I enjoyed the writing style of this book and the way the current story unfolded with the backstory interspersed.

You cared about the characters and wanted what was best for them but it was unclear what this might end up being.

I won’t spoil the ending but it made me smile

This is a gentle read about childhood friends who go on to marry, have children and become a family. It's quite lovely to enjoy a slower-paced read!

Kate and Paul are from entirely different walks of life but neither of them fit in with what's socially acceptable at their different schools and don't form lasting friendships with their peers. Thrown together more and more, they become firm friends. We find out about their childhood years and what shaped them into the adults they become by chapters from the eighties onwards and at the same time following their current day lives.

A perfectly lovely read. It's not earth-shattering, but more the kind of life which most of us live. Family, school, college, uni, careers, marriage kids. Nothing untowards, but it is their story and it's told well. It took me a little time to get into it - I think I was expecting something 'big' to happen, but it's not that kind of book. It's a refreshing read, genuinely enjoyable and quite soothing. It is hard to see where this one is going, but when I reached the final page, I realised how much I had relished a different kind of read. Action seekers may struggle with this one, but those who enjoy a softer kind of novel will appreciate it all the more. This is an unpredictable book, but nonetheless satisfying for that. For me, it's definitely worthy of four stars.

My thanks to publishers Corvus / Atlantic Books for approving my request via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

If you made a pact as a teenager with your best friend, would you follow through with it years later?

Let’s face it, most of us have either been there, or know someone else who has. Making a pact with your best childhood/teenage friend of the opposite sex, that if you don’t find the “one” by a certain age, then you’ll say “I do” to each other.

It’s part of growing up isn’t it. Even if you don’t mean a word if it.

Meet Kate and Paul.

They have been best friends since they were eight years old. Although from very different backgrounds, they friendship is an unbreakable bond...

One drunken teenage night they make a pact. If neither is married by the time they turn thirty, then they should marry each other. And they do mean it.

Fast forward to the couple’s 10th Wedding Anniversary and you’ll see how serious they are about each other. And how serious life is for grown ups. Love is complex, precarious and precious.

Do they have enough for another 10 years?

Love Will Tear Us Apart is a beautifully written novel about love, loss, betrayal, heartbreak and how suffocating it can be to hide the truth from the one you love.

Beautifully written. Jumps back and forward in time describing Paul and Kate's friendship and relationship. This story shows that there needs to be communication in a relationship. This is a story about love and friendship that is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first began to read it, and I'm still not overly sure whether I actually liked the layout of the story-line. I've read many books that jump from one era to another, that's okay - but this book went in different directions at many times, and a lot of the story was out of sequence (in my opinion). There's one particular part where the main character reflects back at a time in her life when somebody tragically dies, but then the following chapter she meeting that character again and having discussions with her. It just didn't seem to flow that well. The ending was a little sharp and quick. I guess I was expecting a little more of a twist to the tale. It was a book I read in two days over a holiday abroad.

I really enjoyed this book. Kate and Paul have been friends since they were children. They made a pact to get married at 30 if neither of them had already married. This they do. Now with 2 children and on the verge of their 10th anniversary, Kate has found a letter that she thinks will change everything. Told in different time frames to fill in the story of their relationship, this is a great look at love, friendship and family. I recommend this as a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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Have read other books by Holly Seddon and really enjoyed them: This was no exception. A well told story that goes back and forward in time and keeps you hooked. I laughed and cried . A lovely read - highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC In return for an honest review.

This was a lovely story which really did tug at my emotions and I am not usually that emotional reading this genre of book. We follow Kate and Paul in the present when they are on holiday in the days leading up to their 10th anniversary. We then slip into the past, into two further timelines. One when they were much younger in the early 80s, and one when they were of working age. We see them meet and become friends, close friends, we watch them as they grow up together, as they lose each as they grow older, and as they reconnect and eventually get married. We then see that marriage as it reaches the 10 year mark and how secrets and miscommunication threaten it.
One of the things I really loved about this book was the trip through the 80s. I do love reminiscing about my own childhood and found several things in this book which made me sit back and drift off back down my own memory lane. Although this did connect me to the book, it was also a bit distracting for me but I can hardly fault the author for writing with enough accuracy and poignancy that it affected me in this way. On the whole, it did end up being a positive thing for me.
The way the author handled the triple timeline was also very well done. The time-hops were expertly woven in at exactly the right times to add to the present day narrative rather than being distracting and added enough information and backstory to keep it fresh and moving well.
Obviously this author is better known for her thrillers and, whilst suspenseful, this book is a diversion from that genre. There is an underlying secret that bubbles under the majority of the book but I found that the reveal from that was not really the be all and end all of the book. I guess I would say that for me, the book was all about the journey rather than the destination.
I've already mentioned that I got a bit emotionally involved in this book and that is totally down to the author's great characterisation. I was easily able to connect well with not just Kate and Paul but also their extended family; getting to know all of them pretty well through the book. This meant that I was interested enough to read through the slightly slower parts of the book without ever the need for it to just "get on with itself".
All in all, a rather pleasant change from the more thrilling books I usually read, but no less satisfying than them. My thanks got to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book gets off to a strong start; the characterisations and descriptions are excellent. It builds to a climax at Kate and Paul's tenth anniversary, the tension builds nicely and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen. Ultimately though, I was disappointed and found the whole premise to be unlikely. However, that hadn't stopped me from enjoying the vast majority of th book, so 4 stars.

****

Having read and enjoyed Holly Seddon's book 'Don't Close Your Eyes', I was keen to read this novel.

The story didn't disappoint. I was expecting a straight forward psychological thriller. However this book is more of an exploration of human relationships.

Having said that, I will still rate it as 4 stars because of the quality of the writing and the writing and the carefully crafted characters.

There are enough twist and turns along the way to keep the reader engaged in the storyline.

I liked the way the different aspects of the story, both past and present were interwoven until the slowly came together.

On balance this was an enjoyable read. I will continue to look out for future books by Holly Seddon.

Again my thanks go to Netgalley and Atlantic Books (Corvus) for a copy in return for this review.

It's a funny phenomenon when you are reading a book and you don't particularly like the protagonist. I found 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' an interesting mix of frustration and curiosity and this is one case where I think it would be a good idea to have a companion piece written from the second lead character's point of view, Paul.

The author is very good at getting your mind whirring and guessing at the contents of a fateful letter in the opening pages. And that the narrative steers away from the expected and the fantastical as everything comes to light is a plus for me. Although a little unsatisfying at the same time.

Credit must also be given for the rounding out of Kate whose life we follow. I read the acknowledgements and was surprised that her life was a world away from the author's as there were many excellently observed character traits, many unfavourable, peppered throughout the story. Holly Seddon must have spent a lot of time with personalities similar. And they are brought to life, even very peripheral characters.

So why didn't I love this book? In all honesty, I can't put my finger on it. The writing style was modern and honest but I found myself re-reading bits which hadn't gone in smoothly first time. There were aspects I wished were delved into more deeply and then others I could take or leave.

It's a three and a half stars instinctively but I'm falling on the lower side, again taking into consideration other books I've rated four without hesitation. Although I would read another title by Ms Seddon.

This is the story of childhood besties who make a pact that if theyre still single and 30 they'll get married.

It really is a heartwarming book, theres secrets, lies and betrayal. and evidence money doesnt make a difference in the end.. There were some interesting topical story lines. and it switched seamlessly between then and now. Kate and Paul were the leading characters, but I really liked the backstory of Viv and Mick, Pauls parents.

Story of modern love and friendship and how those two things can easily work together, or can they?

Two childhood friends, that mean everything to each other, make a vow to get married if they are still single at age of 30. Sounds like something you could do? Yes, I guess, I could. I know better than anyone that we go through many low stages in our lives and sometimes we lose hope, so yes, it’s definitely very believable.

We follow two timelines, one of Kate and Paul being children and becoming adults, making and losing friends, dealing with grief, just like anyone else does. They become a strong unit and spend most of the time in each others company. They are completely comfortable and happy around each other. The second timeline follows married life of Kate and Paul, leading up to their 10 year anniversary. Here we find out that Kate is hiding a letter that will decide their future. Big secret hidden away from her for years is about to come out. Kate and Paul are like any other parents dealing with regular parenting issues and raising their two kids, we can feel there is tension and maybe their love is not as strong as it used to be, if it was a real love to start with…

The story was enjoyable but very slow pacing for me. The only ‘exciting’ part was waiting to find out what the letter held but finding out felt slightly anti-climatic to be fair. I struggled through out the book with its gloomy feel and just general unhappiness and sadness. Maybe that’s what it was meant to feel like but for me it was quite hard to keep reading, I wanted to see just a bit of laugh and happy moments. However last few chapters really picked it up for me and enjoyed revelations between Kate and Paul and even made me a bit teary.

The book was very well written and although it didn’t work for me, it can certainly work for someone who could relate to the story better. If you enjoy reading about people’s relationships and overcoming hurdles in their life in their search for happiness, I’m sure you will enjoy this book.

Paul and Kate are very close friends as children and make a vow that if they are both still single when they reach thirty, they will marry each other.
The book goes between the week of their tenth wedding anniversary and their past as children and when they worked together.
You really get to know both characters and really want it to work between them.
During their holiday Kate is desparately trying to hide a letter but she knows she needs to discuss it with Paul.
We don’t find out what this says until right at the end so I found myself racing through the book to find out what it says.
This a story of friendship, love and honesty and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to Corvus and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

What drew me to this book was that the whole story surrounds the pact that two friends made to each other as teenagers - to marry each other, if they don't find love before age thirty. Strangely, I made this exact pact with a friend many years ago, I may have even kept the promise but... ah, I digress... I also happened to enjoy reading Seddon's other books. I don't usually get along with emotional books based on love and relationships but she is an exception to the rule. I am yet to discover why! I guess it doesn't matter as long as you read what you love.

LOVE WILL TEAR US APART is a novel that stresses the importance of communication between lovers/spouses. Seddon writes with such emotion that at the end of the book I was actually misty eyed. Let me tell you, that does not happen with me whilst reading. Sometimes with movies but rarely with books. This is testament to the authors prowess!

The writing is accessible and makes for an easy, fast read, the characters were well developed and realistic, and it is told from different perspectives which means you understand the reasons for certain decisions that were made.

It is clear Seddon is adept at skirting round the periphery of a selection of diverse genres, and could write titles in any of these veins in the future. I look forward to a new surprise the next time I see another one her releases.

I would like to thank Holly Seddon, Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow...I am still holding my breath & waiting for my pulse to return back to normal. This is not like Holly"'s previous work which I thoroughly enjoyed & I was unsure what to expect.
This book dI'd not dissapoint & I could not put this down & read it in only a couple of days.
This is such an engaging read with amazing characters that draw you in. I loved the time scale of how this book is written & how all the era's came together.
So fast paced at the end I couldn't read it fast enough. This truly is an amazing, emotional journey that makes you sit up and pay attention to your own life & how love & friendship is the most important thing to all. I definitely recommend you read this book.

Overall I found the narrative very difficult to follow. It jumped from present day to the childhoods of the two protagonists, Paul and Kate and back again with monotonous regularity.
The characters were a bit insipid and the big reveal of the letter was a damp squib. The ending too was easy to anticipate.

A great read. Maybe not the most original of storylines, but certainly a book that just bursts alive with its fantastic characters. The layout of the book flashing between past and present gave a marvellous illustration of how the relationship developed. A very lovely, heartwarming tale.

This is a really great book that follows the lives of Kate and Paul. Neither of them really fitted in when they were younger and were very much loners, until their paths crossed and they became childhood friends. Both of them relied on each other to help them through the trials and tribulations of growing up. One stormy night they make a pact that if neither of them have found the love of their life by the age of 30 they will marry each other. But are they better as friends or will they stay together past their 10 year anniversary.

The book is a true insight into an amazing friendship that lasts from childhood through to adulthood. They go through so much together and are always there for each other but is that really enough to make a marriage work ?

I have previously read Holly Seddons previous 2 novels and this is very different as it is a story of love and friendship rather than a psychological thriller, like the past 2. However this book is written so well that you are fully engrossed in Kate and Paul’s relationship and I really wanted them to both be happy.

To start with I was a little confused by the alternating chapters, from present to past, but I soon got the hang of everything and loved how we got to see how their relationship developed when they were younger as well as how they were nearing their 10 year relationship.

A really lovely read about friendship, love and heartache that will really pull at your heartstrings. Another great book by Holly and can’t wait to see what style of book will be next.

Thank you to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

An excellent read. I can't give it 5 stars because I think the pace was a bit slow at times, but other than that I really enjoyed it. How I felt for both Kate and Paul - Holly Seddon manages to write with such poignancy. I do think that too much was made of the letter. The contents of the letter weren't earth shattering. But I enjoyed Kate and Paul's story being told in different time frames, and altogether it was a love story with a difference, which kept me absorbed right until the end.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.