I wouldn't say I struggled with this novel at the beginning, I think it was just that it took a bit of time to get used to the simplicity of the narrative style, set against the complexity of the themes. Set in some kind of Atwoodian future where fiction is banned, and written in the form of an epistolary novel in the voice of a previously successful novelist, there is a mix of the uncanny and weird: a man in a wheelchair delivers tea and biscuits; a 'tall one and a short one' come round and check that no reading or writing of fiction are taking place; a child's trainer shoe appears and disappears; tulips bloom in the raging heat of a November sun. I mean... all of that is the stuff of nightmares. Of course. That's the point. Combine all these elements together and what you get is a curiously compelling novel. Recommended. My grateful thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for the early copy.

Scrolling through NetGalley, this cover stopped me in my tracks. I just love that eye looking out at you. I had to add this book to my wish list. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Louise Swanson is not a new to me author after all. Turns out I have read a book by Louise Beech – who happens to be the same person.
End of Story is a moving, creative tale set in 2035, which was not what I expected when reaching for this book at all. The author keeps you engrossed in an unusual futuristic tale and then spins it around and delivers a whopper you would never foresee. By the time you reach the end of this book, you are left with a creative look at loss, heartbreak and unexpected friendships.
I enjoy this author’s work. She manages to deliver an emotional ending while keeping the story light and easy to read. By the time I reached the end of this book, I was amazed by where the story ended.
End of Story transports you to 2035, to a world that has banned all fiction. The government appears to have lost the plot and is keeping writers under a close eye to ensure they do not write, anything. Fern Dostoy, a successful writer has surrendered, she lives by the rule and keeps her head down. Until she unexpectedly receives a card for Bedtime Stories. An underground group who are secret reading bedtime stories to children over the phone. Fern finds the more time she spends telling stories, the more her anger at the situation increases. Is she strong enough to fight back? Can she make a difference? Or will she quietly disappear into a re-education centre?
Initially, I was not convinced that this was the book for me. I have never been a huge fan of futuristic fiction. Yet, there was something that kept me reading. I needed to know what was going to happen to Fern. Not giving up on this book proved to be a good choice. This story turns out to be an emotional read that leaves you loving it.
You will find you are quickly drawn to Fern. This woman has lost so much, her career, her friends her home. It’s easy to understand that she seems a little troubled. From the start, you are left with a feeling that something is not quite right. And oh boy when you find out what that is your heart will break for this woman. Fern is a fantastic creation, the author did a brilliant job creating this woman.
The first half of this book did not have me convinced, but as I kept reading and as the story unfolded I found myself enjoying it more and more. This is an unusual read, but a brilliantly creative look at dealing with loss. When you reach for this book, expect the unexpected.
If you are looking for something different to sink your teeth into, a book that is not what it appears to be, then I cannot recommend this one highly enough.

End of Story was such a strange book like nothing I have ever read before. If you enjoy stories where you’re not sure exactly what is going on until the end this is for you!

End of Story is set in the near future in a world where fictional works become banned. The story follows our main character Fern, an award winning author who is NOT ready to give up writing and hides under the guise of a hospital ward cleaner. Fern is actually writing fiction in secret, while also working for an undercover call centre that tells bedtime stories to children. It is here where Fern meets Hunter, a little boy who captures her heart. As time goes on however, it becomes clear that secrets are being kept. What are they hiding? And can they be trusted?

I really enjoyed End Of Story. While I was quite confused throughout the first half of the book, the relationships between our main characters kept me gripped. I love stories that keep you guessing for most of the book then gift you the answers one by one towards the end, so this was an aspect I really enjoyed! All of the key characters were so well written and had so much depth to them. I don’t cry at books, but with this one I came very close! No blurb or review will prepare you for how layered, strange and unique this book is - just pick it up!

Thank so much for this book!!!
Perfect story with twists and lovely characters...
I can't put the book down, just so Perfect!!!
If you tell a story well enough, it's true.

An impossible book to review as I don't want to say too much - I'd advise any and all readers to go into this one as blind as possible! The twist truly knocked me off my feet, and I was bereft when it was all over. FIVE STARS!

I found this one really hard going. The concept was great, the execution clumsy. The characters were shallow and basically the same person, the world felt half-baked and the ‘twist’ at the end I guessed very, very early on. The writing was repetitive and I found myself getting very bored of the main character and her endless ruminating on what an amazing fiction writer she once was. Not for me, I’m afraid.

I’m a big fan of Louise Beech and so was very keen to read her literary alter-ego, Louise Swanson.
Completely different to anything I’ve read from her before, End of Story is a brilliantly executed novel. And one which is really difficult to talk about without giving anything away! It’s a book of two halves in the best possible sense. Dark, smart and very well written, with a complex main character and suspense filled story. End of Story is a strong start from a new generation of novels from this author. I’m very much looking forward to reading more from Louise Swanson.

A book lovers worst nightmare, with an unexpected twist!

Can you imagine a life without books, where all the great books are destroyed, and reading fairy tales are banned.

Fern is a writer, the year is 2035 and a New Order has commenced. The world has recovered from Covid but the government seeks to control the minds of others. Fiction is banned, writers can no longer write and to do so, encounters punishment of an unimaginable scale.

Fern is battling the grief of her husband, but finds comfort by attending an illegal book gathering to read to small children to help them sleep. Here she helps a boy called Hunter and will do everything in her power to protect him.

Thank you to Netgalley and @HodderBooks for an ARC of End of Story.

This story had me gripped from the beginning. I started to have panic attacks thinking of how I'd survive without books. This book was unusual in it futuristic setting but a cracking twist at the end, that I certainly didn't see coming.

I’ve read and enjoyed Louise’s work when she writes as Louise Beech, so I was very intrigued to hear about her latest novel, End of Story that she has written under the name Louise Swanson. I’ve enjoyed reading dystopian fiction in the past, and I found her latest book to be an utterly captivating read that I flew through in just a couple of sittings.

Imagine a world where fiction has been banned by the government. No longer can a writer pen novels or stories, for fear of making their own personal voices and views heard through fiction. It has often been said that the pen is mightier than the sword, and Louise Swanson paints a vivid portrayal of just how frightening the stroke of a pen can be to some people.

We meet Fern Dostoy, and the year is 2035. Fern was once a famous writer until the fiction ban came in, now she lives in fear of her life, but you can see just how much she aches to pick up a pen again and write; now she has to do in secret. Louise Swanson delves into her character and into her innermost thoughts and this adds to the tension, especially each time government officials descend on her to check that she is still abiding by the law. Soon, Fern discovers a lifeline when she finds a secret group of former writers, who have set a group up so that they can read bedtime stories to children at night, as this once source of comfort for children, has been lost.

The landscape in 2035 Louise Swanson portrays in her book is a very frightening one. Not just is it hellish because of the new laws, but you can also feel the rampage of the climate, the heatwaves that carry on well into November. It’s another part that makes this reality so terrifying.

I had no idea just where Louise Swanson was going to take this novel, especially when Fern becomes acquainted with the group of writers reading bedtime stories to children. You can feel her attachment to one particular boy, Hunter, who calls each night and speaks to Fern, but I wondered here, if she was putting herself more in danger by growing attached to him.

The ending of this book took me completely by surprise and it is a really heart breaking one. I could feel the emotion pouring out on the page and it was so expertly done. I’m certain End of Story is going to be a huge hit. I highly, highly recommend it.

3.5 stars


Nobody wants a future like this, where stories are banned.
It's an incredible idea , and sparked several conversations as I was reading it.
It's an unusual book, with several interactions that I just couldn't see where it was leading, or if I has any idea, I was completely wrong.
There's not much else I can say without spoilers.
Definitely worth your time.

This was a chilling and intense read with a creepy atmosphere all the way through it. It was fast paced, dark and gripping and I couldn't put it down. I loved it.

A Dreaded Futuristic Premise..
A disturbing, distressing and emotionally draining picture of a dystopian future is presented in this well written, fluid and imaginative suspense. The year is 2035 and all forms of fiction have been government banned for five years - the writing or reading of such is a crime. Fern is officially a criminal - the trouble is, just who can she trust. With a carefully crafted and credible cast of characters, a shockingly real portrayal of this dreaded futuristic premise and a menacing plotline peppered with twists, this is an accomplished tale from a talented pen.

2035 and all fiction has been banned by the government. You are no longer allowed to read bed time stories to your children. Not something that I would usually read but something caught my eye when reading what the book was about. This is an original story with a surprising ending.

Having enjoyed Louise’s writing for many years, I was keen to find out more about this change in direction as she dipped her toe into a dystopian world. In 2035 fiction has been banned, whether it be novels and the bookshops that sell them, or even just a parent telling their child a bedtime story. Only facts can be printed now, imagination is too dangerous to be allowed to run free and the penalties are severe for anyone who doesn’t obey the law.

Fern Dostoy was an award-winning author, one of the “Big 4” whose success has ushered in this strange world where story is feared. Forced to abandon her craft she has been re-housed, renamed Fern Dalrymple and given a new job cleaning in a hospital. She isn’t as anonymous as she thinks, however, and her world is somehow being shaped in an unsettling way around her. A stray trainer that came from nowhere, a phone line that shouldn’t be able to ring, a boy she has never met but can describe perfectly, fiction becoming fact in a hospital conference room, sinister visitors probing her secrets.

Fern maintains a diary of what is happening to her. She knows that it is dangerous, the contents of the diary could have consequences, but she has to tell her story, it’s the only way to get through the horror that is unfolding around her. As Fern’s desperation rises, as she gets closer and closer to the truth of this dystopia and why her world has changed so dramatically, the writing becomes more frantic and your heart races to its own crushing revelation.

This is something new from Louise, it is Swanson, yet deep down it is also Beech. End of Story is a dark, intense thriller and it is also a journey into the soul. Honestly Louise, I don’t know how you do it. How you journey so deep to pull these stories out and then bring yourself back, it’s remarkable. I think it’s a gift, I hope that it is. You break me when you write, you make me want to hold everyone I love tightly to me. Bless you, not frivolously, but deeply, be blessed.

End of Story by Louise Swanson is an outstanding book about a world where no one is allowed to write fiction. Authors are forbidden to operate and are punished severely for their crimes. In this surveillance state nothing is hidden from the authorities. Government officials visit with little or no notice—namely, two individuals Fern describes as “the tall one and the short one.” It’s a compelling book, set in 2035, revealing a cruel, totalitarian era where disaster is sure to come at full force. It’s almost The Handmaid’s Tale meets Delirium (Dare to Love) in that individuals must undergo disciplinary procedures to “cure” them.

Fern Dostoy, once a fiction laureate with a bright future, has been robbed of her house by the river and a lifestyle that once complimented her bestselling status. Hobbled to an existence that almost resembles imprisonment, she lives a nightmare of rules and isolation, longing for the old life; book tours, library events, the warmth of fellow authors, and someone of substance with whom to talk. So when a blue trainer, a tea seller (Fine-Fayre) and a notebook are her only companions, it’s easy to resonate with her grief.

When book lovers leave hints of Bedtime Stories in secret places, Fern sees a chance to reconnect with old friends. She begins reading a story a young boy to whom she becomes attached, a boy she’d already dreamt about. But it’s clear she cannot fly under the legal radar for long. The tall one and the short one will be back to take her away.

Her words kept resonating with me; “If you tell a story well enough, it’s true,” and it’s through these words I began to understand the mystery of her confinement. Thank God for Fine-Fayre and his mock-vintage van, depicting a picture of a family drinking tea and eating custard creams. I loved him! As I continued to follow Fern’s traumatic journey through the five stages of grief, hoping she would find a way out of her incarceration, I cried a lot, laughed a lot and wished the book wouldn’t end.

The book is multi-layered and complex, Fern’s tragedy unfolding with each chapter. But by the end, it provided hope. My husband kept asking why I was sobbing in a tissue—well, several actually—and I said it’s sad in a good way. It gave me an opportunity to address my own stages of grief and to come out the other side a stronger person.

The book is a prophetic and highly visual novel—a thought experiment about what could happen if fiction writers were seen as a threat to the government. But more than that, it’s a knitting together of “family”—Fern’s greatest loss. It’s true to say I savoured every single page. This is definitely one you can’t afford to miss.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Louise Swanson and Hodder & Stoughton for the privilege of reading this book.

A propulsive and incredibly creepy dystopian premise – I was hooked from the outset, and every twist was perfectly executed. A fantastic thriller that deserves all the accolades.

The story is set in a future where fiction is banned, but all is not as it seems. As we watch the protagonist fall apart more and more questions are raised. The pacing is great – you'll find yourself racing to the end to see how this original premise pans out. Bravo!

Admittedly when I finished this utterly amazing novel I bawled like a baby for a good hour. I mean really, you should all read it and share the completely honest trauma.

I hadn't actually read the blurb, I love this author when she writes as Louise Beech and genuinely if you can manage to read this with as little influence as possible I'd recommend doing that. Any description you get couldn't possibly encompass the strange beauty of this story it is entirely its own thing.

The writing is gorgeous and the author presents a pretty horrific scenario, which sets a scene that slowly slowly absorbs you in. The main protagonist is enthralling, the deep emotional layers of the narrative are hard to put into words but you'll run the gamut of all of them at various points then the end will slap you around a bit before releasing you into the aftermath.

Gorgeously crazy and crazily gorgeous. Stories that do what this one does pitch perfectly don't come along that often so I wouldn't miss it if I were you.

Highly Recommended.

It's the year 2035 and fiction has been banned by the government for five years. Writing novels is a crime. Reading fairytales to children is punishable by law.
Fern Dostoy is a criminal. Officially, she has retrained in a new job outside of the arts but she still scrawls in a secret notepad in an effort to capture what her life has become: her work on a banned phone line, reading bedtime stories to sleep starved children; Hunter, the young boy who calls her and has captured her heart; and the dreaded visits from government officials.
But as Fern begins to learn more about Hunter, doubts begin to surface. What are they both hiding? And who can be trusted?
Totally gripping really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton
I just reviewed End of Story by Louise Swanson. #EndofStory #NetGalley