Really enjoyed this book thank you. Vibrant, believable, characters and an absorbing plot. I will ensure I look out for this author in the future!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

#Mine #NetGalley.
Luke and Hannah are in relationship and have a baby by the name of Samuel. They're both working and therefore are unable to look after their child on working days. They started to find an au pair to look after Samuel and then he meets with his birth mother Alice who gave away him when he was an infant. They both decides that Alice will look after Samuel as Alice easily mixed up with their child.
But everything about Alice is not known to them. Luke started to feel that there's something wrong with Alice.
Told from two POV's, past and present this story is an absolute masterpiece.
Alice's character was so lovely, i felt pity for her many times in the book.
Narration of the story is very good.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me an advance copy.

Luke was adopted when he was a child. So, twenty-seven years later when he has a child of his own baby Samuel. He thinks of his birth mother and goes out to find her in secret from his adoptive mother, as he once told her he wouldn’t search for her.
When they meet, things go well and at first, they make a connection. So well in fact that when Luke’s girlfriend Hannah decides to go back to work. Alice Luke’s mother offers to look after baby Samuel three days a week. The story also turns to Alice’s POV. What her life was like as an artist and how she met Luke’s father.
But when Alice looks after Samuel Luke realises that Alice’s attention goes to Samuel more than Luke, as if Alice is replacing Samuel as the son she lost.
Wow this is a great gripping thriller somehow a bit different to others I have read. A story of adoption, not everyone has a happy ending when they meet their birth mother, Love and death. I also liked the way the author wrote this seeing in each other’s point of view so we can see the different sides of what one thinks.

Wow. Just wow.
This one has left me speechless.
It’s a page turning, compulsive read. Clear the decks once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. The style of writing I love to read.
Thanks for the arc.

After reading and enjoying Clare Empson's first book 'Him' I was in such a hurry to read 'Mine' that I bought it before being approved by NetGalley to review it!

I was not disappointed. 'Mine' is as equally a good read with an interesting plot and characters to root for. When Luke's birth mother, Alice, and he become acquainted he longs to learn the reasons for her giving him away. Meanwhile, he and his partner, Hannah, have just had a baby and Alice offers her help to care for him when Hannah returns to work. Luke has to overcome his jealousy of his mother's growing closeness to her baby grandson.

Written in two timelines 'Mine' is an emotional and moving read. It is slow-paced but perfectly written for the issues being covered. 'Mine' fully deserves to be as successful as 'Him' was.

An enjoyable and fast paced read, with realistic characters and interesting plot, quite twisted at times, but unfortunately not a memorable one for me . I’ll still recommend it as it’s well written and interesting story overall.

I think I went into this expecting more of a thriller vibe than I gave off (to me, at least). I'd drawn some comparisons with the style of e.g. Susie Steiner. I think because I'd read the synopsis re: the taking on of a child I drew a line between that and DC Manon in Steiner's books, even though I know the tone/subject isn't the same. I always tend to enjoy mysteries/thrillers written by women and whilst I raced through this, I didn't feel like it was a particularly standout example of the genre. I do think that Empson writes people. particularly women , well. The psychological troubles of each of the characters came over realistically and I could empathise with each of them. For me this was a quick and reasonably satisfying read but not one I wanted to linger over or return to.

This is the second book i have read by Clare Empson, having previously read her debut, Him. This book surpassed that in my view.

The story flits between the past and the present and centres on Luke and Alice. Luke is Alice’s biological son who was adopted as a baby. 27 years on they have reunited and the book takes us through that reunion, cleverly entwining the tale of how Luke was conceived and his birth with the present.

The book isn’t fast paced - but that wouldn’t be the right pace for this story. Instead, the story builds evenly as we follow Luke and Alice through their reunion and watch the impact that reunion has on Luke, and Alice (from afar as we don’t hear the present side of the story from Alice, only the past).

As the story builds to its conclusion, the pace does pick up and I was desperate to find out what happened next. I had guessed some of what was likely to happen but the author took that further than I anticipiate and built up the suspense around this. The emotion that drives the book to the end brought me close to tears. It was in a sense the perfect ending. Not contrived, not necessarily a happy ever after (depending on your viewpoint) but a realistic ending.

If you read Him and enjoyed it, you will love this book - it is one not to miss.

These characters were awesome, well planned and well embellished. I could see them forming and growing in front of me as I read the book. This was enjoyable. The plot was a little strange at times but it was enjoyable, dark and twisty.

A brilliant story of a young man, Luke, who was adopted as a small child and comes into contact with his birth mother when he has had a son with his partner. This is a disturbing story which rings so very true around the untold trauma that can occur in such situations. I really enjoyed this book and all the different twists and turns as well as the participants different views and perspectives on the situation.

To say I adored this book would be a gross understatement. I just couldn't get enough of it. A realistic, character driven, highly emotional and addictive read that swallowed me whole. A raw, powerful read that blows all other reads of this genre out of the water. Straight into my top books of this year.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

This books is classed as a psychological thriller, but it really is so much more than that. This goes way deeper that not only pulled at my heart strings but nearly broke them.

The story flicks between Alice in the past and Luke in present day. In the past we get to know Alice better and the build up to the circumstances surrounding giving her son up for adoption. In present day, we meet Luke and his partner Hannah, with their young Samuel, comng to terms with having Alice in their lives.

Having not been adopted myself, it’s hard to know how it would feel to know that your parents gave you away. Through Luke, we get to see how knowing your adopted can at times put pressure on the relationship with the adopted parents as well as the upheaval to everyone involved in having a blood parent, coming back into your life.

Tensions and emotions run high throughout this story. Parts were emotional, heartbreaking, sad, worrying, it really did have me go through an array of emotions. Seeing the bond form between Alice and her grandson was lovely yet had me feeling wary all at the same time.

Mine is a gentle, yet compelling story that consumed me wholly. Whilst there are some surprises up the sleeve of this book, I think the main attraction for me were the relationships within this story. The ending had me sobbing like a new born. I was so affected by Alice and Luke and hats off to the author for writing such a haunting read as it will take me sometime, if ever, that I forget about the characters and events that happen within these pages.

Luke was adopted as a baby but has traced his birth mother, Alice. Soon he and his girlfriend Hannah and their son Samuel are meeting up with Alice and his birth father Rick on a regular basis. Things are going so well that Alice starts looking after Samuel when Hannah goes back to work. But Luke can’t help feeling jealous about Alice’s relationship with Samuel - he’s the son she gave up but she seems fixated on Samuel.

A really great read - love, death, adoption, reunion, heartbreak, depression. Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Orion and Claire Empson for he ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

There are a number of emotions dealt with In this book, love, loss, jealousy, mental health, at times some very complex issues with relationships within the family. But all handled quite sensitively by the author. This is beautifully written and involves so much more than the synopsis describes.

Luke and his wife Hannah, have a son Samuel, Having a son awakes emotions in Luke, that make him want to meet his birth mother, Alice, he had been given away when he was a few weeks old, he is now 28. The first meeting with Alice goes well, she is now 47 and an attractive lady, once an artist with a promising career ahead of her, she now paints portraits of pets. Luke has no idea why he was given up, and Alice doesn’t really give him a great deal of information.

Initially I found Alice to not be a likeable person, she doesn’t give much away, holding back feelings, shutting herself off, but when you learn the story of her past you begin to understand, and sympathise more.

Hannah is due to return to work, they had been looking for an au pair, but it was suggested that Alice would be the perfect person to look after Samuel, whilst Luke and Hannah went to work. As Luke sees his birth mother bonding with his son, he starts to become jealous, it seems those feelings of abandonment run deep, he wonders if he can trust his mother with his son? He also has doubts about his own abilities.

The story is told through a dual timeline Alice as a young woman, to giving up her baby for adoption, then Alice in the present.

This is a slow paced story and is very character driven, blending the past with the present. It is very emotional and haunting, you may need some tissues by your side. The plot twists are a little predictable, but it doesn’t really matter, this isn’t a book of action, I am unsure as to whether I would call it a psychological thriller or not. It’s more like a family drama about relationships. Difficult to say more without giving spoilers so I think it’s best left there.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Orionpublishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

An odd but enjoyable mix of psychological thriller and romance. Enough undercurrents to drag you ever deeper.
The plot is packed to the brim with issues, all handled with aplomb. Lots of twists and turns and unexpected events kept me hooked throughout.
The characters are engaging, endearing and easy to relate to. The interactions between the characters are realistic and believable.
A beautifully written and well crafted book. I enjoyed it immensely.

I didn't feel that this book fell into the thriller category. more of a family story, but still well worth a read. It is an intriguing story

Thank you Net Galley and Orion for this book.
This was down as a thriller mystery but to me it wasn't. It was slow paced and just not for me.

Mine is a book that deals with some very important but difficult subjects.
Written in two different POVs - Luke's (present) and Alice's (past), tells us the whole, complicated story of their lives.
Luke is 27 years old. He was eight when his mum told him that he was adopted. After his son was born, he decided to look for his birth mother. That's how he finds Alice.
Alice, who was too young when he was born and couldn't look after him.
After their first meeting everything happens so fast (too fast?).
Alice meets his girlfriend and their son. Then she meets Luke's friends.
Then she becomes Samuel's nanny. It's a perfect solution for a young couple - Alice looks after their son, cooks for them and they don't have to pay her too much.
Luke thinks that it will be a perfect way to bond with Alice. But soon he finds out how wrong he was.
Alice is more interested in Samuel than in him.
What I really liked about this book is how inperfect everyone is. They are not good or bad. They are human. I can understand why they were rushing in. I could understand their mistakes.
Alice's backstory is heartbreaking and I really couldn't hate her. I felt so sorry for her.
Just like I felt sorry for Luke and his adopted mother.
It was a very good book, a great, but very heavy read.

This is billed as a thriller mystery and yet, I didn't really think it had many elements of either in honesty. Instead what I found here was a slowly paced family drama that interweaves the present and the past in order to build up a very character and relationship centred novel. Some of this was undoubtedly done very well and Empson draws together multiple threads of complex family relationships. She is particularly adept at capturing the tensions and struggles of trying to balance an adoptive family and a biological one.

My issue is that so much of the novel is spent on drawing these relationships that actually nothing much happens until the last few pages... even paragraphs of the book. I found the explorations of Alice's life before Luke's birth interesting enough but again, it is close to the end of the novel before they really add anything to the novel and there seemed to be a huge amount of filler that I just didn't care about. I'd realise they were going on about art or music again and switch off, skimming paragraphs until we got somewhere more interesting again. Luke's narrative held less of this for me, although there were still moments.

I suspect the reasons that I found the present narrative with Luke more captivating are twofold; firstly, the complex relationships caught me and secondly, I didn't know where it was going. I had guessed all of the 'twists' from Alice's storyline very early on - and I don't normally get plot twists, so it says that the level of predictability was higher than average. I felt that there was a real understanding of the challenges of adoption though and this was clear in the present day narrative however. Luke's relationships with both his parents are complex and his underlying sense of abandonment show in various aspects of his personality and behaviour. His own new fatherhood is an excellent example of this and he is clearly terrified of his own son feeling any of the same fears.

So it's a bit of a mixed bag here. There are some really heartfelt moments and some touching truisms. The reflections on the nature of relationships and family are honest and real. Her views on mental health are distinctly black and white though, with an all or nothing approach to breakdowns. So whilst the very real dangers of serious mental health illnesses are depicted well, the slow decline and borderline are not. I just found the historical aspects overtook the more pressing modern day challenges. And the ending was so very blunt and truncated that it lost the real power it should have had. That said, I'll be looking for more of this authors work.