This is a hard one to review - it could have been great, but I didn’t think it was. I’m sure lots of people will love it, but for me there were a couple of things that I found off putting.

⚠️ content warnings: addiction, alcoholism, chronic illness, death, death of a parent, drug use and abuse, terminal illness, miscarriage, infertility, infidelity

Eva Carter has a beautiful way of writing - I felt connected to and engaged with the characters and what was happening in their lives. I wanted to know more about them and really thought they carried the story.

However, the pacing is off. It’s a fairly long book for a romance, and it starts slow, following the characters every couple of months, but then the time gaps get bigger and bigger and I felt like I was missing so much of their lives.

I also felt like Carter tried to throw in as much drama and heartbreak as she could think of. There was barely a chapter where nothing went wrong and a lot of it felt like it was there just to make the book longer.

If you like the concept of One Day and Grey's Anatomy, this would definitely be the book for you. This book follows three people and what happens after the inconceivable happens. How they react at that moment and the people that they become after the years have passed.

There is heartbreak, there is great joy that makes your heart soar and moments of humour in some corners. These are young people that make mistakes, make more ones, learn from them and grow from what they have learnt. It is a full cycle of life and that is what makes it unequivocally similar to real life and what we all have to overcome through our own challenges that are thrown at us. But also what life can make and develop our personalities according to our experiences, for better or for worse.

To be honest, I didn't really have much attachment to any of the main characters in this book. I think this was done deliberately, however. These characters all have their own stories and they develop and become their own people when they are not with the main protagonists. This allows us to see these characters differently and how they function, rather than the great machine of being in one group. It can be seen as interesting yet effective how this works.

I did enjoy this book, I loved the concept of how it started from one point in time and carried on throughout the years to see what happened to these particular characters. I wish I saw this technique a lot more in other books as it is intriguing to see what happens after the big event. Because that is real life, we have to keep moving, no matter how many mistakes we make, or how big they are, we still have to keep spinning that wheel so we can get to the next day.

Kerry saves Joel's life and then she makes it possible for Tim to go to medical school. Each time she sacrifices something to help other people. Their lives drift apart and together at various times over the years. Each time Kerry is the fixer. But who will save her when she is broken? Well written, believable conflicts, and full of love

This is a love story with a difference. It is a story about learning to love your life, even if it turns out to be nothing like the one you had dreamt of.

New Years Eve. 1999. Young footballer Joel, suddenly collapses. Classmate Kerry performs CPR for 18 minutes, thus saving his life.

But with a heart arrhythmia, Joel has to say goodbye to his footballing career. And he spirals. Badly.

Meanwhile, Kerry who has always dreamt of becoming a doctor, is also heaetbroken. Failing her exams, it looks as though it's all over for her dream.

As we watch these two young people try to navigate their way through the trials and tribulations they both must face, our investment in their story grows. We are rooting for them both to find themselves and each other. We are constantly feeling highs and lows as they come close, and once again turn away. I must admit, I found this constant will they, won't they, slightly frustrating at times. It became almost too much for too long. But it did hold my attention and I had to know the final answer. There is so much more to this book than love. It's a testament to human courage, to failure and rising from the ashes of despair. It is life affirming, tragic and hopeful all at once.

I adored it.

This book begins on the eve of the Millennium when 18 year old Joel's heart stops and his school peer Kelly performs life saving CPR, whilst her friend Tim freezes. This one event changes all of their lives over the next two decades where their lives continue to collide no matter how much they try and move on.

I really enjoyed this book and was able to read it quickly, I loved the complexities behind the plot and how one event can impact our lives. I also liked how Carter crossed many different periods of time which I feel helped to show the development of the characters from teenagers into adulthood. Carter writes from the perspectives of Kerry, Tim and Joel, showing changes in all their lives. I did find the characters a little difficult to connect with at times but feel this added to their stories and personal struggles.

At times I did feel the book could have been a little shorter but each event is significant to the plot. Carter includes many difficult topics throughout the book including trauma, drug and alcohol dependency, miscarriage, mental health and cancer. I felt these issues were incorporated well to raise awareness however, at times I did feel these could have been explored in more depth but this would have changed the tone of the book.

I definitely recommend this for anyone wanting to read a contemporary book that isn't a typical romance plot.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unedited feedback.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc of this book, along with Panmacmillan and Mantle Press Books - Eva Carter has created a wonderfully more-ish book. I kept wanting to pick it up to see what was happening in the intertwining lives of Kerry, Joel and Tim.
I really enjoyed the development of all the characters - there wasn't any that I liked/disliked more than the rest - and a great storyline progressing over 18 years with the 3 POV
Would completely recommend 👌

This was a dramatic story following the lives of three teenagers and how a tragic occurrence affects them and their lives. Interesting read.

How to Save a Life - Eva Carter

Kerry and Tim have been best friends since childhood and are in their final year of school, hoping to go to university to study medicine. Whilst celebrating New Year's Eve 1999 on Brighton beach Joel, a classmate, has a cardiac arrest. Tim freezes but Kerry performs CPR before the ambulance arrives. We follow Kerry, Tim and Joel in the immediate aftermath and then over the course of the next 18 years.

Wow, what an AMAZING book this was! Brilliant in every way - fantastic characters, incredible story and superb pacing/plotting - Eva Carter is an incredible writer. I couldn't put it down - absolutely fantastic! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

How to Save a Life is a beautiful read that sweeps you away in to it's pages. A heart warming, heart-breaking and soul warming story. You will not regret reading it.

A beautiful read. This book is gorgeously written. The characters are well developed Joel Kerry and Tim are all likeable characters. A perfect book for the summer.

Kerry Joel and Tim are best friends - when they are 18, Joels heart stops and Kerry manages to start it again through CPR. The echoes of her actions and of Tim's inaction spiral through their lives afterwards, affecting life choices and decisions for a long long time. Its a very sweet story, well told and with enough twists and diversions to keep us interested

I must admit that at times I found this a difficult read and hard to engage with. I am not sure why. The characters of Tim, Joel and Kerry are well drawn, the writing is really good and there's nothing wrong with the plot either. I think this is a case of it's not the author, it's me! I have given the book four stars because it is well crafted, I just didn't quite fall in love with it as I hoped.

How to save a life.

The irony here is that one of the focus points of this story is the cardiac arrest and subsequent heart problems of Joel - a footballer destined to be a star. Yet this book broke my heart over and over again.

Kerry is going to be a doctor - as is her best friend Tim. On New Years Eve 1999 Kerry uses all her St John’s ambulance cadet training as she performs CPR on her classmate & crush Joel.
What follows are the stories of Kerry, Joel & Tim and the impact that one fateful night had on the rest of their lives. Their successes, their failures & what happens when fate interrupts your plans.

Oh I really did enjoy this book. I loved the story of how the trauma of one night can have such lasting repercussions - both mentally and physically. I loved Kerry - she has only ever wanted to save people and watching as she tries to rescue everyone in her life & put everyone else first made me really root for her.

It would have been a 5 star, but I’ll spoil it if I explain what I didn’t like.
Looking forward to more from this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

A story with so many twists and turns that you are kept guessing right until the very end.

This essentially a love story about a teenage attraction that is destined to be doomed. The book opens dramatically with a young rookie professional football player called Joel having a heart attack as the world celebrates the new millennium. His life is saved due to the quick thinking of aspiring medic Kerry and Tim. Yet, Joel would perhaps argue that he should have been left to die. His life is changed irrevocably due to this medical incident which drastically alters his life path. He is no longer the person he thought he was and spends many years learning to like himself and live a life that is acceptable to him.

This is complicated by a three-way love triangle between Tim, Kerry and Joel. The three went to school together and Kerry was always attracted to Joel, but had seemed invisible to him prior to his medical incident. Their relationship is passionate and yet tenuous. There are lots of misunderstandings and hot tempered incidents to drive them apart. Joel's recovery needs him to find himself before he can truly recognise Kerry's place in his life. This is complicated further by some inexplicable duty that Kerry seems to think she owes Tim, which sees her future taking a very different course than the one she had planned out at 17.

It is hard to talk about this book without giving away too many spoilers. Kerry both irritated me and evoked great empathy. She is such a victim through so much of this book. She is strong and brave but always too nice to say no and look after herself. The men in her life just don't deserve her.

This is a story that explores the unfairness of life and the repercussions of wrong decisions, a split moment in time. I was rooting for Kerry by the end. I wanted her to win at something, I just wasn't sure what for so much of the story. Great characters, perhaps to many coincidences that bring these three characters back into each others lives time and again for it to feel totally authentic. All the same it was a good read that I enjoyed and would recommend.

"A heart stops. Their story starts..."

Such an important book. Absolutely gripping. A story that spans two decades, and 3 lives that are changed forever.

The story starts when Kerry saves Joel's life when his heart stops on new years eve and he goes into cardiac arrest. The story then follows on from that night in 1999 to 18 years later. I really liked the 3 point of views that switch from Kerry, Joel and Tim, you get a real sense of how that fateful night affects everyone for years to come...

Such an emotional read, full of important information regarding what to do if someone has a cardiac arrest, and how it's crucial to act fast and start cpr. I learnt a lot from this book, and it's really made me want to relearn first aid, and cpr training again.

I didn't particularly like the 3 main characters (Kerry, Joel and Tim) ,but I did feel attached to them, and could really relate to their struggles. I really enjoyed the fast paced writing, I was gripped, and couldn't wait to keep reading more! I found myself thinking of the story, long after I had put it down for the day.

Some of the main themes in the book include, death, heart failure and heart conditions, drug addiction, overdosing, alcohol abuse, suicidal thoughts, homelessness, miscarriage and medical conditions, caring for a parent and medical training, including surgeries. This book really touches on so many subjects, in a real raw and honest way.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my earc, in exchange for an honest review.*

I was attracted to this book by the appealing cover, the colour & the illustration. I'm not sure if the blurb alone would of been enough to attract me to this book.

Three friends are out celebrating the eve of the new Millennium (1999-2000). Then Joel suddenly stops breathing, Kerry gives him CPR and ultimately saves his life and Tim...... Freezes.

The ramifications of that night affect there friendships/relationships going forward. Butand how the then there is life changing moments that mean that the three friends are thrown back together.

This story is so well written that I found myself wanting to have a cuppa and get to know the friends and I felt I could easily be part of the story.

Maybe due to my own medical history I really appreciated the effort that the author went to, to ensure that the medical references and technical details were as accurate as possible. I later discovered that the author had been involved in a situation where she had given (successfully) to her partner and her mother is a trauma nurse.

The way this book was written meant I was constantly intrigued by what was happening to the characters and how the story developed.

When I had finished this book I was left feeling relived that I liked the cover, as having never heard from of the author before, this is what attracted me to the book. I did find the first few chapters a bit hard going but then as I became more invested in the plot and the characters I enjoyed it more and more.

I wanted to see if Eva Carter had written anything else and discovered she has. This book was written under the pseudonym for the successful author Kate Harrison.

I am now left wandering if there could be a second book featuring these characters? I became that invested in these characters

Starting with a heartstopping “A Guide To The Chain of Survival” (which is weaved throughout the book and links well with the story), that is then what draws you into this unflinching book and then introduces readers to Kerry. It’s 31st December 1999 and she is celebrating the fact there are minutes to go until the beginning of the new millenium, with her future planned and a hope of a kiss at the bells. She is brave when it comes to giving first aid.

There’s Tim who is with Kerry and freezes when it comes to giving CPR to Joel and reacts in a way he cannot fathom out.

There is an immediate intensity with every breath and push given, and it is thought-provoking. No one knows until it is upon them, how they would react to a situation of having to actually give CPR on a real person as opposed to a dummy.

There is Joel, who the CPR ended up being performed on and what happened to him and how he was feeling on the eve of the millenium.

The book is very different in its plotting as it very much focuses on First Aid for quite some time. It is also interesting to read about their lives outside of that moment, but how that moment is always inextricably there, amongst the highs and lows of the characters lives. The book also delves into how people’s perceptions and attitudes to things can change when something dramatic happens in their lives or when life or death hangs in the balance, whether at home or when travelling. Even with all that going on, there is a love story within there too, but with bumps in the road that need ironing out and some introspective thoughts and discussions that go on, within the characters.

The book could literally help people save someone’s life, almost in the way that Holby City or Casualty can, and also help put people’s lives into perspective. There is a timely feel to the themes within the book, that will hook you in easily, to find out more and more until the very end of a book that evokes sympathy, empathy, thought-provoking and love.

The most amazing book I’ve read this year. This will take you on a full tour of your emotions. This is about Joel, Kerry and Tim over an 18 year period with a multiple narrative. A heart stops, their story starts. The author is an amazing story teller and I can’t wait for more. I cried at so many parts of this that I had to keep tissue handy! I honestly couldn’t recommend this enough. I need a physical copy ASAP! Brilliant.

This is a book with a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from sadness to rage. Bitter sweet moments and drama in droves, along with brilliant storytelling show the talents of this amazing author.
A heart stops. Their story starts.
Sometimes saving a life is only the start of the story . . .
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.
Because bravery isn’t just about life-or-death decisions; it’s also about how to keep on living afterwards.
The opening is jaw-dropping. You are drawn immediately into the centre of the characters and get a feel for who they are straight away.
Initially I thought that this was another classic love story triangle between Kerry, Tim and Joel, it is there, but there is so much more than that too. That is the way of most of the book, well written, absorbing and engaging. The practical information and technical knowledge of the author gives depth to the context too, plus you never know when you might need this advice.
When I read the ending, I literally had to put my Kindle down and just sit, I was so full of emotion, another book that made me cry for a good reason.
I highly recommend this book to anyone as I loved reading every page of this story. Another book that has the potential to be an amazing film.
Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillian for an e ARC of how to save a life in return for an honest review.

A story told from three points of view over 18 years. An incident on New Years Eve binds them together. Each of the characters are young adults and they tell the story alternately from their point of view. The story covers friendship, grief, depression and addiction. It reflects on many difficulties and hardships that we face in life. Some complimentary first aid is also covered. For fans of Normal People.