst opposites attract I had no doubt their own love story was doomed from the beginning. Bertie is such a true gent and probably my favourite character and I loved the musical aspect to this storyline.

There’s plenty of emotion is this drama to potentially tug at the heartstrings yet I thought it tended towards the melodramatic and left me dry eyed rather than reaching for the tissues.  I wanted to be moved to tears by this story but for reasons I can’t pinpoint that didn’t happen. Tackling such serious topics as suicide, abandonment and Alzheimer’s should provide plenty of reasons to make the reader a blubbering mess because there’s no doubt the storyline is overwhelmingly sad. I thought the ending suffered from being too transparent and predictable. Uncovering secrets and lies that have multiplied over thirty years revealed a tragic waste of at least four lives which could have so easily been avoided.
This was my first time reading a book by this author and although I wasn’t bowled over, neither did I completely dislike it. All in all Ten Little Words was likeable enough. It just didn’t set my world alight but of course you may beg to differ. My actual rating is 3.5 stars!!!!!
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC.

I loved this novel, the characters were charming and a fantastic plot. A easy read to relax to.  I will definitely be recommending this author to others.

‘I am always with you. I will always be here.’ The promise Jude Morgan repeated to her five-year-old daughter, Ella, before disappearing, leaving Ella to be brought up by her Aunt Carolyn. Ten Little Words by Leah Mercer is a family drama with a mystery at its centre, although it’s fair to say I guessed the ending quite early on. This didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the novel, although at times I found Ella’s impulsive actions puzzling, as at the beginning of the novel she is portrayed as a loner, content with her own company. This is a gentle read, following characters filled with pain who must reach out to find happiness.

Too much word to describe this finest and brilliantly written story. I must say, the author did her really best to execute a wonderful plot like this. Worth of everyone’s time, nothing to waste upon reading each chapter.

CAn ten words bring Ella to live again? Since her mother left when she was five years old, Ella is been hiding from the world, not really living, not loving even drifting away from her aunt. But when she sees an ad in The Post with the ten word her mother always said to her she stars wondering if she is really dead or if her mother will be alive. Ella will star a journey to find her while finding herself in the process. A wonderful story about love, family, forgiviness and so much more.

Although this was a bit slow going I appreciate the storyline and pleased with the way it ended.  The story builds through Ella, in current time, and Jade, from about twenty until Ella’s birth.  One event in Jade’s life changed her course forever, causing her to make tough decisions she thought were good for her daughter.  I mentioned the book moving slowly but at about 80% I couldn’t put it down, we were finally getting answers and emotions.  Ella has been like a robot moving through the motions of life until she spots something in the classifieds that makes her question everything.  I’ve read Mercer’s books before and enjoyed them, even if this was not a favorite I will continue to read her works.  My copy was provided by the publisher through Netgalley, review offered voluntarily.