Pieces of You

Pieces of You by Ella Harper

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary / Romance
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: I have this habit that if I enjoy a novel by an author I immediately reserve the rest of their available works at my local library. This is how Pieces of You by Ella Harper ended up on my shelf dedicated to books from the library and oh my goodness am I glad it did! Despite having read a different book by Ella Harper, this is Harper’s debut novel and what a beautiful piece it is. I have genuinely called this the book of my 2016.

Lucy and her husband Luke have been trying unsuccessfully for eight years to have a child. Despite their lack of a child, she knew that she would always have Luke in her life and that was enough to keep her going through their attempts. Until one day Luke is in a car crash and as he lies in a coma her world comes crashing around her - in the form of a pregnant nurse; the result of a one night stand with her beloved husband.

This book flooded me with emotions. From heartbreak to downright anger. Seriously, the amount of times I had to put this book down and phone someone (many thanks to my Mother, sister and best friend who were often at the end of these phone calls patiently reminding me it’s just a novel!) about what was happening and how it was so frustrating was a clear sign of how amazing Harper’s writing it. The empathy the reader (or I did) feels for Lucy is astounding - seriously, I told my Mum at one point if it had been my husband there would have been a huge chance of his machine being switched off (only joking of course!).

I read over this review and realise that I don’t actually make much sense and I’m basically flailing like a massive fangirl but that’s now what I am. Harper has joined the small group of authors that I follow blindly into the dark with each novel they release and she achieved this magic with only having two books out. I eagerly await her third one and I hope that you’ll give this book a chance and feel even just a small part of the emotion that I did towards it...