No Time To Say Goodbye by Kate Hewitt @bookouture @katehewitt1

Book Description:

It hit me, the reality of it, in a way it hadn’t before like a sledgehammer straight to the chest. Laura was gone. She was never coming back. I’d never see her again; she’d never hum in the kitchen, she’d never pull Ruby onto her lap and tickle her tummy as she buried her face in the sweet curve of our daughter’s shoulder.

Nathan West loved his wife Laura with all his heart. But now she’s gone, taken from him in a seemingly random act of violence. Laura was the glue that held their family together. And for Nathan, life without her feels almost meaningless.

As he tries to find hope in the darkness, his three young daughters express their grief in different and challenging ways – with one set on a path of self-destruction that could devastate their family all over again. Desperate to understand his own heartbreak better, he reaches out to others who had known Laura. Including her new friend Maria, whose light and warmth are exactly what their grieving family needs, and who is soon helping out and providing emotional support for them all.

But the picture Maria paints of Laura is unfamiliar to Nathan – of a wife who felt ignored, a mother who felt she couldn’t do enough – and he struggles to reconcile it with his own memories of the woman he loved. Is it possible he didn’t know his wife after all? And can he trust Maria? He can’t escape the feeling that she’s keeping something from him.

Maria is hiding a secret with the power to rock Nathan’s family to its core. Because it is about what happened the day that Laura died…

An insightful and powerful novel guaranteed to break your heart, about how the unthinkable can sometimes help us see the world in a powerful new way. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, and Susan Lewis.

My Thoughts:

If ever there was a story that reminds you how life can change in an instant, this is it.

Nathan and his daughters lives are turned upside down when his wife, Laura, dies suddenly. It was actually really interesting seeing things from a male perspective in this story. The bread winner, the one who needs to be strong, having to not only deal with his own loss but the grief of his children also. My heart went out to this heart broken family.

The story alternates between Nathan and Maria. Through the death of Laura, it brings both these characters into each others lives. Maria has her own past that she tries to live with every day. I was intrigued to find out more about her and when I did, wow, it’s some powerful stuff.

It was interesting to see how Nathan and his daughters all deal with the loss of a wife and mother. Each one of them going through different stages and emotions. This with the mixture of Maria’s own past, really makes for some emotional reading.

No Time To Say Goodbye is pretty much a wake up call. It makes you think about the ones you love, also making you realise what is important in life. Nathan and Maria’s story offers the reader so much. Whilst in parts it is heart breaking and tender, it also offers up hope and the want of a better life. A story that touched my heart and soul and makes me want to hug my loved ones that little bit tighter.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

No Time To Say Goodbye is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).

Kate Hewitt is the bestselling author of many novels of women’s fiction, including the Hartley-by-the-Sea series set in the Lake District, the Willoughby Close series set in the Cotswolds, and Tales From Goswell written as Katharine Swartz. Her novel A Mother’s Goodbye has been called ‘unputdownable’ and ‘the most emotional book I have ever read’ by readers. Not My Daughter and her latest novel, No Time to Say Goodbye are both available to buy now. 

An American ex-pat, she lives in a small market town in Wales with her husband and five young(ish) children, along with their two Golden Retrievers. Join her newsletter for monthly updates and giveaways at http://www.kate-hewitt.com, or be part of her Facebook groups Kate’s Reads.  
@katehewitt1