start at the end. oh stop. because im already crying just coming here, writing that title down and thinking about it all over again! just wow.
our pair meet. our pair have just begun what is a greatest love story. one which i felt with my whole being. if someone had described these people separately then i would've thought. hmm well ok but not together. oh i couldn't have been more wrong. im trying to hold myself back here from just destroying the book for you all with my need to just tell you all everything. because this is one of those books you could just think and talk about all over again with all the details and your thoughts on every single detail.
Emma and Fraser's connection was there. lit up and instant it felt like they were meant to be. and this only made the feelings you get reading this all the more scary, brilliant and all over every kind of emotion. but what came next, what happened it brings a kind of fear because you want the best for these two. you want everything to be ok. but life and events changes things and those ripples are what we see in this book. and i didn't know if i could face what came next. but i also knew i couldn't not keep reading. these characters held my heart in their hands. because with this sliding doors moment...errm how could i ever choose a side! how could i ever wish for one over the other? how could Emma do this to me? but also how could she not. this story was beautiful. just beautiful.
Emma knows how to write her humans. she knows how to write the beauty of them and all they are, the messy and flawed but brilliant way of good humans.she brings soul to her reads and brings soul to her characters. Emma doesn't shy away from the ups and downs. but she somehow does it with kindness for her characters and for us as readers. so you do become emotionally involved and sometimes it hurts because you are so much invested. but it also feels like a guiding hand is taking you there. like the story teller cares for those inside the pages and those reading. it makes you want to run for more, run for those you have, and also feel like some things maybe you can get through even if you are completely unsure of how. there will be people struggling with loss right this minute. or people who will feel such loss soon or in the future. but maybe with others, with love, support and even books by our side it might be ok. or it might be for now just ok to keep moving, blinking, waking to find a new day.
and of course the daughter, our Parker needs her moments in my review. i cant say too much once again because it will give it all away. but she had my heart and my hugs.
this is one of those books that is different. you cant but you can tell everyone why. but its just beautiful,stunning, standing on its own with other books that hit, hug and fit into your soul. this is one of those books. its absolutely incredible. a book you know will shape you forever even if you cant name how or why. and a book in your future you will know had meant something to you. this is why people love books. for all the scope they touch upon and mean to us. this is why books will have my appreciation forever.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read and review this gifted e-arc early.

Emma is a new author to me, so this was my first time getting immersed into one of her stories. Her writing is wonderful – the perfect balance of emotion, humour, romance and a storyline with a real backbone.

There’s not much to the blurb on this book, and honestly – this is the best way. Going into this story blind and letting it take you on Audrey and Fraser’s journey is the best way to read this book. This is a book centred on the “what-ifs” and whether you can start again at the point you thought it would be the end.

It was such an emotional and thought-provoking read. I devoured this book so quickly because I just needed to know what happened. Audrey and Fraser are perfectly imperfect and well-developed main characters. Their thoughts and decisions felt relatable and realistic. None of this was sugar-coated or overtly romantic. The side characters are so good too. I struggle sometimes when kids are at the centre of a storyline, but honestly in this one Parker is such a brilliant addition. Seeing her evolve through this story feels like a constant, an anchor, and it works so well.

I’ve already bought Emma’s other two novels, and I will be reading them immediately. This was a wonderful book and I want everyone to love it too.

4.75✨
Having read and absolutely LOVED The Last Love Note and Pictures of You I was so excited to pick up Emma’s newest release Start At The End.

When Audrey and Fraser tumble into a love story for the ages, theirs is an epic, unbreakable romance - until one tragic moment upends everything. Facing the unimaginable, wrestling with guilt, they're left haunted by 'what ifs'. Would their lives still have imploded if they'd done one little thing differently? Where would they be if events had unfolded the other way around?

I went into this completely blind as I have done with Emma’s previous work and I honestly think that’s the best way to go, especially with this being a sliding-doors novel. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was delighted to discover what a masterpiece this is.

This is a story of love, loss, grief and hope. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Emma’s work has always captured me with how rich and deep her stories are. The best way for me to describe them is effortlessly all consuming.

Audrey and Fraser were just wonderful. You’re rooting for them so hard both as a couple and individually. The challenges they face are ALOT and I felt so proud of them navigating their paths. I adored how music was such a huge element to all of their stories and the way it connected them all together.

Parker was such a great addition to the story and seeing her grow up and face her own difficulties in both parallel universes was incredibly emotional, I wanted to give her the biggest hug!

The pacing was fantastic and the dual POV was done perfectly with the chapter cross overs happening just at the right time. From the 60% mark the story absolutely came alive, and I couldn’t turn the page quick enough! Without wanting to spoil anything, the scenes with Beau camping made me tear up!

Reading the acknowledgments made this even more impactful, knowing how much of herself Emma poured into this book was incredibly emotional and heartfelt.

Overall, this is another fantastic book by Emma and I’m so excited to see what she does next.

Thank you NetGalley, Emma Grey and Atlantic Books for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review - Start At The End publishes June 4th.

Read For:
💛𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥
💚𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰/𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
💛𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 & 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

This book was completely unexpected in the best of ways. I laughed, I cried, and I felt unbelievably moved. Start At The End took me on a journey through an epic love story, unconventional family dynamics, loss (of all kinds), betrayal and the terrifying fear of failure making you scared to start at all.

Right off the bat I instantly adored our main characters Audrey and Fraser. They just had something very real and honest about them, they didn’t feel fictional. And I think this is a testament to Emma Greys writing. It was super natural and captivating in this easy way that just felt intriguing and different.

When their whirlwind romance gets upended by tragedy the book begins to explore the idea of “what if”. What if that tragedy hadn’t happened? What if it had happened differently? Emma made complex ideas like parallel universes seem so simple and human which was so impressive! And through all of it, grief is navigated in this subtle and heartbreakingly raw way. It doesn’t shy away from the messy and heartbreaking parts and yet it never felt heavy and I loved that about this book so much.

You can tell the author has been through grief herself and it very much felt like a heart on her sleeve piece of work. Navigating unconventional family dynamics, Emma also provides us with an incredible character in Fraser’s daughter, Parker. The love of a mother was so evident within her character and she fast became one of my favourite parts of the book. I feel like Emma’s truths and experiences like her grief and love of her children shone throughout this story and made for a beautiful and thought provoking novel. 

I’ve come away with this- sometimes the only thing we can do, is start. Even if that is at the end. Even if that means starting again.

Thank you to @atlanticbooks and @emmagreyauthor for the chance to read this one early 💚. I can’t wait to read more Emma Grey books!

This book absolutely blew me away - what an idea for a story and so brilliantly executed!

It put me in mind of sliding doors in a parallel universe kind of way but so much better. Great well developed characters that you want to root for, a great story thread running through it and a really satisfying ending.

It’s difficult to critique this book without giving the game away and spoiling the surprises within so just read it, if you enjoy contemporary fiction with a love interest and some wrongs being spectacularly righted, you won’t be disappointed.

Audrey could never have predicted that making a mistake on a bill at work would have led to her meeting the love of her life. She was still traumatised from losing the future in music she had always wanted, while Fraser was recovering from a marriage break up and missing his daughter, Parker. What happens next left me reeling...

I need to start by saying LOVED this book. I cannot overstate this. Emma Grey broke my heart and then put it together piece by piece. I loved her use of Start and End in the book. I initially found the switching between Emma and Fraser's voices a little disorientating, but ultimately loved the way she weaved them together. I love music of all sorts and the use of music within the story heightened my emotional response and investment in the story. This story is heartbreaking and beautiful and magnificent and life affirming. In case I still need to say, I wanted this book to go on forever, but I couldn't stop reading it and so finished it in the early hours of the morning. A must read.