Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy.

"Our scars are simply the marks of our stories. They show we've lived our life, and most of all that we have survived it. Don't hide your story away in the shadows"

If I am being honest this book is pretty slow.

After an fire in her building Alice, having suffered terrible burns finds herself in the hospital recovering, physically and mentally scarred from the events she finds herself not talking. In stark contrast to her bed neighbour behind the curtain, an amputee following a car accident Alfie, who doesn’t stop talking. The two eventually find themselves becoming friends, talking about their traumatic experiences and slowly falling for each other only thing is they have never actually seen each other.

Look the book is essentially just a lot of sitting around and talking. It takes a heavy emphasis on internal healing and hence there it was heavy on the internal monologue. Whilst it is obviously a very important topic to deal with, recovering and learning to love yourself again it felt very longwinded at times and made it a bit hard for me to get through. I did enjoy how rich the characters backstories were, it really made you feel for them and added to their character a lot.

It was lacking in the romance area. In the time they had fallen for each other it honestly wasn’t that convincing that they had. They had had a few conversations and held hands once or so and all of a sudden they were in love. I get that the whole concept was meant to be them falling in love without ever having even seen each other I just don’t know if it was really pulled off. Moreover you read a book which is the most slow burn romance you have ever read for them to not even kiss??

Overall though the characters were pretty good, it was quite funny and I did enjoy myself reading it at times I just wished it wasn’t as slow and repetitive.

Two traumatised people fall in love. Alfie and Alice find themselves in adjacent hospital beds. Both are badly injured, but Alice's curtain always remains drawn round her bed because she cannot bear to be seen. She has no visitors. Curious Alfie tries to draw her out and they start to talk. Love all the different characters on the ward and how crosswords draw them together. The warmth of Nurse Angles, Alfie's Mum and Alice's friend Sarah is delightful. An unusual love story between two lonely people who would never have met if not for their accidents.

This was a really good read and I think my favorite thing about this book was how unique it was. It's not your typical falling in love tale. The characters are put in bad situations but interact in a way we're not used to seeing in other fiction. Finally, the setting. I felt like I was actually IN the hospital watching these scenes unfold. Tremendous book.

Really loved this from the first page. The premise is different and pulled off so well. The back and forward between the two main characters kept me reading eager to find out what happened. I could actually envisage the hospital ward and all the patients. Alice and Alfie were both endearing characters that I was rooting for throughout. The only negative with this book is it finished too early I would love to read more. Maybe there will be a follow up.

A well written, likeable read in an unusual setting and about an unusual pair of characters. As a rehab nurse by profession, I left my scrubs on the hanger and enjoyed the book for what it was. An absorbing romance.

This is a stellar love story, battling against adversity, pain, fear and loss it seems like Alfie and Alice will never set eyes on each other let alone take their tentative friendship further.
Set almost completely in hospital, behind drawn curtains the book touches on many aspect of life changing injury, death and depression but also true friendship, support and love.
All of the characters are exceptionally well written- they almost walk, hobble or hop off the pages before you as you read and the personalities are beautifully described, as are the emotions of staff and patients alike.

Few books move me to shed a tear but this one did in several places.

Loved this!!
Who would have thought that a romance could bloom through the curtains around a hospital bed, , or that an entire story set solely in a hospital ward could hold your attention so well that you couldn’t put the book down.
Unusual in that the characters never see each other and fall in love with each other’s personalities ,not looks.
Loved ALL the characters, even the nosy Sandra,
I cried at the tragedies, I laughed at the camaraderie on the ward and my heart broke a little when I thought the ending was going to be very different. I will most definitely be seeking out more by this author.

I loved this book. It was really sweet . The characters of Angie and Alfie are very well written and likeable , I'd definitely read more from this writer,

Wow! What a fantastic story portraying a really challenging situation and how friendship and love develops through constraints. Some real emotion in there and I had tears at some points but laughter at others. 100% must read!

Due to horrific accidents, Alfie and Alice have both ended up in hospital. Neighbours on the recovery ward, outgoing Alfie takes it upon himself to cheer up and help Alice... although he can’t see her.
Alice’s disfiguring burns have crippled her confidence, and she won’t let anyone see her. But Alfie might just be the one to change that.

I chewed through this book in one sitting. There was something about it that just made me keep reading... probably the ‘when will Alfie finally lay eyes on her?!’ suspense. While I may personally find the romance angle a little bit hard to believe, this book is sweet, and highlights both human fragility, and strength. Well worth a read.

Absolutely loved this. Great characters you really empathised with. Alice's struggle to accept the new version of her was beautifully written and Alfie's difficulties in moving forward were so well described. Great book.

I hoped that this book would be a quirky and different story. It is essentially a light-hearted and heart-warming story, but I was very disappointed in the book. The writing is pedestrian, and the characters one-dimensional, so that reading it became a bit of a chore. Not one I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ahh I wanted to love this so much! Everything about it hooked me from the premise to the adorable cover art and I was so excited when I got approved for the ARC. Unfortunately it was not the book for me.

The writing was great and the premise was lovely. I adored Alfie and Alice grew on me. Watching their relationship blossom was sweet but ultimately the pacing was way too slow for me. Taking place almost entirely in the one place is a tough sell and the side characters definitely helped but it just dragged too much. It struggled to hold my interest.

That said I would read something by this author again, but perhaps something a little faster paced.

This was an honest and heart-wrenching story which has left me wanting to know what happens next. Alice and Alfie have burrowed into my heart and their individual accidents and recoveries were depicted with painful accuracy. The hospital scenes and procedures were well written and the whole book was a joy to read.

This book made me laugh, it made me cry. It made me feel a kaleidoscope of emotions.
I absolutely loved it. It was such a heartfelt journey of a book.
I love the concept of Alfie and Alice falling in love without ever having seeing each other. It definitely made me think on how superficial people can be and act. How you can know someone without knowing what they look like. Appearance definitely isn’t everything.
Both Alice and Alfie go through their own struggles. They’re both coming to terms with difficult injuries that have altered their lives permanently and by chance, they happen to help each other more than they could ever realise.
I’d highly recommend reading this.

I chose this book due to the interesting premise of two strangers in a hospital recovery ward who get to know each other without actually seeing each other. Alice and Alfie strike up a relationship between them and pose the question whether you can fall in love with someone you don’t actually physically meet. With heartbreaking and heartwarming stories between them it was a pleasure to read which draws you in from the beginning.

My only issue was the ending seemed a little abrupt and maybe rushed? With the wonderful slow build up of the story throughout the book I was just a little disappointed at the end which is a real shame.

But overall the book had some wonderful moments and was thought-provoking enough to enjoy it non-the-less.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I just loved this book. Is beauty skin deep?? How does one see who you are without seeing you. Funny, we take sight for granted and much of our thoughts on a person is Based onwhat we see. But if we don’t see someone but get to know them through their voice only we start to conjur up an image of the person and can see into their soul. Can this lead to more than a fleeting relationship.

We must also remember that image is not only what others see but also how a person sees themselves. What if your image is shattered by something out of your control. Coping can take many forms And affects each individually.

But life must go on and it is how we deal with it

A must read both sad and profound. I was right there with the main charwcters. I highly recommend it

I was given access to this book because the publisher thought I would enjoy it....and I certainly did, I devoured it in one night, tears flowing ( happy ones, honest! ) in bed at 1am. Though an avid reader, I have found it really hard recently to concentrate on any book for any great length of time so this was.a joy to read. Engaging characters - I was rooting for them! Would definitely recommend!

Alice and Alfie meet in a hospital rehabilitation ward. Alice has suffered 40% burns and is unwilling to speak or let anybody see her and demands the curtain around her cubicle remains closed. Alfie has lost a leg in a car accident and is the life and sole of the ward. Alfie manages to gain Alice's trust and soon they form a very strong bond, but without ever seeing each other.

A funny, heart renching and beautiful love story. Absolutely loved it.

This is a Jojo Moyes type of feel-good story but I found it to be boring, predictable and unoriginal. I did not warm to any of the characters and the hospital ward setting did not run true. I gave up half way through and read the end which was again typical of this type of book.