No Time to Say Goodbye by Kate Hewitt

☆☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 354 pages
Published September 27th 2019 by Bookouture
About the Book:
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.

Start by doing what’s necessary; then doing what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Kate Hewitt is quickly becoming one of my favourite author's. Her writing is heartfelt and feels true to real life. The characters are flawed and believable, the book is compelling and touches on many sensitive issues. The two narrators of this story, while not always likable, are authentic. It was interesting to see the dynamics develop between Maria and Nathan as they learn more about each other. I know there is a death in the story but it isn't the main focus, it's more about what happens after.

I had held hope in my hands, like a butterfly about to take wing.
Kate Hewitt's writing flows so effortlessly and easily. Her poetic prose gripped me right from the start and I found myself having to stop as the story really impacted me in so many different ways. Hewitt shows the human side to immigration and war, really hitting home that these are people who have struggles in their life, but they are still people with the same feelings as anyone else. There was a twist to this story as we try to figure out what happened to Laura and it is a real tearjerker. Near the end I was so emotional and teary eyed.

Thank you NetGalley, Kate Hewitt and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#NoTimeToSayGoodbye #NetGalley