The story is told in a dual timeline
The characters developed so well and were true to life. The book is well written.
A beautiful story

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

An intriguing enough story and characters. Sometimes a little clumsy and predictable but an enjoyable read.

Rachel's life is falling apart. In the space of a few weeks she's lost her father and her fiancé left her at the author. She's moved back in with her cold and distant mother, Eleanor, in their family home in Brill to take some time to heal her heart. When life takes another unexpected and tragic turn, and Rachel starts questioning everything she thought she knew about her family.
This is a story told from two perspectives, Rachel in the present and Eleanor in the 1960s. This took a little while to grab me, as with the introduction of two rather cliché characters (Rachels handsome gardener with a sad back story, and Eleanor's vibrant and effeminate best friend) you feel that you know where this story is going. The main thing that pulled me along was expecting there to be a twist in there somewhere. By the time I realised there was no twist and this story was going exactly where I expected it to, I was quite i wrapped up in the story and happy to carry on with the rest of the ride.
Enjoyable but obvious, would have loved to have seen more of Agnes' character

Oh, this book! Achingly beautiful. I’m always interested in books that deal with the difficult subject of grief, as I’ve had a few losses in life myself, and anything that gives me perspective on loss is welcome. I liked how the story was dual perspective and timelines, it broke my heart that Rachel didn’t realise until after it was too late how she really felt about her mother, but it’s realistic and reinforces the cliche, to make time for those you love while you still have them!

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into this book, so I stopped reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t finish it as I didn’t feel connected to the characters or the story, and wasn’t able to progress through. It was just not for me.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

It's great to be in a position to recommend much more diverse books to our young people at school. Building the senior school library as a place where students actually come and find books that they want to read as opposed to books that teachers think they ought to read is an important responsibility and one we take really seriously.
Books like this are such a positive move as they will appeal to a broader set of readers than we are usually attracting. Dealing with modern issues in a clear and captivating way with a strong narrative voice and characters that the students can relate to is critical as we move forwards. This book is both an intelligent and compelling read that will hold even the most reluctant reader's attention and keep them turning the pages long into the night. It keeps the reader on their toes and ensures that you give it your full attention too. I found myself thinking about its characters and events even when I wasn't reading it and looking forward to snatching kore time with it and I hope that my students feel the same. An accessible, gripping and engrossing read that I can't recommend highly enough. Will absolutely be buying a copy for the library and heartily recommending it to both staff and students.

I didn’t finish this book, because it never really grabbed me and I found my mind wandering while reading. While it’s an emotional story about mother and daughter I wasn’t feeling the emotions. Both have had a huge loss, the mother Eleanor has lost her husband a few weeks before Rachel’s wedding where not only was she missing her father walking her down the aisle, but she ends up left at the altar. Eleanor used to be an artist and there’s a time slip element trailing back to the 1960s when she was a student - there is a secret involved here, but I never felt the suspense so I wasn’t too curious about it coming to light. It was an easy read, gently humorous in parts, but not enough to keep me reading.

Rather ordinary story about family life and death and its affects on the present, past and future. Didn't really grab me.

I loved this book. I haven’t was anything by this author before but I will definitely try all her other books now. I loved the characters, I found them very relatable and I loved the way the story unfolded. Highly recommended. Five stars from me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Emma Kennedy for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

A lovely story about mother and daughter told in alternating chapters so that you get a rounded view and learn of Eleanor's past and Rachel's story in the present. Not fast paced but heartwarming

I adored this book, it’s one of those books that I never wanted to end! The Things We Left Unsaid follows Rachel in the present and her mum Eleanor in the past. The novel opens when Rachel has been jilted by her fiance only six weeks after her father’s death. Rachel is reeling and doesn’t know where to turn. In the alternating chapters we see Eleanor start her first term at Uni and find her independence for the first time. This novel is just so warm and inviting, I didn’t want to put it down once I started reading. I loved Eleanor’s timeline and all the people she met, but I was also invested in seeing what was going to happen to Rachel in the present. This is a beautiful novel and one that I still keep thinking about and it’s a couple of weeks since I finished reading it. I highly recommend it!

'The Things We Left Unsaid' is an incredibly powerful and captivating book which explores the complexities of the mother/daughter relationship and what it is like when having to move back with your Mother as an adult.

Only six weeks after the death of her father, Rachel is left standing at the altar by fiance, Claude, with no explanation. As she lived and worked with him, she has no choice but to return home to live with her mother, Eleanor, who is a well-known artist. Their relationship is strained and awkward, with neither of them able to comfort the other through their grief.
One day, when she just has to get out of the house, Rachel does not stop to listen when her mother wants to talk about something important, thinking there will be time later. On arriving home, she finds her mother lying dead in the garden. In her grief, she realises she knew little about her mother’s early life, and becomes obsessed with finding out what it was that Eleanor had been so desperate to tell her.
Emma Kennedy makes good use of dual timelines to tell this heartbreaking story. From Rachel’s reading of old letters and diaries, we get Eleanor’s story about when she went off to art school in London in the 1960s. I especially enjoyed these chapters that revealed how she embraced the freedom of being away from her parents for the first time and met lots of interesting people.
The characters are vividly portrayed; I particularly liked Jake, who Eleanor met on her first day at art school, and Eleanor’s sister, Agnes, who brought humour to both sections of the story. I’ll leave you to discover for yourself just how despicable and mercenary Claude turns out to be. The two separate strands of the narrative gradually coalesce until we discover the big secret Eleanor has been hiding from everyone.
This is a fascinating portrayal of bohemian London in the 1960s, and my only reservation is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Caspar was an interesting character, but could perhaps have played a bigger part in the story.
Thanks to Cornerstone Digital and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

Thank you to @netgalley for the copy of "The Things We Left Unsaid" in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinions. In my vow to read what's on my Kindle and not browse for anymore books, I decided on @emmak67's "The Things We Left Unsaid". Now, I'll be honest and embarrassingly so - I sometimes judge a book by its cover. There - I said it. This cover didn't immediately grab me so I left it on my Kindle for a couple of months. Big mistake. I absolutely devoured this book and became so invested in each of the fantastic characters. @emmak67's writing is beautiful and I loved the movement between Rachel (the protagonist) and Eleanor (the protagonist's mother). Chapters titled Then and Now move between the two time frames but the author ensures that what we are told from Then impacts very much upon the Now.

We follow Eleanor's past as an art student in Chelsea, browsing in Biba and frequenting clubs and pubs in Soho with her bohemian friends Jake, John and Hen. And then we are brought to the Now with Rachel grieving for her parents as well as trying to mend her broken heart after being jilted at the altar by the dastardly Claude. Rachel's search for who her mother actually was leads her down many different avenues through the reading of diaries and letters to piece information that has been kept from her from her entire life and the finding of paintings, a book and a button. The characters are memorable and the aunt/ sister Agnes provides constant humour and real warmth. "The Things We Left Unsaid" is ultimately about family dynamics, love (both lost and found) and secrets. I am very much looking forward to Emma Kennedy's next book. Thank you @emmak67. It was the perfect 5* read.

Not a fast paced book. Took me a while to get into it. Nothing really dramatic or surprising but it did have a lovely ending.

The story of Eleanor and Rachel, mother and daughter - rather more similar than they would’ve imagined.
I found it rather long and slow, and it took a while to get going. No huge surprises or twists (apart from the Langham Hotel featuring in 1984, when it wasn’t actually a hotel, but belonged to the BBC!), the story strolled along quite pleasantly, until the nice ending.
I quite enjoyed it, but it didn’t have me gripped.

This was just a lovely read. From start to finish. There were times when I found myself rushing to turn the page to find out what happened. Really wanting that happy ending. A story of life really of love loss friendships family relationships. Of coming together and of partings. It tells of all those conversations we wish we had had and also the miscommunication and parts we keep hidden. Brilliant and lovely