This book was an interesting flit from past to present until both collide. I liked the way it drip fed how the sisters ended up in the situation they were in today. It was a very sad story of how children's lives can be torn apart when parents separate. Recommended!

A good psychological book. Some great twists with a good ending
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Brilliant! One of my top books of 2017! Couldn't put it down! Have recommended to everyone I know!

Don't close your eyes by holly seddon.

Robin and Sarah weren't the closest of twins. They weren't even that similar. But they loved each other dearly. Until, in the cruellest of domestic twists, they were taken from one another. Now, in her early 30s, Robin lives alone. Agoraphobic and suffering from panic attacks, she spends her days pacing the rooms of her house. The rest of the time she watches - watches the street, the houses, the neighbours. Until one day, she sees something she shouldn't...

And Sarah? Sarah got what she wanted - the good-looking man, the beautiful baby, the perfect home. But she's just been accused of the most terrible thing of all. She can't be around her new family until she has come to terms with something that happened a long time ago. And to do that, she needs to track down her twin sister.

But Sarah isn't the only person looking for Robin. As their paths intersect, something dangerous is set in motion, leading Robin and Sarah to fight for much more than their relationship...

This was a really good read with good characters. Didn't expect that expect that. 4*. Netgalley and Atlantic books.

Robin and Sarah, unidentical twins and so different in every way that matters - this was a great read, raced through it in one day. Even though it was tough reading in some places, the story carries you along and you really feel like you have bonded with the characters. I was sad when it ended, would definitely recommend...

When Sarah is unceremoniously thrown of the family home all she can think about is getting back in. She decides to turn to her twin sister Robin. But Robin has her own problems such as chronic agoraphobia and an unhealthy penchant for living vicariously through the lives of her neighbours. I flashback we learn the story of twin girl who are as different as night and day and the domestic dramas they grow up with ripped them apart.

 

This is half psychological thriller and half domestic drama. It's a well crafted and enthralling story that had me hooked from start to finish. I loved Holly Seddons first novel but for me this cements her status as a force to be reckoned with in this genre.

 

I received this from Netgalley for an honest review

Wow! A gripping page turner.

It isn't often that I read a book where I can't make a fairly good guess on how it is going to end. However, "Don't Close Your Eyes" completely surprised me. The last few chapters revealed things I hadn't even considered could happen. The story is about two very different twin sisters. Robin is the quick tempered, adventurous one and Sarah is the "good girl", always trying to please. Despite their differences their love for each other is never in any doubt even when their safe secure world is rocked by their parents break-up and the arrival of a step brother. Callum.. Jumping from the past to the present time throughout, the story reveals how none of the 3 siblings are exactly what they seem but it is Sarah's story that surprised me the most! A great read!

The book centres mainly around twins Sarah and Robin. It moves between the present day and the late 1980's early 1990's, as the girls were growing up. The family they belong to is dysfunctional and then some! If you're an only child and always wanted a sibling, you would be pleased you hadn't grown up in a family like this.

It starts off as a nice cosy read, with a loving family. It soon escalates into an awkward, broken mess, with many secrets and full of lies, which come back to haunt them.

I enjoyed getting to know all the characters at the start of the book, and it flowed seamlessly throughout, going from present to past and back again, with short chapters which I prefer in books going back and forth in time. I did lose some interest a bit when Robin was living in Manchester and watching her Neighbours from behind closed doors. It struggled to grip my attention although it did fit into the story. The pace did pick up about 3/4's of the way through when the tension rose and the secrets flowed and unfurled and my attention was gripped once more.

I would have liked the ending to have been expanded a bit more into where the lives of the four women were going, and how they were going to unite, but overall it was a fairly enjoyable read.

I found this a little hard to get into. Found the jumping from person to person present to past hard going. Kept going and it did improve but ending wasn't to my taste

In this book the main characters are Robin and Sarah, twins who love each other but are very different . Separated in childhood by circumstances beyond their control they both endure traumatic times which ultimately lead to them becoming psychologically damaged. Their parents, step parents and stepbrother also feature heavily in the storyline which is told by each twin in turn, from childhood to adulthood.
It has a twist at the end which I wan't expecting but thought was good and probably elevated my opinion of the book. I quite enjoyed it, but I didn't feel there was much suspense.

Sarah & Robin were twins, but they couldn’t have been less alike. Sarah was the ’good’ girl who always wanted to do what was expected of her. Robin was the outspoken rebel. She didn’t follow the rules & said what she felt.
When their family became friendly with another couple things began to change. They met Callum, the sensitive son who’s love of music appealed to Robin. But when the adults swapped partners everyone’s world turned upside down.
The story is told through different timelines and from different perspectives. Why is Robin a scared recluse living her life observing her neighbours? How did Sarah end up removed from the child she loves? What happened to these women in their adolescent years that has brought them to this point?

This was a totally gripping read. I loved it. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read it.

brilliant read...did not see that ending coming... loved this book so much, would definitely recommend this book

First book I have read by this author and I will definetly be picking up her first book. I really enjoyed this story about twins Sarah and Robyn. I liked the twists and turns the story took. There was some real oh my moments. I loved Callum my bitter old heart broke for him, he was lovely. Drew was an absolute horror and Angela just got caught up in the money I think. Overall this book had me guessing all the way to the end. Was a good way to spend a wet Saturday.

I really enjoyed the family drama aspects of this book.In fact I think the thriller aspect was rather clumsily laid on top of a pretty decent family saga. A cracking holiday read.

This is the story about Robin and Sarah, twin sisters, once close, but now they haven’t spoken in years. Both have problems and need help. Robin hasn’t left her house for a long time, she can’t. She spends her days looking out the window, spying on her neighbors, making up stories about their lives. Her sister, Sarah, can’t go back home to her husband and little daughter. He husband had her thrown out of the house and won’t let her see her girl. But Sarah won’t stop trying to get her daughter back and she will do anything. The story is told in alternating chapters between Sarah and Robin. Telling about a family, broken apart and two sisters becoming strangers, both emotionally damaged. It’s not a fast paced novel, but the last 10% really make up for that. The pace quickens and there’s happening so much, that it is impossible to stop reading. A gripping novel, hard to put down. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books!

Such an amazing book that in one story covers so many difficult antisocial topics. It really is a page turner and I was so grateful for the Kindle time to read to the end of each chapter as without it I do not think that I would have had sleep. It is a powerfully emotive story.
At each new turn I felt sorry for a different character and many times I yearned to know what had happened in the missing past or indeed why things were happening now.
The wife swapping and how it affects three children forms the basis of this story and at different times the story centres on them all in turn. From Me as goody two shoes Sarah, the twin Robin who is the opposite of Sarah and the new boy on the block Callum who turns out to be different to what he starts as. Parents have a lot to answer for when bringing up children and this story demonstrates that very clearly. The twists that start to come together in the last few chapters are exhilarating and certainly not expected.
A great author who brings taboo subjects to life and causes the reader to think carefully about their own relationships.

There is a lot going on in this book. It's marketed as a psychological thriller and it definitely lives up to that.

It follows the story of twin sisters, Robin and Sarah and is told from both the last and present day. It's really well written with short chapters and you clearly know where you are in the story at all times.

There are twists and turns galore that will keep you both hooked and guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Books and the author for the chance to review.

The title of this novel, is worth heeding. This is novel that you don't want to miss a single second of. It is utterly gripping, twisted and brilliant.

Robin and Sarah are non identical twins whose world is torn apart by their mothers affair with a friend's father. But it appears the twins are the only ones who didn't see it coming, and their father has a rather 'cosy' relationship with the very same friend's mother.

Soon the two families merge and the twins father is more or less blackmailed into letting one of them move away with their mother to the United States of America where her new parter has landed a successful job.

The twins friend, Callum and Robin are to stay in the UK with Robin's father and Callum's mother. Robin is obviously distraught that her sister is leaving, but a little bit secretly pleased that she gets Callum all to herself as a friend, and no longer has to share him with her twin.

Fast forward a decade or so, and as singer, lead guitarist and songwriter in rock band, Working Wife, Robin has it all. Until one day her life crashes down around her ears. Now Robin is agoraphobic and hasn't left her home since abandoning her band in the middle of a tour.

Sarah has the life she's always wanted, a good looking man, beautiful baby. But she can't forget the past. And if the truth be known is a little jealous of her twin sister's success.

Told from both girls' perspectives, in both the present day and through the past, its clear that all is not as it seems for either of them, both growing up and in the present day.

But just how damaged are they by the past?

And can either of them ever truly move on?

The story follows two families The Marshall's Angie and Jack and their twin daughters
Sarah and Robin who are as different as chalk and cheese. Sarah who's older by 16 minutes is their mothers Golden Girl whereas Robin is their fathers little Runt. And the Granger's Hilary, Drew and their son Callum.
After their mothers meet by chance and become friends the Marshall's visit the Grangers every Saturday for a meal and drinks after a while they stay over. The girls share Callum's room being at the same school they've become friends and enjoy chilling out watching movies and chatting on Saturday nights.
But as life does things chance families fall apart will these two families stay close friends? Or does life have unexpected obstacles in their way?
I loved this book I can honestly say I didn't work it all out until the very end. One of the best books I've read.