Once a dazzlingly-talented ingenue actress taking London’s stages by storm, we meet Sonya Moriarty five years on from her brief moment in the spotlight: she’s stricken with an addiction to alcohol, desperately clutching to anything that might help her outrun the voices in her head – including the beautiful, totally-unconditional love from her four-year-old son Tommy and dog Herbie. She has pitted the three of them against the world, weaving compelling but dangerous fantasies about the motives of the other adults in their lives, pushing offers of help away based on her own childhood trauma and crushing betrayals – but a near miss with a kitchen fire while she’s black-out drunk causes the neighbours to alert Sonya’s father, who forces his daughter into rehab. Sonya struggles with an unnamed “condition”, emotion crashing through her like gales, extreme and electric, and seeing events through her eyes is an experience that’s both exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure. The almost-modernist prose becomes freeform in places, and following Sonya’s train of thought – especially when she’s drunk, under the influence of the “bad fairy in the bad bottle”, as her son calls it – requires a combination of close focus and total surrender – but in the middle of these emotional maelstroms are searing moments of insight and self-awareness. Readers may find themselves torn between judging Sonya’s terrible, selfish behaviour, and brought to tears with sympathy for the disappointment and mental anguish she experiences while on this journey to steadier ground. A heartbreaking book that’s also painfully funny in parts, giving a grim-faced glimpse into a perspective that’s hopefully unfamiliar territory for most readers.

Featured in June’s Book Club in Cambridge Edition Magazine – thanks to #NetGalley for the advance copy! https://online.bright-publishing.com/view/765983352/15/

I have just finished this book and unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the writing style it didn’t flow, I really struggled with the characters and the end of the book was so abrupt I thought there was a problem with my kindle.

Really well written but quite hard hitting at times. Everyone assumes that motherhood is easy and straightforward however what if it’s not? What if that little drink turns into two and two becomes a bottle? Loved this book and would recommend!

I personally found the writing style very difficult to get into and it was thus a hard read. The story is slow and so it wasn't the best for me.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Yaya (Sonya) is an alcoholic although you could be forgiven for thinking she is bipolar or schizophrenic at times. She has a 4 year old son and a large and untidy dog neither of which she can really care for. Things come to a head and Yaya has to go into an addiction centre run by Irish nuns, her son ends up in care.

I suppose the book is about her rehabilitation and her struggles in getting back to normality as a family. I don't think Yaya was a likeable character much like the rest of the supporting cast, and I think some of the interactions with bit players (in shops and takeaways) seemed extreme and unnecessary. However there were parts where i was fully involved in the hope that Sonya would succeed. Whilst looking at the tabs with this book I saw that someone has shelved it as "messy and complicated". I think that is a really good description.

There are things that seem to be in the narrative for no reason, there are characters (David especially) that are never truly explained, there are parts that ask the reader to suspend disbelief (social work input) but it remains a reasonably good read.

A heart-breaking read on the effect of alcoholism on a single family. The characters were really vivid and the story so well-written. A recommended read.

#Brightburningthings is a compelling read, featuring a topic no one really talks about - alcoholism and the addiction to it.

Lisa Harding's main character, Sonya is a single mum to four-year-old Tommy, an out-of-work actor who loves the stage and all the bright shining lights that go with it. However, life is a bit too much for Sonya at the moment. Without support from any human being, including her father with whom she has a complex relationship, Sonya turns to her best friend, the wine. When the scent and taste hit her throat, Sonya is suddenly back on the stage, in character. It's not all bright and shiny though. The 'dark fairies' start to blurt out and she can't control her actions. More and more frequently, she blacks out, loses herself, and lets down her son.

Tommy doesn't know anything different but he knows: animals are friends, they are not to be eaten and he doesn't have to go to school if he doesn't want to. He also knows of burnt fish fingers and vegetarian pizza, of the dog, Herbie, who is his only buddy and consolation in the darkest of times. What Tommy is most acutely aware of, though, are the 'fluttery winged creatures' that spring out of his mum after she has drained the bottle.

Sonya knows what she is doing is wrong but she is hopeful that there is always tomorrow. Although she tries to keep their life private, following her instincts not to trust anyone, they are not on their own as they would like to be. The prying eye of Mrs. O'Malley, the neighbour, watches over them. When things escalate, Mrs. O'Malley interferes. It's time for Sonya to face her demons, otherwise, she will lose Tommy.

An unputdownable read and an eye-opener to the havoc addictions can cause in people's lives.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy. I highly recommend this book.

I read this book in less than a day as I was intrigued by the story and needed to see if Yaya could beat her drink problem, her demons and regain control of her life. This book has not only been well researched but is written with such compassion and in a non judgemental way that I found myself rooting for Yaya from the outset. The early years of parenting are probably the hardest and to be a single parent without a strong support network must be even harder, yet the story unfold without apologies and draws you into Yaya’s world. I also particularly enjoyed the vivid imagination of Tommy and his mother, with imagery that was sheer poetry.

This book wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the writing style it didn’t flow and felt very disjointed.

I also took an instant dislike to Sonya not only in her total lack of regard for her 4 year old son but the way she spoke to her neighbour Mrs O’Malley. I didn’t even warm to her at the end of the book which was so abrupt I thought there was a problem with my kindle and it had missed a chapter.

I know she was struggling with alcoholism but I couldn’t get over how she always put her son in harms way.

Her son Tommy who is 4 very nearly 5 acts and talks more like a young 3 year old. Even when he eats she does aeroplane noises!! There is also a part where Tommy rides on the back of their dog Herbie.....really, come on.

Tommy’s immaturity could be due to the fact he’s not been sent to school by Sonja and I’m not sure why this wouldn’t have been looked into by the local authorities. I also couldn’t work out where this was set although they do use Euros.

I can normally visualise characters in the books I read but I really couldn’t picture her at all. Overall I struggled to finish this book and it wasn’t for me however I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest review.

A slightly chaotic story of single mum Sonya, struggling with addiction and mother of Tommy and dog. An uncomfortable read which you could disturbingly visualise.

This was a heart-wrenching read. Sonya was once an actress in London but now she is a single mother living back in Ireland she is struggling with daily life looking after Tommy and doing what is best for him although she thinks everything is ok. She’s drinking too much blacking out, spiralling out of control, even Tommy has begun to notice the “bad fairy in the bottle” and eventually her father intervenes and she is sent away to detox at a convent for three months.
She is determined to do this and get her son back, but in the meantime, she learns that Tommy is in foster care as Mrs O’Malley couldn’t cope with him. Will she relapse? Will she get Tommy back?
I really felt for Sonya, although I didn’t like what she was doing her mental health wasn’t good at the time. People around her didn’t offer the support she needed and I can understand why things got too much for her.
It was raw and very real; this happens to more people than you would ever think of.

It was a great book, insightful, emotional and if you don’t shed a tear I’d be surprised!
I found the ending okay, however, I think I would have liked an epilogue or even a second book of what happened to Sonya and Tommy in the future.

This book was not an easy read, it dealt with alcohol addiction and child neglect. The story starts as Sonya is being forced into rehab by her father and facing losing her child. It follows her through rehab and struggling with life afterwards. I found the style of it somewhat bewildering and chaotic, which probably sums up how I saw the main character Sonya.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

Heart-breaking but beautifully written. A very clever book. It must have been so so hard to get the voice right when writing inside the head of a chaotic, alcoholic. As readers we feel the destruction so strongly yet still do not hate the main character. Chapeau!

I found this book difficult to read. It tells the story from the perspective of the main character Sonya. She is a single mother living on benefits, having been abandoned by her sons' father, her own father and stepmother and any friends from her life as an actress. She is struggling to cope and seeks alcohol as a refuge as she smothers her toddler. He is at risk, until referred to social care by a neighbour and grandfather. Sonya goes into rehab where the story unfolds of the relationship breakdowns with her father, stepmother and mother who died when she was young. After coming through rehab she attempts to put her life back together and regains custody of her son. He is changed and this is difficult for them both. She has also become involved with a man who is trusted by her father to support them. I will not give away the outcome of the plot, but it is well written although an uncomfortable read. I'm not sure that the ending is satisfactory. I expected more.
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

I was hooked from the very first to the very last page. This story of a young single mum struggling with alcoholism is so lifelike that the plot was unfolding in my mind like a movie as I was reading it. Lisa Harding's writing is visceral and so extremely empathetic that it's impossible not to feel for Sonya. Rather than laying the blame on her protagonist alone, Lisa Harding shows how good-intentioned people can sometimes make things worse; how both society and family history can make things more complicated than they should ever be. But Bright Burning Things also shows that help can sometimes be found where one least expects it. A beautiful story of the relationship between a young mother and her four-year-old son, it is full of hope, of resilience and of these bright burning things that keep the darkness at bay.

I was thoroughly immersed in this novel about Sonya Moriarty's struggle with addiction and mental health in Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding. Sonya's pain, once placated by the thrill of acting, turns to a dangerous addiction to alcohol as well as her dependence on her son, Tommy "...capable of suffocating him with a surfeit of love-or is it need?"

After a few close calls, and longing to be accepted by her father - having lost her mother years prior - she agrees to attend a residential detox programme. She has to give up all of her crutches: alcohol, her son, Tommy and their faithful dog, Herbie. She hopes to resume her life with the latter two quickly but learns of a seeming betrayal by her father. Through all of this, we learn about the love and support Sonya deserved but did not receive. Her loss of learned nurturing and how that impacts her relationship with her son.

And whilst it seemed (at least from Sonya's perspective) that her father was absent, unloving and uncaring, trying to protect an alcoholic child is not an easy feat.

Sonya's character was quite exceptional, possibly suffering from mental challenges that the alcohol helped to assuage or awaken. "...discovered the liquid silk that could anaesthetise me to everything." She had an affinity and love for animals, but did not hold the same regard for others- she would lash out at people with expletives, drive dangerously and park in a disabled spot.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style- the characters and relationships were vulnerable, raw and unfiltered. Not just her relationship with her son, her father, her step-mother, her neighbour and David, but her relationship with herself. "I think I feel things, then feel things I can't conceive of - I try to hide them in a box and tie them neatly with a ribbon, but the ribbon is satin-slippery, and unravels, and the box opens." A particularly intense read.

Many thanks to #NetGalley for this ARC.

Heart breakingly tender and brutal, the journey of Sonya who is struggling with alcoholism and challenging relationships is not an easy read but compulsive. This novel will stay with you.

I found this book a bit difficult to get into but I persevered and I’m glad that I did. This is a very raw, direct and emotional story of addiction and the love between a mother and her son. Different to to what I would usually read but well written.

I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sonya is a single mother on benefits. Once she was an actress, surrounded by glamorous people, parties and popularity. But her life hasn’t quite gone to plan. She's now burning fishfingers, stealing food and upsetting her neighbours. She’s also an alcoholic. Struggling with addiction and motherhood, Sonya risks losing everything. It's time to focus on what's important.

I struggled to get into this book at first. The protagonist was not likeable and I didn’t relate to the way she was with her son Tommy and other people. It was clear that Sonya loved Tommy, but she was very controlling, despite believing herself to be a relaxed parent.

However I persevered and started to feel sorry for Sonya. I was interested in her experience with rehab and how she approached her ‘release’. Although I didn’t like the book, it does show how easy it is to spiral into addiction and how quickly our lives can be turned upside down. Having known a few friends experience alcoholism I did feel that the book dealt well with the subject quite well.

My main issue with this book was the slow pace and lack of plot. At times it felt she was being manipulated and gaslighted by the character David, but nothing was made clear. It was difficult to know why the author chose to bring certain characters in as they really didn’t add anything. Sonya was a strong character and a compelling storyteller, but this alone was not enough to carry the book.

When the book ended I felt like there was much more to say - it was so abrupt that I actually thought I was missing a chapter or two. Nothing had been resolved. Why she was trusted with her son is beyond me. I know addiction doesn’t ever go away, but it was almost as though she was back to square one. There was no climax or conclusion and I was sadly underwhelmed.

Wow, this book. Bright Burning Things reminds me of Shuggie Bain (an excellent book) and was incredibly well written. The narrative surrounding addiction was important and emotional, I felt for the protagonist as well as her son. Since reading I have searched for further books exploring addiction as it is such an important, but less-known topic. The author really captivates the struggles of the protagonist and conveys her selfishness, but also how hard she is trying and that it is not easy.

This book was earth-shattering and I recommend it for everyone. Incredible