I loved this! Really kept you wondering what was going on. I felt invested in the characters. Well written and would definitely recommend.

This is a confusing book which in parts I thought was brilliant and others I was lost as to what was actually happening.

A family is torn apart when a boy is found following an accident. The accounts of the night are unclear and those responsible do not come forward.

Superstitions and traditions are vitally important and the rag tree in the garden of the house where the doctor is staying is covered by items of clothing belonging to people hoping and remembering their loved ones.

I enjoyed the book particularly for the traditions and enjoyed reading about those but felt the story about the accident and the anticipation of death at a certain age of the main protagonist did not blend together to make a good story.

Recommend - Cecilia Ahern has been a constant over my adult life. I really enjoy every book she releases and this one was no different. I loved the story and the pace. It has everything from dealing with death to friendships and families.

After a late night call out, Dr Enya Pickering is driving home in a storm when she is flagged down by a taxi driver, who has discovered a teenager in the road, the victim of a hit and run.

I was cheering Enya on as she walked out on her horrible husband, and started a new life for herself. But it was never going to be easy and the night she found a teenager dying in the road will never leave her.

As Enya approached her 47th birthday, the same age her mother was when she died, she spiralled into crisis and her behaviour became quite erratic. Although I had moments of empathy, I found Enya to be a difficult and unlikeable woman. The only person she seems to have any consideration for was herself, which did make it difficult to care about what happened to her.

There were some elements of the story that didn't quite work - Mark's and Oscar's obsessive behaviour felt like they came from a different book!

I enjoyed Enya's developing relationship with folklore and Irish magic that connected her to her late mother and as her mother said, "you reap what you sow".

3.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Cecelia Ahern and Harper Collins for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Driving home through a storm one December night Dr Enya Pickering is flagged down by a taxi driver who has found a young man lying in the road, a victim of a hit and run so she performs CPR and saves his life, but this sets off a catalogue of events in Enya's life where she feels she can't trust anyone so, when she hears about a doctor's job in the remote village of Abbeydooley, in rural Ireland she jumps at the chance to get away, but what is so bad that she would leave everyone she loves behind?

Into the Storm is the latest by this author, which relies heavily on old Irish folklore throughout. It's an intriguing read following the life of Enya, desperate to escape her current life but loathe to lose contact with her teenage son Finn. I found the history of the old Rag Tree disturbing, yet fascinating and the inclusion of her mum's historical writing columns a good part of the story. There were some great characters in this tale, especially Margaret who Enya found she had to lean on quite a lot while she was finding her feet in a rural community, but I found Enya's husband, Xander to be rude and obnoxious. A good read that kept me guessing throughout, with a rather unexpected ending.

I'd like to thank HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Into The Storm is a poignant exploration of grief and self-discovery, following GP Enya on a harrowing journey after a life-altering encounter. On a stormy winter night, she saves a boy who has been struck by a car, providing him with critical care. Yet, upon returning home to her husband and son, Enya finds herself grappling with unresolved grief from her mother’s death. As her birthday approaches—a painful reminder of her loss—she feels increasingly unanchored. In a moment of desperation, she abandons her family, her business, and everything familiar, retreating to a remote town in search of solace.

Ahern masterfully captures the complexity of Enya’s emotions as she navigates her tumultuous inner landscape. Her conflict over ageing past the age her mother never reached is both relatable and deeply unsettling. Enya’s torment and anxiety paint a realistic portrait of a woman confronting significant life choices. While her flaws may make her a frustrating character at times, they also contribute to her authenticity, allowing readers to empathize with her struggle.

The novel's depiction of mental health is raw and uncomfortable, effectively illustrating the weight of Enya’s emotional turmoil. This heavy subject matter, however, can lead to a slower narrative pace that may challenge some readers.

Margaret, a secondary character, is a standout presence in the story. She is a deeply flawed individual who has made her share of mistakes, yet her complexity makes her relatable and enriching to the narrative. Her interactions with Enya provide valuable insights, highlighting the intricacies of human connection amidst personal chaos.

Overall, Into The Storm is an immersive and heartfelt read that challenges readers to reflect on grief, identity, and the choices we make in the face of loss. Ahern’s thoughtful prose invites us to walk alongside Enya as she seeks to find herself amid the storm.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. Firstly I loved the setting in rural Ireland where superstitions and folklore are prominent. This book features Enya who is aGP who is struggling with her marriage and motherhood. On a stormy night she is driving and encounters an accident , she stops and helps the young boy who has been hit by a car. Nothing is what it seems and we follow Enya into her descent of mental illness. She struggles with people and is overcome with grief after losing her own mother. We meet different characters ,her husband , her son , her sister and Margaret who lives in the flat above the surgery , who has her own problems. We learn about different superstitions like the rag tree where people visit and hang their memorials. I struggled engaging with some of the characters and I wasn’t really gripped towards the end . For me it was an ok read .

Another cracking good story by Cecelia Ahern.
The tale oscillates between good news and bad news, panic and calm, tension and quiet, clarity and obscurity.
The reader is kept thinking all of the time.
I loved this story, easy to follow, but with several surprises.
Lovely scenery, great characters, good story line.
Magic!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a book that grabbed my attention from the start and kept me on edge throughout. There is so much going on in the book and story, a lot of drama, emotion, tension and of course family dynamics. There are twists and turns and the characters are all have there own personalities which come through on the pages of this book.

Intriguing, interesting and a book you can't stop reading. A great read.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have to be honest, I found this book a dark and gloomy read. Although it’s ultimately about healing, its portrayal of a woman teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown was tough going at times. I was grateful for the wonderful character of Margaret, who had her own heartbreaking troubles but whose ironic sense of humour provided some lighter moments.
Enya is an interesting character, a respected GP with a selfish husband and mother of a teenaged boy. She’s struggling with grief and anxiety, the impending breakup of her marriage, and guilt at having an affair. Caught in a maelstrom of paranoid anxiety, she takes dramatic action to try to put her life back on track and do the right thing, all the while terrified that she’s going to either die at 47 or outlive her mother.
I’m not sure if I would recommend this book to others, but it is very well written and memorable. I think a reader would have to be feeling pretty strong to tackle it, though. I’m left needing something light and funny to lift my mood after finishing it.

Unfortunately DNFd this. It lacked substance and was very slow with no clear direction of the plot. I loved her earlier work but this is not worth reading in my opiniom

It took me a while to read this book. I found it difficult to get into the storyline as I found it too drawn out. However , it was well written and I am sure it will appeal to a wide audience but it was just not for me.

This really wasnt what I was expecting - it was so much better. I really enjoyed the cultural element to the story, the fear that being alone can create and also how sometimes poeple just arent really what you expect or how they present themselves.

This book has it all, whodunnit (I got it wrong), family drama, and starting over all with the backdrop of a rag tree.

Its a brilliant read for a rainy winter day

After saving the life of a hit and run victim, Dr Enya Pickering finds herself gradually falling to pieces.

Approaching the age her beloved mother died and struggling with a loveless marriage and a distant son, she makes the decision to start afresh in Abbeydooley.

However, Enya finds herself continuing to unravel as she tries to accustom herself to a small village with set ways, miles from her sister and her son.

Her rented property is dominated by a rag tree, an old superstition of tying rags to a tree as a healing ritual, which she gradually begins to appreciate and understand. Enya herself can’t begin to heal until she confesses her sins and faces her demons.

A reliable narrator would make it easier to sympathise with Enya’s downward spiral. I also didn’t engage particularly with the motif of Enya’s mother’s writings, although I appreciated the folklore referred to. Deeply set in the heart of Ireland but not as powerful as Ahern’s middle works.

Enya is a GP and she finds herself performing CPR on a young teenage boy in the pouring rain.

This one act has a profound reaction on her life but she is still obsessed by what happened that night and finds it difficult to move on.
Can she find the courage to face herself.

Was interesting to read in the authors notes this is the 20th book for her publisher in 20 years, no small feat

It is a long time since I have read a book by this author but knew I had enjoyed the ones I had read some years before

This book is set in Ireland and is a whodunit mixed with a touch of mystical and featuring family drama…there is a lot going on but it is held together well and manages to create a good atmospheric story that even though at times almost reaches fanciful manages to pull itself back and continue on strongly

It centres around events on a stormy night and what really did happen as Dr Enya Pickering came across a hit and run and saved the victims life….and when she randomly moves to a remote village that desperately needs a GP what is the mysterious ‘cloth tree’ that taps her window nightly and causes her such fear and anxiety

A robust cast of strong characters including Margaret the gruff no nonsense ‘Management Agent’, Xander ( Enya’s hubby ) and Finn ( Enya’s son )

Talented author, strong descriptive writing, and a surprisingly shock ending all made this a worthwhile read

Cecelia Ahern has written another great book. An unusual one with twists and turns to which she's added lots of Irish folklore. It's a kind of 'story within a story' book. As Enya, a GP, approaches the age at which her mother died she begins to question her own mortality. This, the breakdown of her marriage and the aftermath of a terrible storm all contribute to her life unravelling. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an early read of 'Into the Storm'.

I was drawn into the story right from the start and wanted to know what was going to happen. I didn’t see some of the plot twists coming so it did keep me very engaged. I did find some of the articles by her mum quite heavy going and wasn’t sure of their value. But overall a very enjoyable read with some excellent characters, especially Margaret.

I’m always a bit dubious upon reading a Cecilia Ahern book as they can be hit or miss. The last one was really good and so that’s why I tried this one.
Sadly it wasn’t for me and I gave up around 70 pages in, it was lacking in everything. Bland characters and a hocus pocus airy fairy plot. It might have picked up further on, but I haven’t the patience to keep going with a book I’m forcing myself to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I stayed up (very) late two nights in a row just to keep reading. Enya is a flawed but very human character, and I’ve enjoyed reading her story immensely. Although I guessed some parts, that’s not to say the story is predictable.

I think the style of this novel is quintessentially Cecelia Ahern - very readable and not the sort of story to get bogged down in.