I loved The Miniaturist but gave up on The Muse. I was excited to be able to review The Confession but feel it is very much a Marmite book: I suspect readers will either love it or hate it.

An intriguing story beckons after Rose's father hands her two novels written by Connie, the woman her mother Elise fell in love with. Elise disappeared shortly after Rose's birth leaving her father to bring her up and Rose is determined to track Connie down in order to find out the reason why her mother deserted her.

I wish the novel had begun with Rose being given Connie's novels instead of how Elise and Connie met. It was difficult to get gripped by the backstory and I was unable to engage with the characters, not because they were dislikeable, which they were, but because they did not hold my attention.

No matter how good the writing, and in many places it is very good, if the characters do not engage my sympathy or empathy the story of their journey falls down. Sadly this happened here.

I'm sure many of Jessie Burton's fans will not be as disappointed but I don't think her books are for me. The Miniaturist remains her best book imo. Many thanks to PanMacmillan/Picador and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

One day Elise, a 20 year old very beautiful young woman whose mother died from a brain tumour when she was young and who is estranged from her father is followed when she gets off the tube by a 38 year old, attractive, tall ,confident older woman called Constance. They have coffee at a cafe and very soon Elise is moving from a sofa in a bedsit to Connie's Hampstead house. Connie is a cult feminist writer with one successful published book and has just started work on a sceond. Connie's first book is picked up for a Holywood film awith an Oscar winning actress pencilled in for the starring role. Elise joins Connie as they travel to LA where things start to fall apart. In the future, Elise's daughter, Rose who is feeling a bit lost and moribund in her mid thirties decides to try to find out about her mother whom she never knew (Elise disappears when Rose is a baby). Her father won't talk about her mother but gves her the only two novels written by Connie which Elise owned and tells Rose that Connie was the last person to see Elise. Connie has never published again and lives a reclusive life but is in need of an assistant and Rose uses deception to insert herself into Connie's life hoping to find out some answers.

I really enjoyed this book. It jumps from the past to the present with ease. It takes a bit of concentration in the first few chapters to stick with the story, familarise yourself with the characters etc. but I felt the perserverance was well rewarded later. The story became engrossing and page turning. I didn't expect any big revelations or neat endings, it was the interplay between the charcaters and the exploration of what people want /need to receive from others and how we change and mature and the ways in which we need to receive love to ake us feel supported that held my attention. A really good read.

I feel emotionally wrung out after reading this story. I did not particularly like some of the characters but that did not stop me from getting totally caught up in everyones lives. This is a highly emotive story which spans more than 30 years and left me wanting more. This book will stay in my mind for a while.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I have read Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist and The Muse and loved them but can’t say the same about this one. It just didn’t work for me. I felt the story was lacking and I really disliked the characters. A marmite book I feel.

Having read a few duff books I was beginning to question if I was ever going to read a good book again, and then 'The Confession' appeared.

Superb writing - the word craft is lush and entrancing. The characters are fascinating yet believable. I felt sympathy for them all as they each got swept away by the moment. The story telling is perfectly paced, there is a measured drip feed of intrigue and drama which kept me turning the pages.

I am not going to recount the story - go and read it yourself! One of the best books I have read this year.

Spanning two generations, The Confession reveals a closely woven tapestry of heartache and failed personal and interpersonal relationships, With no recollection or knowledge of her mother and the only clue to her existence being a book given to her by her father, Rose determines to find out all she can about her from the one person who knew her well. As the intricacies of her own mother’s life events are unearthed, Rose realises a lifetime of repressed emotions which will ultimately help her understand and decide her own course in life.

I was looking forward to reading another Jessie Burton after the success of The Miniaturist .
It is 1980 and Connie -a celebrated author meets and falls in love with Elise who is much younger and hasn't quite found her niche in life .
When Connie's latest novel becomes a success -they travel to L.A where the book is being made into a film. Connie loves life in L.A -but Elice feels like a fish out of water and hates it. They are soon at loggerheads and the relationship is doomed .
Fast forward -we then meet Rose in 2017 . Rose is Elise's daughter although she cannot remember her mother as she was given up as a baby and her father raised her. Rose is desperate to find out about Elise and eventually learns about her mother's affair.. She makes contact with Connie to try and find out what happened to her mother. and why she was abandoned
The story was beautifully written and the characters really came to life . However I have only awarded 3 stars because I was so disppointed with the ending . After such a prolonged story I felt the last chapter was rushed -yet questions were just not answered and I was left feeling frustrated .
Thankyou NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review

Someone help me here! I'm not sure what I was to get from this book? Never having read anything by Burton previously but knowing her reputation I went into The Confession full of excitement and anticipation. I was very, very disappointed. Whilst the writing is in a class of it's own - there's no denying THAT - I didn't care AT ALL for the characters. Elise - boring and vacuous, Connie - cold and aloof. As for Rose - well what am I to make of this girl! I really don't know about this book. As I said, the writing was wonderful but a bit pretentious and over-done. for my simple taste. Hmmmm, perhaps the fault lies with me and I've missed something deep and meaningful in this arduous book? Sorry folks - glorious writing notwithstanding - this just didn't float my boat. Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

'The Confession' is Jessie Burton's most assured novel to date: this is the work of a writer confident in her command of her characters and her voice.

The plot is perfectly paced: I loved the way the two storylines weave in and out of one another, distinct, and yet with traces of the past still rippling through the present. The characters are complicated, and while they are not always likeable, they are believable. I particularly connected to the 2017 protagonist, Rose - in many ways, this is her mid-thirties coming of age story, and I loved watching her grow as a character. Through Rose's eyes, at counterpoints to her mother, Elise, we get some glorious ruminations on identity, motherhood and love. The resolution ties it all together perfectly.

'The Confession' makes for a truly engrossing read: I was absorbed by the story and captivated by the delicate, ever-evolving exploration of its themes. Impressive and accessible, this is a novel that will stay with me for a while.

Rose has been looking for her missing mother all her life. Her life feels incomplete or permanently on hold. When her father gives her a clue - the name of an author who was the last person to see her mother she decides to insert herself in this authors life to find traces of her mother.

Elise is a young woman in live with Connie a successful author. She will follow Connie anywhere - even to L.A when Connie's book becomes a Hollywood film. Life starts to unravel though for Elise and her lack of awareness of her own identity makes her self destructive.

I really enjoyed this. The way the story is revealed in alternating chapters (I always like that) but for once both stories were equally interesting. Elise is a captivating character at the start and you want to know what happens to her. Whereas her daughter Rose is pretending to be someone else and seems to have lost her self and her mother. It all weaves together brilliantly.

I absolutely loved The Miniaturist and The Muse, so I had high expectations when starting The Confession. As usual Jessie Burton’s writing is exceptional. I was absorbed from the start. I appreciated the characters, the dual time frame, and the gentle reveals along the way.
It is unusual to have the historical sections of a book set in the 1980s and I enjoyed the descriptions of the culture and norms of a time I remember well. (And yes, we really did wear those shoulder pads!)
While I probably didn’t love it as much as the previous two books, I very much enjoyed #TheConfession and would wholeheartedly recommend it to my friends and to book clubs.
Thank you to Jessie Burton, to the publishers, and to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this lovely book.

I adored Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist and also her second novel and was really excited to be given this book to review. I did enjoy it on the whole but as with many other reviewers, I didn't like the main characters very much and I didn't think the story had a very satisfactory ending. I think I was expecting more from this author and it ultimately didn't deliver as much as I had hoped it would. It was a good read but in my opinion, not quite as good as the previous novels.

I love Jessie Burton and this book did not let me down! I loved it! I read it over 2 days as I could seriously not put it down. It was BRILLIANT! It is deffo going on my book club reads when it is published! 5 out of 5!

I'm so disappointed in this novel. And it seems from the other netgalley reviews that it is a marmite book. I have loved Jessie Burton's first two novels and urge people to read them - not this one. It is stilted, lacks deep characterisation and as others said dull. It feels like the 1983 story should be removed completely and the focus should have been on Rose and Connie meeting as that is where the writing improved. Most of the 'extras' (secondary characters) are very sketchy and 2D even Elise and Matt but especially Joe and her friend (I've forgotten her name despite just finishing it - says a lot). It would have been better to reduce the number of characters and make them more believable and human. The ending is trying to be clever but is just painful and feels like a suggested extra. At times this talented author's work reads like a badly written women's fiction/chick lit novel (it is a talent to write those novels well, even if the writers don't get the recognition they may deserve). Jessie's strength is not women's fiction but literary, deep and powerful novels. None of these words apply here. I was left hollow and sad and a little angry as I'd been so looking forward to this book and it feels that it may have been written to a deadline rather or if not why didn't someone tell her it needed a lot of work. Anyway I finished it so the two stars are for that.

Ok, it's Jessie Burton so you are expecting great things! By any other writer this would be fabulous, but I have to admit to be slightly disappointed. Obviously the writing is sumptuous, but, for me, there is something lacking. I think maybe it is over clever . It drags you in but ultimately doesn't really deliver.

Elise, Connie and Rose are all connected in this wonderful story that spans thirty years. Each character is vivid and the amazing story of motherhood, love, loss , lies and eventually the truth is brilliant. This is a fantastic story that gripped me from the very beginning until the last page. It's full of love and so much emotion and a truly unputdownable.

I thought The Confession was just wonderful - even better than Jessie Burton's previous books. With brilliantly drawn characters and settings, this is a story you can truly lose yourself in. I adored Rose and Connie and, although I found Rose and Matt unlikable, I was just as invested in what happened to them. I couldn't put the book down and read it very quickly. I will be recommending this widely and I think it's bound to find a big audience!

Extraordinary and moving book that had me entranced from start to finish. I read this on a lengthy train journey and barely noticed the hours slipping by as I was so absorbed. I was slightly devastated when it ended as I want, no need, to know more.

I have just finished this book and I find myself questioning how I feel. I really did not like any of the characters - they seemed selfish, self obsessed and cold. However their story was captivating and I could not wait to find out what happened. The outcome was a bit of an anti-climax and I was not surprised by the last interaction with Connie and Elise - harsh words that would never be forgotten.
Without spoiling the book I found Rose and her situation desperately sad but somehow I had little sympathy with her life choices and her final actions in the last few pages left me feeling she had learnt little from the experiences of those around her.
The book was brilliantly written and you just know it will make a great TV/film.
A great book club book - plenty to discuss.

I love Jessie Burton novels and this one did not disappoint. I learnt a lot as well as enjoying the characters and overall plot. The transition across time periods of narration was seamless. Thank you, would recommend to others as a brilliant read.