A beautiful, beautiful writer.
I love Anna Mansell’s books, all so beautifully written. 
I loved the notebook left on the doorstep, the things Lisa wrote in it were very touching as the book progressed. Some simple words and sentences, but they were very powerful for me. Every book by this author affects me massively. It’s like she’s writing just for me, and that is a very clever thing!
Lisa was raised by her dad after her mum was killed in a car accident when she was a few months old. Her dad has always been a bit controlling, and they didn’t have a very close relationship. When she left for Scotland as a sixteen year old with Billy her dad was not impressed, and when things went wrong her dad promptly drove to pick her up and bring her back down south. 
Things were looking up, she had her own house, and was starting a new job on the same day Poppy was starting a new school year.
I loved Lisa’s relationship with best friend Holly. All these years Paul, Holly’s older brother, has fancied Lisa too. They were all such good friends. 
On her way to a fun day out Lisa was in a car accident and Poppy is seriously injured. I visualised the aftermath only too well, and all the time in the hospital. Just watching Poppy. Just waiting for a flicker of something, an eyelid, or a squeeze of her hand. It was painful to read.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll stop there. You need to read this for yourself.
There is lots of deceit and family secrets! It shows the importance of family and friendship, and dealing with trust. All the characters feel very real.
I can thoroughly recommend it.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Lisa is a good mum to her five-year-old daughter Poppy. She is the only parent Poppy knows and things have gone well for her, despite the recent loss of her grandmother. Her father is a bit controlling, but she is assured of his love. One day Lisa gets a strange package in the mail. It starts of with a blank journal, but then other gifts begin to arrive. 

Tragedy strikes however, when Lisa is in a car accident and Poppy is seriously injured. Just prior to that Lisa had started dating, but had thought of Poppy's father from time to time, wondering if she should let Poppy have a relationship with him. Now that Poppy has become injured, her ex comes back into the picture, and this has an affect on Lisa's current relationship. Combine that stress with the fact Lisa still continues to get strange packages and Lisa is at sixes and sevens.

What We Leave Behind was an even mix of family drama as well as the mystery behind the gifts. The drama came in when it came to Poppy's recovery and regarding Lisa and her family situation, especially when it came to her father. Revelations as to the packages were revealed and I was kept guessing about that. 

This touching story comes full circle for Lisa, giving readers an insight with regard to her life and even the choices she is forced to make. This is only my second book by Anna Mansell and I enjoyed how she drew me into the characters and the story. I feel like she did a fine job of drawing out my emotions when it came to Lisa and her family in this engrossing read. I very much look forward to reading her next book.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

At times interesting, at times slow but I think ultimately it's worth a read for 2 reasons.  Firstly, the eventually satisfying romantic relationship of our main character.  Secondly the surprising secrets revealed we never knew existed.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

This is a good emotional read. I thought that there was too much happening which made the story not unite believable.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Beautiful. Heart warming. Thought provoking. Stunningly written. I loved this from start to finish. Another emotional, wonderful, powerful pageturner from this incredibly talented author who goes from strength to strength with each amazing book she writes. Pure writing gold. Please read this one.

I am completely at a loss for words! This book is incredible from start to finish!

Anna Mansell is so good at this type of novel.

Characters that you truly bond with and a gritty, captivating storyline that makes you want to turn the pages faster and faster but a writing style so perfect that you can't skip a single word.

Lisa and her adorable daughter, Poppy, are a perfect little bubble. Along with best friends Holly and Charlie they're all each other needs, for the most part.

In this story, we're reminded that all families have dramas, secrets and tragedies but some are more hidden than others. Lisa has a strained relationship with her father but he's always been there for her. So when disaster strikes, he's keen to help. 

There's something not quite right with this family but it's not clear what. And that's what makes this such a great read; the guessing. 

I love the insight into mental illness that we get too. It's a tough subject that is dealt with very sensitively and accurately. Bravo, Anna!

Overall, this book is absolutely fantastic! My favourite of Anna's by far!

What Became of Us by Anna Mansell is undeniably a beautifully written story, though I must admit that it was not my favourite from this talented author.  While the story didn't completely engage me, it is heartfelt and well-executed, and explores all of the familial drama that we love.

Lisa is left with her newborn daughter, Poppy, when her boyfriend Brian ups and leaves.  Having lost her own mother at a very young age, Lisa is well aware of what it means to be raised by a single parent.  Although their relationship is complicated, Lisa's father summons her home to the place where she grew up.  When mysterious gifts begin to anonymously appear, Lisa wonders if she is receiving messages from someone she knows.  When her daughter Poppy is involved in a tragic accident and left fighting for her life, it seems that secrets from the past will be revealed, and Lisa's life  will never again be the same.

I am confident that fans of Ms Mansell will be delighted with this latest offering.  Unfortunately, I just did not fully connect with this one, but will certainly look forward to reading more from this trusted author in the future.  3.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Enjoyed it, but it wasn't my favorite. I would give it 2.5 stars. I was excited to read this because I loved all the previous books that I read by the author. I found the story hard to get into. Wasn't a fan of any of the characters. Half the time I couldn't believe they were in their thirties. Lisa andPaul danced around their feelings. Just tell each other how you feel. I really didn't get Lisa's relationship with Billy. He left you and your daughter when she was three days old. He never contacted her and asked about Poppy, he never sent money to help out with Poppy. He did NOTHING, but of course Lisa thinks her daughter deserves two parents. The relationship that was the strangest, was the one between Lisa and her dad. He was so controlling, always lying and never seemed to show any emotion. I couldn't believe he locked her and Poppy in the house when left to do errands. There were so many secrets in Lisa's family. Didn't Lisa ever do a google search about her mom? Didn't she ever look up information about the tragic accident? I'm sure a newspaper reported what happened. When the truth about Lisa's family finally comes out, it was hard to believe. I just have mixed feelings about the book. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. 

Give the book a try, it just wasn't for me. I look forward to reading more books by the author. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What Became of Us, by Lisa Mansell, is the story of three best friends, a heartbreaking tragedy, the things we do to help those we love the most, and the unexpected surprises that threaten to destroy a family. 
Lisa, Holly, and Paul have been best friends for years and have been there for each other through the highs and lows of life. When Lisa’s boyfriend Brian leaves her with their newborn baby Poppy, she’s is devastated. Her overbearing protective father forces her to return to her home town but at least she has the comfort of her two best friends and her grandmother. When they were younger it was just Lisa and Holly because Holly’s brother Paul was a few years older. Now that they are adults though, the three of them are as close as ever. 
Lisa is caught off guard (at the beginning of the book) when Paul confesses that he’s in love with her just before he and Holly leave for a brief trip. Lisa starts to question her feelings about Paul and starts to realize that she may feel the same way, but she doesn’t have much time to think about it because her grandmother passes away. Since she has always had a small family, Lisa is deeply saddened at her loss. Now it’s just Poppy, Lisa, and her dad, and she has always had a strained relationship with her dad. He’s overbearing, controlling, and overly opinionated. Lisa’s mother and other grandmother and grandfather died in a car accident when she was an infant so she has never knew them. Since Lisa’s Grandmother’s passes away when Holly and Paul are out of town, Holly rushes to be by Lisa’s side as soon as she returns.  Holly warns Lisa about hearing that  her ex, Poppy’s father, has returned to town. Brian was the love of Lisa’s life, and even though she knows she could never love him again, she starts to question if she should try to form a relationship with him so that he could be in Poppy’s life and she’s not quite sure how Paul would fit into the mix of it all. Holly’s son is the same age as Poppy, so they often get a chance to catch up at their school. Paul is also very close to his nephew, so its not uncommon for them to do things together. After seeing Brian though, Lisa isn’t sure how to respond to Paul’s confession about his feelings for her. 
When she starts finding gifts on her doorstep she questions everyone she knows, but no one admits to leaving them and she’s never able to see who drops them off. The first gift is a somewhat personal journal that Lisa receives on her first day returning to work. It’s the first time Lisa has had a job since Poppy was born, and even though her dad objects to it, Lisa is excited to be earning her own money again especially since she’ll. be working at Poppy’s school.
Suddenly Lisa’s faced with the worst tragedy imaginable when Poppy is injured and is in a coma. As always, Paul and Holly are there for her, but she certainly can’t cope well enough to work out her feelings towards Paul. When Brian comes to the hospital asking to be part of their lives, she’s more confused than ever. Ultimately Brian asks Lisa to return with him so they can try to be a family again. He admits that he was wrong for leaving her and says he wants to be in Poppy’s life. With the gifts still coming, Lisa is more confused than ever because the people who are closest to her continue to deny their involvement. As a result of the tragedy and other circumstances, Lisa is faced with having to live with her father again. As intrusive as ever, she feels trapped by his presence and demands. She also comes across a startling discovery that makes her question everything he has ever told her. When she sets out on her own to find out the truth, Holly and Paul are as supportive as ever, but Lisa is shocked at what she finds. When she confronts her dad about it, he continues telling her the same lies he’s told her throughout her life. Everything Lisa has ever known as the truth is no longer what it seemed, so she’s in no position  to make any big decisions about her feelings for Paul or whether or not she wants to allow Brian into Poppy’s life.
Eventually the truth comes out, and it is a very unexpected twist! Although I loved the story, the characters, and the twist, I’ll admit that some of the details about the twist frustrated me. I cannot be specific because that would spoil the surprise but I believe that some of the information was inaccurate and that bothered me. Altogether it was a good book, but it just wasn’t quite for me when the details near the end emerged. I loved Anna Mansell’s creativity in What Became of Us, and felt that it was a sweet story though. I liked her writing style enough that I’ll be looking into other books she has written. It was an easy read and easy to follow, and I loved the character development, plot, and emphasis on family and friends.
Thank you Anna Mansell, Bookouture, and Netgalley for allowing me to read What Became of Us. ,My feedback is my honest opinion.

A mesmerizing storyline of a family secret that makes for a compelling read. The gifts that arrive for Lisa  at first she is energized about getting, but then it starts to grow increasingly more difficult to accept what is going on and why is she getting them and from whom? 

The beginning of the book seems to lag in parts , but the author does bring it together in the middle and the ending is beyond words of a clincher!

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

What would you do if you discovered that the whole context of your life…a critical element that affected all your relationships…was false?  How would you feel? How would you cope?

This is the life-changing dilemma faced by Lisa, a thirty-eight year old single mother, who uncovers a secret, a lie, which has been held for several generations. Basically an introvert, Lisa has been raising her daughter, Poppy, alone for the last five years while struggling with her feelings toward her overprotective, controlling father.

As the story begins, Lisa is facing several emotional challenges: her beloved grandmother has just died; Poppy is starting kindergarten; Lisa herself is taking on a job for the first time in years; Paul, a longtime friend has declared his feelings for her; and Billy, the errant boyfriend, reappears to reestablish their relationship and acknowledge his parenthood.  Amidst this tsunami of events, a life-threatening tragedy strikes and a startling hidden truth is revealed.

I felt the author did an admirable job in keeping the emotional tone balanced in spite of what could have turned into overwrought melodrama. The depth of feeling expressed by the protagonist evoked feelings of compassion and empathy. All the characters were relatable and realistic in their responses and actions given their circumstances.

I enjoyed the unexpected twists in the plot as the story unfolds.  I did find the pacing a little uneven; the first few chapters were a bit slow and my interest flagged.  Once the pace picked up, I couldn’t put the book down and felt gratified with the conclusion.

This is my first exposure to this author.  I have read many books by British authors and am comfortable with the different vernacular, especially the slang.  What was a bit of a challenge for me was the different syntax used.  Once I got used to it, I actually found it interesting, even charming because it made the character seem so real.

My thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Broken hearts, broken minds and long held family secrets are at the core of this family drama.  Lisa needs to know who is sending her gifts that allude to her past.   When the past and the present are brought together, will Lisa be able to recover from one shock after another?

What Became of Us is a beautifully written book.  It is a story that will tug on your heartstrings.  I recommend this one.  I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Perfect title, perfect cover, perfect book!
This was one of those tear jerkers that appeared like an ocean, swept us out to sea, and then came back for the tidal wave that nobody expected.
These gifts to Lisa's young 5 yo daughter (Poppy) was just the beginning of a bizarre scenario.
Who would send such thoughtful items and not want seek acknowledgement?
Could this be a nut case, a stalker, a personal vendetta, or is this someone from the past coming to visit?
So, many scenarios as it could be anyone -the ex boyfriend left when she was pregnant at 16 yo and the father was quite the authority.
The mother had passed in a car accident without much being made of her death or the certificate at the time.
The hardships as a single mom, the parental and biological concerns, the medical scenarios that entered created one swirl of a tornado.
The eye of the storm was so intriguing as it was this second half that came to life with another freak accident and yet another near death casualty.
This time it was Poppy clinging to life but would she overcome this coma and live out her young life or would she succumb just like Lisa's mother?
So many twisters that you have to watch for the debris left behind and the broken pieces that went unclaimed.
What's worth noting is that Kleenex will be kept in business with this one.
Thank you to Anna, the pub, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This story started out a little slower than I expected but I became more involved  as the pages turned until I couldn't put it down. A bit of friendship, sadness, loss and mystery plus love made it into a enjoyable read.
I received a ARC from the publisher and NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it..

Thank you to the author, Anna Mansell, the publishing company, Bookouture and NetGalley for an early electronic copy of this book, for an honest review.

What an absolute heart-wrenching and emotional read.  I truly didn't see where the author was going with the plot, and it truly snuck up on me, however it was a great storyline, and totally unexpected.

This book will capture every emotion that you have, and it captivated me from page one.   This book is unforgettable, and I cannot wait to read the next book by the great authror.

This book was my first by this author and I found it an interesting book. It was almost like it was two books put into one. One book focuses on Lisa and the mysterious gifts she receives. The second book focuses on the accident Lisa and her daughter were in. I enjoyed the book but struggled to match everything for most the I’d the story. It wrapped up nicely but until the end many things did not seem connected.

Slowly the secrets unravel in this emotional story of lies and deception. After a devastating accident, Lisa's life becomes complicated as presents keep appearing at her doorstep. As she narrows it down to three people who could be sending the gifts, a twist will send her in an entirely different direction. Recommended!

2.5-3 stars 

I had a difficult time getting into this book. It starts out a bit slow, and the characters and their relationships weren’t really drawing me in; I felt like I couldn’t connect with them. It wasn’t until tragedy struck that I became more intrigued with the story, mainly because I wanted to see how it would pan out. But overall, the story just didn’t wow me. I thought it dragged on too much, and the relationships at times seemed too juvenile, which really turned me off from the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3522167685

Lisa is a single mum who dotes on her daughter Poppy. One day on her doorstep is a gift, but there is no message as to who is it from. It is wrapped beautifully, and inside is a notebook, its pages empty but asking her to fill it up with her wishes and dreams.

The gifts keep arriving. But when tragedy strikes – leaving your beloved only daughter fighting for her life – the person who has been sending the gifts will have no choice but to come forward. And to finally tell the truth.

I well written book about love, motherhood and complicated family relationships. It also deals with an important topic of postnatal depression.

The book starts a bit on a slow pace but slowly it picks up and then it becomes interesting. I loved the main characters Lisa, her best friend Holly and Paul, but my favorite was Poppy. Also, it was nice to see the bonding between Lisa and Poppy.

I was excited to find out who was the mysterious person sending all those beautiful gifts. Obviously, I wasn’t able to guess it correctly because of the twists in the story.

Overall, a lovely read.

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!