I’m a bit flabbergasted after reading this. I’ve read a number of this authors books written under the name Louise Beech so I hadn’t even read the blurb when I got this. So different from anything else I read by the author but so good. A Dystopian drama set in 2035 when fiction is banned, former writers are watched and their assets seized; parents cannot read their children stories. The story is told by former highly successful author Fern Dostoy who is now working as a cleaner in a hospital.

Briefly, Fern has no friends, no family and she lives in a dilapidated property, forever worried about ‘the tall one and the short one’ turning up. She has changed her name and rarely goes out apart from work. But Fern has secrets. Secrets that could see her jailed, or worse!

The writing was excellent. My heart broke for Fern but also for everyone who didn’t have the joy I get from reading a book of fiction. The characterisations were so good, I can’t tell you how much I hated the tall one and the short one and how much I loved the Fine-Fayre man. This was dark and frightening, emotionally exhausting and quite heart rending. It wasn’t what I was expecting; it was so much more. I’ll leave the last word to Fern, “If You Tell a Story Well Enough, it’s True”

The world has turned and all fiction is banned as inflammatory and spreading lies. Fern is a best selling author, the UK's first fiction laureate, and she is finding living in a world without stories to be really hard. The authorities have moved her from her lovely home to a utilitarian house, and she works as a cleaner at the hospital. She is considered 'dangerous' so the authorities send two government officials periodically to search for illicit material at her home and generally harrass her. Her three close friends, all best selling authors, are under equal suspicion and one has disappeared.

Then two events happen - a young man appears at her door selling teas and biscuits, and from initially finding him annoying they begin a friendship, and she is drawn to a group who secretly have a phone line to read bedtime stories to children.

This psychological thriller will make the reader re-evaluate the power of fiction, and power we give to governments to govern our lives and the power of friendship and love and loss. Its a cracking read, taking you in unexpected directions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Such complexity and heart in the same book seem almost impossible but here it is... Well worth reading, whatever your 'usual' genres, as this one hits a whole bunch.

A stunning and innovative plot and narrative structure! Why only 3 stars, though? Because the pacing is so off that I almost abandoned this at the halfway mark. It’s only when I read other reviews that I figured thee was some intriguing twist about to surface at the end. And my, it didn’t disappoint!

What’s so clever about this novel is that there are a number of things that seem weirdly “off” with the world building and terminologies and ideas. But they’re not. You could call them clues if you wanted, though I never figured them out. The diary-style narration is perfect for this novel, but it soon gets terribly boring and repetitive. A 100 or so fewer pages of bloat would have made this a cracking read.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

Fern Dostoy was a best-selling author and had not long since been named the children's fiction laureate, when the world changed. Writing and reading fictional stories is now banned and she is working as a cleaner. All authors are being watched and with severe punishments being given out for being caught writing, they are all trying to keep a low-profile. That is until they are given an opportunity that Fern cannot turn down.

This is another emotive and heartfelt read by this author, even in their 'Swanson' disguise! Starting off as a relatively regular dystopian tale (as regular as they can be!), it evolves into something much more and I highly recomend it if you are in the mood for a fresh and interesting take on a dystopia story. I was lucky enough to get an advance of the audiobook and the narration was excellent.

The storyline of this dystopian novel, written in a diary entry style, had an interesting twist, something I thought I had expected but hadn't. The writing evoked a powerful emotional response because of its masterful composition. Being involved with the main character and the thought of a world without literature made me feel a chill of unease. The plot was semi-relatable, and despite this not being my go-to genre, I found it entertaining.

One of the few issues I had was the lack of closure each chapter brought because of the abrupt endings. I found this very irritating. Despite this, I would still recommend this read to avid readers of this author or those who like this genre.

It’s difficult to review this cracker of a book without revealing anything. Louise Swanson is a brilliant writer. The story totally swept me along, involving me totally in writer Fern Dostoy’s dystopian world in which — horror of horrors — books are banned. The year is 2035 and Fern lives in a world in which no fiction is allowed. This, for her, a former writer of award-winning books, is even more horrific than the increasing heat, authoritarianism, and inhumane laws of her new world. I absolutely adored the idea of Bedtime Stories, run by a group of dissidents who were determined that children needed stories. I particularly loved reading about the relationship between Fern and Hunter, a young boy that Fern is drawn to, and who refers to her as ‘crazy lady’. And then there’s the Fine-Fayre tea man, at first a huge irritant in Fern’s life. I loved their growing relationship, and wasn’t surprised to find out that he was based on a real-life character (although I cannot find where I heard that, so maybe I’m making it up 😊). I’m not going to say more except to recommend this clever, surprising, wonderfully tender and at times desperately sad book. It has stayed in my head…

End of Story is an interesting read, and hugely impressive for a first novel. The writing is phenomenal, very good prose, and I suspect Louise has a solid literary future ahead of her! The novel itself was interesting, though somewhat predictable, and for me it oddly became less believable towards the end. It goes to show, 'if you tell a story well enough, it’s true'!

If you tell a story well enough, it's true!

In 2030 the government ban all fiction, there are no bookstores, library shelves contain only factual books and every home in the country have had their fictional books burnt. Authors can no longer write fiction and reading stories to children is against the law.

End of Story delivers every bookworms worst nightmare, can you imagine a world without fiction? Set in the year of 2035 Swanson tells this tale through the eyes of ex author Fern Dostoy who secretly captures her life in daily diary entries. I sympathised with all of the characters in this exceptional read, especially Fern, whose life had basically been turned upside down in recent years, but just when you think you know everything there is to know about Fern, Swanson throws in a curveball which turns this tale on its head and I was left reading the last part of this story through tears. All I can say is WOW, the author really knocked it out of the park with this highly charged and powerful book which I devoured in a matter of hours and will stay with me for a long time to come.

I'd like to thank Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

My first 5-star read of 2023. And what a book this was !It will leave you speechless(in a good way, obviously) after you've completed reading it.

This is a very unique dystopian novel that in the beginning may seem confusing to the readers. The book is set in the year 2035 and fiction, in all forms, is banned. There are no fiction books being published and all the books barring non fiction have been destroyed. Parents cannot read aloud books to their children and kids deprived of a bedtime tale are sleepless, being prescribed pills to overcome their insomnia. Fern Dostoy is one of the authors whose book resulted in the ban and now she has been retrained to work as cleaner in a hospital. But yet secretly she keeps a diary, writing, against the government's orders, about her daily, monotonous life without the magic of books to add color to her life. In an act of rebellion, she joins a secret group of people who read bedtime stories to children over the phone. Here she meets Hunter, an 8 year old boy and she feels an instant connection with him. But in a world where technology can invade lives at home and can be used for surveillance, is Fern's secret really safe?

In the first 30-40% of this book my main grouse with the story was that I wasn't convinced with the reasons given for why the government took such a drastic ban on all fiction. And also in a span of one to one and half year the book ban was so complete brought about by a totalitarian government, that I felt I was missing something. But by the end of the book, the whole story was wrapped up in seamless manner that I was in awe of the author. The ending left me in tears but everything made sense. In fact the last 20% of the book actually made me give 5 stars for this book.

Just go read this book, while for me it will take some time to recover from the after-effects of reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of the book

This absolutely amazing book is one of those that I believe everyone needs to read, it feels that it holds that important a message within its pages.

To elaborate upon the blurb on the back page would be to give away the magic of this book which meant after I'd started the last section I just couldn't put it down as I needed to know what happened.

The characters and settings are all well written so it's easy to imagine everything that is happening on the page and to experience the flow of the story as it leads us to where it needs us to be.

This is a book that is going to stay with me for a while

The premise of End of Story reads like it will make for an interesting dystopia. Fiction is banned and the main character (Fern) used to be an author. No longer allowed to write, she is now an unhappy cleaner in a world where children aren't even allowed bedtime stories. Who can she trust...?

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Fern isn't a hugely reliable narrator. Her chapters are disjointed and the world around her doesn't quite make sense.

As a long-time science fiction reader (and other genres too!) who loves a dystopia and a book that asks 'what if', I think I was looking for something rather different than the author was offering. So maybe my rating for this one is really a 'me problem'.

The dystopia wasn't right from the very beginning - and while this is clearly intentional (and you will eventually understand why), I found it frustrating. I wanted a world where it somehow felt logical that 'they' had decided to ban fiction and to look at the ramifications of that.

Instead we have Fern, focused on sour milk, a man selling tea bags, and a trainer that disappears and reappears randomly. It's not until the final third of the book that the plot moves onto what's really happening. The problem is that I'd guessed what was really going on pretty early on. I'm not sure we needed to spend so long on the set up.

It's also a book that's quite sad. It's well done but I did feel as if someone was really trying to mess with my emotions!

I can't say much more without spoilers. I think this book will find fans in non-genre readers who love the unreliable narrator and twistyness. It simply wasn't the book for me.

I started to read this thinking - it's not for me because it is set in the future. How wrong I was!
This gripped me by the end of the first chapter. I went through every emotion. It made me think what if?
I am not going to give anything away with this review - read it and try not to weep.

This book was amazing! I love dystopian fiction so a book about a world with no more fiction was one I HAD to pick up and I am so pleased I did.

The world this book is set in is so sinister I had chills at times reading it. I loved the diary format style of the writing and was immersed in Fern's life and all of the people she came into contact with.

Hurtling towards what felt like an inevitable ending I was shocked by the turn events took. This book was excellently written and the audiobook is fantastically narrated too.

I was recommending this book to friends by the half way point and will continue to recommend it to as many people who will listen.

I had the audio and ebook for this one.
This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023. I loved the premise. Books, particularly fiction, are everything to me, and I couldn't imagine a world where they were banned.
The protaganist was a clearly troubled woman, but was so passionate about her writing and her revolt against the government for their campaign against fiction. I loved the chapters with Hunter and 'Crazy Lady'.
I really enjoyed it, the pacing could have been faster for me, but I took it as more of a literary fiction novel, so it wasn't as necessary.
Definitely worth a read, and will keep you thinking about it weeks after finishing.

What a remarkable story this one was. It is a dystopian set in the future that has banned fiction. No bookshops, publishers, bedtime stories, authors or readers. I cannot imagine a world without literature but the author did and she has created such an addictive story.

This is a story of two parts, the first being that of an author, Fern Dostoy. She was an author and now lives in a grotty flat as a cleaner, long gone are the days of being a best-selling author with a nice house and busy schedule. The second part of the story is something that gradually creeps up on you, well it did me, and that is all I am going to say about it.

Fern is a woman who is trying to keep to the rules, but she does stray a little in this Big Brother-style story. She goes to work, she comes home, doesn't mix with others and lives a very isolated life. The few people who do cross her path are people at the hospital where she works, her neighbour and a salesman. She has been told to keep a low profile, but those who have read her books know who she is.

Set in the near future this is a chilling tale of a woman trying to work out how to keep going. She tries to keep within the rules but little things seem to tempt her. One of these is Hunter, a boy who she talks to on the phone. Her every move or thought she feels is watched, she has gotten used to the government visits enough to know their routines but still fears them.

The author does a brilliant job of creating a depressing and dark era in her story. Written during the Covid pandemic, it is easy to imagine the solitude from when we could only go out for essentials. I think the author has used this experience to great effect as she nails that feeling of loss and adds the loss of fiction to that as well it feels like such a sad world. For many of us though, books helped to get us through.

The story that emerges is one that really captured my attention, I was convinced I was going to read a story by this author (aka Louise Beech) and not cry given the futuristic setting. How wrong I was, and to be fair I should have known better! What starts with a woman just surviving turns into a woman trying to learn how to live.

This is a wonderful story and it was one that took me by surprise, a chilling read at times but one that I adored. I do like the darker dystopian style and this for me was well done and created a wonderful backdrop to the next part of Fern's story. This is a book I would definitely recommend.

It has been five years since writing fiction was banned by the government.

Fern Dostoy is a criminal. She is a writer who continued writing after the government banned all fiction.

She secretly reads bedtime stories to children who's parents aren't allowed to. She befriends a young boy called Hunter who changes her life.
What does this do to her, what does her mind unlock.
Deeply compelling, moving story which delves into the workings of the human mind.

I enjoyed the first half of this book a lot but when I got further into it it wasn’t the book I thought it was. The thing that made this book really appealing to me was altered by the twist that “you won’t see coming”. Unfortunately I did see it coming when it got closer and it was a little frustrating because the book before the twist was almost everything I wanted it to be. Afterwards it wasn’t. This isn’t really something I can rate the book down on though because it’s a preference thing. The book was technically great, the writing was well done. I just wish it had ended up a different book to how it actually ended up. The characters were interesting, the story created a really intriguing read and I was excited to pick it back up every time I had to take a break. I just feel a little sad that I didn’t read the book I thought I was going to read because that would have been an amazing book too.

Thank you to the author, publishers Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

A slow burn with an emotional resolution.

Fran was a writer. Then came the fiction ban. Fran is a writer, writing the story of her life and how the fiction ban came into being. Fran wasn’t a mother. Her husband Cal died young leaving her alone. Fran reads to Hunter and cares about him.

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. And I say that despite my eyes still stinging from tears in the final chapters. Until that point I didn’t feel emotionally engaged. I felt at first switched off, then irritated. Yet somewhere underneath all that these characters and the situation crept under my skin.

In many ways it feels like the book tries too hard to be clever. Then even after the underlying story is revealed there’s the need to labour what was going on.

At the same time though it’s a book using one story to tell a deeper one, and it’s the deeper one being served by the explanations in the final chapters.

I remain unsure whether I’m recommending this book or not. I think if you like a more complex book, with a core message and purpose, you may enjoy this one. If you’re looking for a simple, escapist read, this won’t be for you.

3.5 stars
So... this book annoyed the heck out of me with it's abrupt non-endings of each chapter, or diary entry I suppose I should call them. But if they irk you too, stay with it, there's a reason... which is worth finding out.
Books and reading have been banned. Well, fiction anyway. Non-fiction and biography are OK. Authors have been paid off and encouraged to retrain. The worst thing of all being that there are now no bedtime stories. Fern was a well-known and award-winning author and now lives her life in pretty much social isolation, whilst working as a cleaner in a hospital, trying to resist the urge to write. Which she completely fails to do as it is her diary which makes up this book. She is visited only by a strange man who repeatedly sells her tea and all things tea related? Confused yet? And then, on a visit to the only legal bookstore she gets passed a card which eventually leads to her manning an illegal phone line telling bedtime stories to kids who phone in. One such child being Hunter who she takes a bit of a shine to...
And so we go on, reading Fern's diary - until we don't and suddenly the truth starts to come out. And things take a very different turn... And it all gets a bit interesting as it starts to unravel...
When I started reading this book I really didn't think we'd end up there! Although I did have a few niggles as to what I was reading didn't actually make complete sense, I mean, surely a diary is non-fiction (biographical) and therefore legal, no? There were a fair few other inconsistencies which also jarred me, almost to the point of no return - especially the non-endings I have already mentioned. But I did stick with and it did all kinda make sense when it was all explained. I do fear though that maybe people will get lost along the way rather than stick it out though.
It's hard to say too much more about it as spoilers might slip in. Suffice to say that Fern is a very complex character and, even know what I do now having finished the book, I am still unsure what I think about her... even whether I like her.
All in all, mixed feeling about this one. Too much troubled me initially and I only just held on. I guess it's a story where the destination is worth a troubled journey.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.