This is such a tearjerker and had me hooked throughout. The characters are really well written and I love how we follow them over a large time span. Really great thoughtfully written book.

I really enjoyed this, quirky different about saving someone’s life, and the eff3ct it will have on you both for the rest of your lives. Well written, interestingly drawn characters

Sweet, if a little slow in places. A reliably teary ending - good for fans of Jojo Moyes. The concept has been done before, but this is a very heart-warming take.

I was hooked by Eva Carter's 'How to Save a Life' from the very first chapter where we see 17 year old aspiring medic Kerry save the life of her classmate Joel. Her quick thinking and aggressive CPR meant that, even after being dead for 18 minutes, Joel lived on following his cardiac arrest. Kerry's friend Tim, who is another aspiring medic, freezes and does little to help the situation and yet the story gets warped, with him taking major credit for Kerry's heroic actions. Across the novel, we follow these three characters over the years as they experience the highs and lows of life, the echo and trauma of that fateful day forever shaping their fates, however much they try to move on.

At its core, this book is a love triangle between Kerry, Joel and Tim. At one point, she describes herself as pinballing between the two which is definitely a fair assessment. However, nothing ever quite works as it should with every dramatic experience possible, ranging from drug addiction to cancer to unwanted pregnancies, plaguing these characters and their families. It feels like every time there is a glimpse of hope, it is snatched away by another horrific thing. However, I found myself addicted to knowing what was going to happen with the core three and whether they would find true happiness - the ride is quite an unbelievable one but I enjoyed the thrill of each twist and turn.

Overall, despite the plot being highly dramatised, and Tim being one of the most annoying characters to read, the message behind this book is an important one. The central story about people going into cardiac arrest and knowing what to do comes through loud and clear and makes Joel and Kerry's story something quite special. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book introduces us to Kerry, Tim, and Joel… we follow them through a timeline of 18 years. 18 years filled with love and laughter, but also heartbreak and hurt.

I loved the journey, watching these characters grow and I enjoyed seeing their triumphs and reading about their trials and challenges.

This is a well written book with some serious takeaways about the importance of CPR and defibrillators.

Definitely a lovely read.

This book blew me away - I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I think it would probably be classed as a coming of age romance, a genre that I would probably avoid but I need to rethink. The characters weren't sickly sweet, there were twists and turns - yes, it sometimes got frustrating as I just wanted to find out what happens at the end but that was the sign of a great story for me.

You could feel the frustration of the main characters - Joel was an obvious one - His life completely changed forever after his health changed. Tim and Kerry too though, they made decisions that surprised and frustrated too. We weren't always supposed to like them but who likes everyone in real life?

I'd definitely explore more books by Eva Carter.

How to save a life is centred around one life-saving moment, and follows the three characters involved - 17 year olds Kerry, Joel and Tim across the next two decades of their lives. With multiple bumps and twists along the way the novel covers career, family and romantic choices, as well as the ongoing effects of that one night.

I enjoyed the alternating narrative voices and the novel's progression over the years, however it felt a bit too long with a few too many twists before the ending which was pretty obvious from the outset.

3.5 stars for an enjoyable read.

A beautiful story about friendship, saving lives, and how it's not just about the actual 'life' literally saved. There were a good few cliched moments in here, and that detracted from it, but it was a perfectly decent read that would have benefitted from very few changes, as though the things discussed really are kinda cliche, they are also...life.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kerry has had a crush on Joel forever, on millennium eve Joel suffers a cardiac arrest and Kerry revives him, the story follows the ups and downs of Kerry and Joel’s lives for the next 18 years. A good book that has me hooked from the beginning

I could not put this book down- even at their most unlikeable, I was rooting for Joel, Kerry and Tom. It has a saga feel, as it follows them across a longer period of time, so I felt very invested in their lives. I particularly enjoyed how Eva Carter weaved in the key events of the years, such as 9/11, and made these feel true to the characters. Without addressing it specifically, there was a real question of what would have happened if Kerry hadn’t saved Joel, which added more depth to this. It is not only engrossing but also brought home for me the fragility of life and how precarious CPR is, with such a low success rate, which only added to the miracle feel of the book’s premise. Wonderful – can’t wait to read more by Eva Carter.

Spanning a time period of almost 20 years, How to Save a Life follows three teenagers through their lives after the traumatic events on 31st December 2019. Kerry and Tim are best friends, Living near each other, they have been friends since children, are both members of the St John Ambulance and both want to become doctors. Kerry has never had a boyfriend and is sure Tim might kiss her at midnight but she isn’t sure she fancies him. When popular kid, and Kerry’s secret crush Joel, collapses playing football, Kerry immediately springs into action and starts performing CPR. She essentially keeps him alive until the ambulance arrives to shock Joel back to life. Tim initially freezes leaving Kerry to bear the responsibility for Joel but his instincts kick in just before the ambulance arrives, leading people to believe that he was the one who saved Joel.

Over the next 20 years, the story follows Kerry, Tim and Joel. Joel struggles with his new found health problems, especially as he wanted to be a professional footballer and he and Kerry become close – they both understand the trauma of what happened. But when Joel realises his dream of being a footballer will never happen he cuts Kerry out of his life. Devastated, she fails to get the grades she needs for medical school, while Tim succeeds and follows his dream.

I loved this story. Initially when I realised it was almost 500 pages long, I did wonder if it was going to be too long but I needn’t of worried as I’d have quite happily kept reading about the three friends for much longer! Told from each character’s point of view, we see their good and bad points. Joel is lost after he is saved and ends up spiralling into addiction and has a death wish. Tim feels guilty for taking the credit for saving Joel’s life and is never sure of his vocation to be a doctor and makes some dubious decisions. Kerry was my favourite character – vulnerable yet strong. I really wanted to see her succeed and be happy.

I loved how the 3 of their lives kept colliding – some misunderstandings along the way that were realistic. Being local to Brighton, I was able to vividly picture in my head the locations mentioned and a lot of us in the readalong I took part in loved the nostalgia of being transported back to the early 2000s!

I’ve never really thought of the trauma before of what it must be like to hold someone’s life in your hands. I’d always thought that if you saved someone, it would just be OK and you’d get on with your life happy to have helped. But the shock of having to save someone, knowing you might have failed and have to live with the guilt of them dying is something that was really brought across well in this book. And the trauma of finding out at 18 you died and have to live with a dangerous medical condition was also brought across well.

The author has personal experience of this. In 2013 her partner’s heart stopped and she had to do CPR. Chances of survival even with CPR are low but luckily he survived and this event inspired Eva to write this book. The book is divided into sections and at the beginning of each section, it explains how to do CPR and the use of a defibrillator.

I really enjoyed How to Save a Life. It gave me a lot to think about.

Good book, not like anything I've read before. Enjoyable from a writer who is new to me. Would recommend.

Move over Grey’s Anatomy - Kerry, Joel and Tim are here! Following 18 years in the lives of the 3 friends, with all their choices, mistakes, loves and losses, I felt genuinely involved in their relationships and dramas. Great characters, realistic storylines, and just the right balance between heart warming and true to life, this actually makes a perfect winter or festive read to cosy up with as so much takes place on New Year’s Eves. I loved it.

I really enjoyed reading this book!
I was hooked from the beginning, it had a really serious message throughout which I found so interesting. I empathised with the characters at different points and loved that they had their flaws and issues that they worked though.
Such a nice coming of age story.

I have to say, the tone of this book was quite a bit heavier than I was expecting but I did really enjoy this epic love story and I’m not sure I’ll forget Kerry, Joel and Tim in a hurry.

This novel examines how one single event can be completely life changing for the people involved and sometimes in utterly unexpected ways. While Joel’s heart was ultimately healed, my heart ached for the three main protagonists as their lives unravelled time and time again.

It’s a super ambitious book in many ways, given the decades-long time span, the intricate interweaving of different storyline strands and the sheer amount of research that must have gone into it. It’s scale and scope I think lend themselves towards some kind of screen adaptation, which is something I’d love to see!

At another time I could imagine that this might have made the list of my favourite books of the year but it was perhaps a little more heart-wrenching and emotional than I was looking for right now. With thanks to Mantle for gifting me a digital copy to review.

It took me a while to get into this for some reason but I was very glad I persevered. Kerry and Tim are two nerdy sixth form students and best friends, (although Tim would like them to be something more than friends). On the Millennium New Year’s Eve they are outside along with other students from their school when Joel, a popular student, blacks out while playing his beloved football. Both Kerry and Tim recognise the fact that his heart has failed. They both know they need to administer CPR but only Kerry is actually stirred into action while Tim is frozen for most of the time. Tim actually takes over after quite some time but ends up being the person who is recognised for saving Joel’s life. Set over a period of eighteen years this is a love story involving Tim, Kerry and Joel. Joel’s life changes for ever when his dream of becoming a footballer has to change and he becomes angry and depressed. Both Tim and Kerry dream of becoming doctors and their dreams change due to the events of that memorable night. All the characters are beautifully written and the author has clearly researched her topic writing knowledgeably and in depth about CPR. This book is a real page turner as the reader is desperate for a happy ending for all three characters.

It’s nearly midnight on the eve of the millennium when eighteen-year-old Joel’s heart stops. A school friend, Kerry, performs CPR for almost twenty exhausting minutes, ultimately saving Joel’s life, while her best friend Tim freezes, unable to help.

That moment of life and death changes the course of all three lives over the next two decades: each time Kerry, Joel and Tim believe they’ve found love, discovered their vocation, or simply moved on, their lives collide again.

A heartwarming character driven story that follows the lives of the three main characters. It covers their journey as they deal with their emotions, challenges while exploring and rediscovering their bond friendship.

Overall, an absorbing read!

Thank You NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Mantle for this ARC!

A really good read. the story starts on millennium eve when Joel a promising young footballer goes into cardiac arrest and is saved by Kerry who hopes to become a doctor. The story is beautifully written and the medical side of the story is excellent, the characters are really interesting and there is a lot going on that holds your interest.

Joel’s heart stops beating just as the clock is about to bring in a new Millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999. Luckily for Joel, medical school hopefuls, Kerry and Tim are there and together they perform CPR and save his life. But for the 3 of them life will never be the same again and this turn of events changes their lives forever.
Over the years their lives intertwine between their relationships, health, career and love.

An enjoyable read.

Wow, this was a great read. Told across 18 years from the perspectives of Kerry, Joel and Tim we watch them grow up, find love and most importantly live!
The medical theme is present throughout and there's a lot of research clearly been done.
Some heartbreaking moments, some laugh out loud moments and some ahhh moments.
I really liked the style and layout. The author has a really good way of writing that really captivates and draws you in. I would definitely read more by this author.