This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 14 February 2020 .

Finn is your average teenage girl headed out on a family trip to the mountains. Coming along with the family is her best friend Mo, and her parents longtime friends Aunt Karen & Uncle Bob. Their daughter Natalie, whom Finn and Mo despise will also be along for the trip. Finn’s family has had this cabin on a remote mountain road for generations.

Finn’s brother Oz has a mental disability that makes him behave as though he’s much younger than his 13 years. Her father has given up his career and life to care for Oz, as there hasn’t been a caregiver able to handle him for many years. Finn’s mom is an attorney. Mo is an only child with a rather protective mother, but she’s learned to trust Finn’s family.

Everyone piles into the “Miller Mobile” for the trip. Once they reach the cabin, the snow is starting to fall, and all the kids rush into the cabin to claim their beds for the weekend. It is President’s Day weekend. Dad has promised Oz pancakes for dinner, and though the weather is changing fast, once a promise is made to Oz that promise must be kept. So the family piles back into the van for the trip to the local diner. Along the way they pass a young man along the road with a broken down car. They pick him up to drop him in town.

At a rather precarious point on the road, a deer suddenly darts in front of the vehicle, though best attempts are made, the van loses control and careens down an embankment imperiling everyone inside. It is night, the snow is falling, and some of the occupants are hardly dressed for this weather.

In an Instant is a novel about finding out who you are in the darkest moments, and who you are when the moment has passed. Redfearn has done an incredible job of relaying a story of life and death and after death in the most riveting and gripping fashion. I could not put this book down. Chapters are short which keeps the story moving at a fast pace. The characters are not perfect, and we get to see some of the darkest sides of human nature, as well as some of the brightest. The novel captures an interesting concept of storytelling from one person’s view.

4.5 stars

This was a beautiful and emotional story and one that I could not put down. Lives change when you become a survivor and I know that from experience. The way in which this story is told from Finn’s POV is exceptional. This author is new to me but I will definitely be seeking more of her work.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book! It was the so easy to pick up and get lost. This book really makes you think, and then rethink again, about what is going on.

WOW! I was blown away with this story about how disaster and the decisions you make when put in a life or death situation can come back to haunt you. There was a line in the book that really resonated with me that posed the question if goodness is only true if it is at a personal cost. It is easy to be generous when you are rich and have plenty. Is that true? So many deep questions like that are presented in this book and it really does make you think. What would you have done if faced with the same level of disaster? Would your reaction be all goodness, or would self preservation make you make decisions you later would be ashamed of? Does everybody have a conscience or do some people not suffer in their wrongdoing? One unfortunate night for a group of two families, a friend, and a stranger puts them in the path of catastrophe and all that is certain is that nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Death, despair and the lack of conscience can be the undoing of all of them if they don't learn to work through their pain.
I love how we are able to look at the events through an almost completely neutral lens. We get to see all sides of each story and look at things in black and white and that makes all the difference. You don't have strictly bad characters and strictly good, however, we have real people who have done real things which are something good and at times really awful. Are any of us completely innocent and do we have the right to judge? Or should be try harder to understand the WHY? There are so many things to be taken away from this story and that's why I can't recommend it enough. Just don't plan to do anything else until you finish because each chapter is sure to suck you in!

Have you ever read a book that you did not want to finish because it was so good, you wanted it to keep going? But you did want it to finish to get to the ending? And finally, it was so good you skipped meals, skipped chores, went short of sleep and did not feel one bit guilty? Well, this is one of those books. This story was deeply moving, sensitively told and just amazing on all counts. Finn is just sixteen when she is in an horrific car crash down the side of a mountain with other members of her family and friends. She dies instantly and lingers between the earthly world and the spiritual world. The story is told from her perspective. The survivors, including her Mom and Dad, are tormented, torn between decisions made and the consequences of those decisions and the guilt resulting from some decisions. Finn needs to move on but she cannot while she sees her family in pieces. Simply a stunning, beautiful story. This would be a great choice for a book club.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In an instant is a thought provoking book about life and death decisions after a motor vehicle accident on a mountain road in a blizzard. Who lives and who dies and how the accident affects the survivors.. This is a well written book with graphic descriptions about the plight of both the survivors and the people who died and the impact on lifelong friendship. I advise people to read this book it is a good read with a thought provoking message.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the ethical aspects of it. What would you do if you were trapped in a situation and you had to choose between people and your own family? What is the fallout of these decisions. Redfearn gives an interesting situation and explores the fallout from the perspective of someone who lost their life.

In an Instantby Suzanne Redfearn is an all-encompassing, gripping, stunning novel on the after-effects and ripples that travel outward after a family/friends suffer through a catastrophic accident. The accident itself is really only the beginning of the ordeal. How each character that survives acts during the time of the incident and how they act after creates life-changing consequences with each other and to themselves.
This is a story about humanity in its most fundamental experiences, and what happens when you are faced with tragedy and life or death decisions. No one is perfect, nothing is black and white, and one never knows how they will respond in that type of situation until it happens to them. This is a story about finding what matters in life. About realizing life is fragile, it is short, and so precious. It is about a story of redemption and survival, about moving on.
This is the first kind of book I have ever read like this and it is stunning, just stunning. This will always stick with me. You must read this.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

This is posted to my GR account immediately and will be posted to my Amazon, Bookbub, and B&N accounts upon publication.

I adored this book! I fell in love at page one and was completely drawn in with the fast paced, beautiful storytelling. I read the synopsis but as I was reading I was so wrapped up in the story that it was a plot twist when the narrator died even though they told me it would happen. I love books that pull you in to the point where you don't remember what's supposed to happen.I also cried a lot throughout the book so have tissues at your side and maybe don't read it in public. Overall, this is a 5 star rating and my favorite book of the month. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for sending me this fantastic novel!!

** spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars

There was a moment in this book,when I thought it might have me crying all the way to the end.
A story of a serious crash,and how everyone reacts afterwards,and it makes you wonder what you would have done,who you would have saved,what choices you would have made.
Then the aftermath of how you come to terms with it,and how you deal not only with your actions,but the actions of others.
This packs an emotional punch for sure,but for me,it went on a little too long.

In an Instant so much can change. This book was sad, happy, heart breaking. I could have finished it in one day but didn’t want to rush through it.
I loved it! Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

Loved this book! Couldn't put it down. The very compelling story of 2 families and a serious accident high in the snowy mountains, while on a skiing vacation. Such raw human emotion. The story is told by Finn, a young member of one of the two families involved. The lengths that they went to in order to survive! Very emotional read. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the advanced copy.

I loved this unputdownable book!

It was a emotional and beautiful read. The characters were realistic. The plot was gripping and satisfying. Run, do not walk, out to get this fab book.
Thank you NetGalley.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for making E-ARCS of this phenomenal story available. I do not think anything I say will do this story justice. It is heart-breaking and beautiful, It is beautifully written. I re-read several passages just to savor the writing itself.

I LOVED THIS STORY SO MUCH .
I kept reading and reading until I finished the whole book in one sitting .
It was emotional , Interesting and so beautiful .
I connected with the characters and Suzanne Redfearn words so much .

In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn a five-star read that will transport you. This has been the hardest review I have written in a long time. I finished the novel well over a week ago, its just trying to put into words how powerful this little story is, one 16-year-old girl telling her story will just captivate you and leave you in knots. I have sat down to write this and then deleted what I had wrote so many times, as I don’t want to give any details away, but I wanted to portray how much this story needs to be read. The whole premise was a little off and I nearly didn’t bother to pick it up as it sounded a bit dreary and boring. All I will say is that it was so much more than I imagined, one incident changed so many lives so much, it makes you second guest everything. Allowing Finn to be the storyteller just made this an intense story, watching the aftermath unfold just broke me, but as you get through the story the pieces start getting put back together. Do not miss this powerful story, I suspect it is going to be a big favourite of mine this year.

The Publisher's description of this book does not do it justice. The book is far more compelling. The reader feels everything the characters are experiencing, as if he or she was there. Beautifully written. I could not put this book down!

A family skiing trip has tragic consequences when their camper van skids on the snow and tumbles over a cliff.
Finn their teenage daughter is killed instantly, her father is very badly injured.
This story is about the actions of the others in the group and the consequences of their actions during and after the event which leave the survivors changed for ever.
This was a very powerful story and the first I have read by this author and I will be looking out for more of her work.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel has many twists and turns
This story is beautifully thought out and beautifully written
This book will stay with me for some time
It’s a tragic nail bitting read.

Two families are in a bad accident, which results in teenage Finn's death. She narrates the story as she hovers over the family, watching them in their work to keep warm, find help, and then move past the tragic events. The family and friends struggle with some of the events and stories that get relayed after the accident. There are a few twists and turns in the story that helped to keep my interest.