I really enjoyed this book! It's a heartwarming story of how a lonely delivery driver finds friendship and hope in a small town. The characters are so realistic and relatable, and the writing is engaging and witty. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was rooting for the happy ending. This book made me laugh, cry, and feel inspired. It's a perfect read for anyone who needs a little boost of joy in their life.

This book is so hard hitting. This is a novel about grief and it’s so emotional

The characters were well written and well developed
This book is full of trigger warnings so be careful going into it

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.

Charlie is a new supermarket delivery driver and he's allowed 4 minutes per customer for a delivery. As his boss tells him, he won't need longer, he's not a social worker.

This was a truly delightful tale of Charlie and his interaction with the different residents of Hope Street his delivery run. As Charlie begins to deliver to the residents of Hope Street we get to know a few of them a little better and what happens before and after Charlie does his delivery to them.

I'm making a trigger warning here for suicide and also the death of a child. Which may be a little spoiler but I feel the need to point it out. On the whole the book is so uplifting and charming. Just a really pleasant read.

I really liked Charlie as a character and was intrigued as to how he ended up being a delivery driver. Maybe I should have seen it coming, but the outcome of the book was a complete surprise to me. I think the great story telling just had me so engrossed I never thought to try and work it out.

What a wonderful heart-warming read.

Four Minutes To Save A Life follows the delivery round of new driver Charlie. He isn't just bringing the residents of Hope Street their food, but also providing them with a friendly face. And for some, he's the only link to the outside world.

The different but real characters in each of the houses on Hope Street really make this book. And they show us how people can cling to those moments of humanity in their days, which is so important right now!

This book made me laugh and cry, there were real issues dealt with compassionately and with heart.

Thank you to Orion and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Great book about how easy it is to help someone and make their day brighter, even if you are only a supermarket delivery man. I loved Charlie and wished he delivered my groceries, and I could hug him. A really uplifting feel good book, perfect to cuddle up with in these difficult times.

This book… it’s so difficult to review it without spoiling the story for others, but I thought it was simply wonderful. I unfailingly enjoy ensemble pieces like this one – although perhaps it’s wrong to call it that, as the only early link between its cast of characters is Charlie, the supermarket delivery driver. We know at outset that Charlie’s had a troubled past, a history that’s slowly revealed – when he’s not too keen on the company of others, his new job is pretty much ideal with its permitted four minutes for each delivery. But, despite himself, Charlie can’t help but get involved with the lonely people he delivers groceries to on Hope Street.

There’s Ruth with her three bottles of vodka a week (but just one in her supermarket delivery), her kitchen surfaces covered with electrical items collected from the tip that she brings home to repair, and a real depth of sadness; grandfather Vik, recently widowed, cooks sumptuous meals every Friday for a family who never visit; Greg writes a successful blog, nominated for a prestigious award, on travel possibilities for people with disabilities. The thing they share is loneliness, and their personal stories gradually become clearer – and Charlie just wants to do what he can to make their lives better.

And that’s not the whole cast – Charlie’s also part of a delivery team, and works out of a depot where he needs to interact with “the management” and the other drivers. They’re all equally wonderfully drawn – the less than conventional mother-to-be, the cocky one who’s out to get him for stealing his delivery route, the team that loads the vans, the manager with his clipboard enforcing the rules.

The writing is outstanding – it’s a story that had the potential to be rather flat and depressing, but the author brings a real depth and complexity to the characters and involves you, heart and soul, in their lives. There are times when it’s so joyful it makes your heart sing, other moments when you ache inside – you find yourself welling up about life’s injustices, at the capacity for human kindness, the profound impact the smallest of interventions can have on the lives of others. As well as the exceptional warmth, there’s humour too – and a real lightness of touch about the most serious of issues, never inappropriate, perfectly judged. The pace increases considerably towards the end – a mystery that we’re always aware of plays out with tension and real drama, superbly handled, so very well done.

Although this isn’t a story that pulls any punches over issues some might find uncomfortable at times, it’s quite gloriously hopeful and uplifting – the depression, loneliness and guilt is beautifully balanced by love, kindness, forgiveness, new possibilities and the shining light of hope, and I adored every moment. I read this book in a single sitting – there was just no way I could walk away from those characters until the story reached its end. And then I’ll admit I felt quite bereft – these people had become my friends, so real that I felt entirely invested in their lives and futures. Don’t miss this book – it’s something very special indeed, and I absolutely loved it.

(I’m not always a fan of “perfect for fans of” recommendations, and I’m not sure I entirely agree with the comparisons drawn by the publishers – Jenny Colgan, Veronica Henry and Beth O’Leary. But perhaps if you enjoyed Richard Roper’s Something to Live For, or The 24-Hour Cafe by Libby Page – Anna Stuart has her own particular and very special touch, and you’re really going to love this one.)

Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available.

Every now an then I request a book on Netgalley purely on impulse, I can't recall what it was that made me click for details, let alone request it, but what I can say is I' incredibly happy that I did.

This book was definitely and published before the Covd 19 crisis escalated like it has done, and yet this seems like such a timely and apt moment for our current situation.

For its a story where the main character and link between the other threads is a supermarket delivery driver, he has to be in and out of each house within 4 mins and he is continually told that he is a driver and not a social worker.

Yet Charlie is also aware that for some of his regulars, that he is their only contact during the week, and that a few on his route are almost certainly lonely, and rarely get out - and if that doesn't sound familiar at the moment for some groups of people then i don't know what will.

It is an incredibly heartwarming, and inspirational story, of how you can touch and impact other people's lives even if you barely know them. What is obvious from the outset, is that he has some sort of previous connection to someone on Hope Row.

The revelation of who and how completely took me by surprise, although it is so cleverly written that I did wonder just how busy Charlie had been the previous year.

The three regulars he is most interested in are Vik, who makes wonderful curries for a weekly family meal, Ruth, who drinks too much, and Greg who is an inspirational blogger, but grumpy git in private. I think I can say that all three of them are grieving, either a person or who they previously were,

This may be the fist book I've read by Anna Stuart, but I'm certain it won't be my last, as she has a wonderful storytelling ability.

It's a powerful read and a book that will slowly seep under your skin, until you can't stop thinking about the characters and how they are getting on.

Thank you to Netgalley and Trapeze for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Unfortunately not for me. I struggled to get into it and didn’t really enjoy ut all that much as a result

I loved this book. 5* + The characters were great, the story shows the difficulty we sometimes live with, what its like to feel alone. Interestingly each character had written their own story in their own heads but as soon as they discussed out loud with the people they loved it often was not that way. An important message about love and acceptance of yourself and others. Charlie is a delivery driver with his own demons, he tries to bring together other people in the aptly named Hope Street.

In Anna Stuart’s Four Minutes to Save a Life, Charlie Sparrow, is the newest delivery driver to join the ranks of Turner’s Supermarkets. He is instructed that four minutes is all that he has to spend with each and every customer. Of course, anybody in customer service can tell you that when people need to talk – they need to talk. So, as he works his designated route, he soon finds that there is a lot to be hidden behind our seemingly closed doors. Indeed, through the mundane activity of having a weekly food shop delivered, this book casts a light on how the smallest of gestures can have the biggest of impacts.

I really liked the premise of this book. It made me think about the unexpected roles people can play in our lives and how even a brief interaction can re-frame the things that bring us pain. The sad truth is, however, that this isolation is very real and it is something that has only been acerbated by Covid-19. Whether it’s a delivery driver for Tesco’s or a customer support executive for Trainline, often this interaction is the only conversation many people will have for entire weeks. As such, Anna Stuart has created some very believable characters that all deal with their loneliness in different ways. Essentially, this title encapsulates that old adage ‘no one knows what happens behind closed doors’, and it urges you to think that maybe we should try.

Although this title has been promoted as a “heartwarming” read by several Goodreads reviewers, I do have to question whether these people have read an entirely different book to me. This title absolutely oozes with pathos; so much so, I had to put it down once or twice from crying too much. Though this is no bad thing, I do have to disclaim that this is not a “feel good” book, no matter what its cute cover might make you think. This is a book about serious mental health issues and the touching moments that can come dispersed in-between them. The pace of this title is necessarily slow and, at times, it is repetitive. I liked Stuart’s characters, but I often felt it would have been more engaging to streamline the cast and focus solely on Charlie and Ruth’s relationship. The change in perspectives became a little monotonous and I think, selfishly, I could have done with an emotional break from the onslaught of tortured thoughts.

In the midst of a global pandemic, this discussion of loneliness amongst society’s most vulnerable is evermore important. This title skilfully brings to life all those mental health campaigns that state a simple ‘how’re you doing?’ can be enough to disrupt someone’s suicidal thoughts. Let us not forget our compassion and empathy in these troubled times.

A supermarket delivery driver realises he’s not just delivering the residents of Hope Street their groceries, but providing them with a friendly face, a link to the outside world and probably the only interaction they have with another person. Never has a book been more apt highlighting what is happening in all our communities at the moment. Charlie, our delivery driver is new to the job, and when given his round on his first day he recognises a name from his past and it’s a person he’s keen to make amends with. Charlie is allowed only four minutes to deliver to each customer, but in those four minutes he manages to change their lives.

This is a heart-warming and feel good read focussing on topics which we tend to brush under the carpet – isolation, grief and mental health issues but also on more positive topics of friendship, love and forgiveness. Charlie is a lovely character and is most certainly the kind of person who you want to be delivering your weekly shop. The other characters all have their own differing issues and problems, and meeting them all makes you realise what people are dealing with behind their own front doors. The author’s writing managed to put a smile on my face and tears to my eyes, all within pages of each other.

A delightful, moving book which captured me from the first few chapters and had plenty of life lessons to learn. Would definitely recommend!

Ive never read this author before so I didn't know what to expect. I really enjoyed this.

The story line all the way through keeps you wanting to turn the pages. Charlie, vik and Greg are fantastic character and I can't wait to read more.

This was a nice book, easy to follow with a good and interesting storyline that kept me enjoying it until the end. I wasn’t hooked in the way I hoped, and sometimes it felt a little bit if an effort but in general this book was a winner. Would recommend.

I loved Bonnie and Stan the author’s previous book, and hoped I’d enjoy this book just as much. Well this was such a fabulous read, I knew right from the first few words that I was going to enjoy it.

I loved Charlie as soon as I met him and loved going out on deliveries with him to meet some of the residents of Hope Street. He enjoys meeting Vik, grieving for his late wife Nika, Greg a disabled travel blogger and Ruth an alcoholic electrician. He’s been told he’s only got four minutes to deliver their shopping, but as he gets to know them, he wants to spend more time getting to know them and helping them.

This was a beautifully written story about different people living solitary lives in the same street. About how one delivery driver tries to help them make sense of their lives by being a link between them. Although it sounds like it could be a tough read, it’s not at all and made me laugh at times, as well as well up. It’s a book full of hope, smiles and almost a few tears. A really lovely read that makes Anna Stuart a new favourite author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and cannot recommend it enough for lovers of contemporary fiction.

Trigger warning before we start.
Some very difficult topics. Childhood death, death and suicide,
A hard book to read but it is worth it, it is very thoughtfully and tastefully written.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Orion publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

My Thoughts: I absolutely adored this book, I literally couldn’t put it down, I fell in love with Charlie right from the beginning, there was just something about him, but you could sense the vulnerability that he was trying so desperately to hide.

On his first day of his new job he meets 3 customers who are all lonely and have hidden secrets, Charlie makes it his mission to bring them all together, to ease their loneliness and deal with their issues together.

Whilst he’s doing this we soon learn that Charlie is keeping his own secrets and has his how problems to deal with.

I don’t want to say too much more because I just can’t give any of the elements of the story away. but it was so heartwarming and just shows that taking just a few minutes out of your day to talk to someone can make such a big difference to someone’s life. & the truth is that most of the time you probably wouldn’t even realise it!

Before anyone reads any further, it’s important to point out here that this book contains some difficult themes. Suicide, death and the death of a child all play a prominent role and all of the characters are affected deeply.

Please stop reading now if you need to.

I wasn’t certain what I expected from Four Minutes to Save a Life. I was anticipating something uplifting and light. I was right in one case; and totally wrong on the other.

There are four main characters: Charlie, Greg, Ruth and Vik. All are struggling with their demons: Vik’s wife overdosed rather than lose to cancer; Ruth’s daughter emulated Virginia Wolfe and walked into a river never to come out; Greg had an accident that left him disabled and took everything he loved. And Charlie… Charlie may or may not be linked to one or all of these events.

Anna Stuart is a powerful writer. The plot centres around Charlie, working as a delivery driver and determined to bring these three customers together to atone for his past. As each story is heard by both Charlie and the sympathetic reader, you know there are common themes behind each tragedy. But this common theme has a link back to Charlie and you know he was in some way involved with one of the events. The clever writing, lack of details and knowing nothing about Charlie’s past, however, means you have no idea which one.

This book is emotional – and the type to stay with you after reading. Yes, there are some heavy moments; times when the characters have lost all hope, everything is unravelling and they don’t know how to pick themselves up. But there are moments of hope and light, where friendship and companionship are the best gift anyone could give and forgiveness and understanding the most powerful tool one can wield.

Some reviews are hard to write. This is one of them. I could talk about pacing, tension etc but they have no part in a novel like this. The character development is tricky to put into words: these characters must find a way to see the light when everything feels wrong. But the book is uplifting: all four find their reasons for living, all four find ways to connect to those they are estranged with, building bridges and helping broken hearts by coming out of their isolation.

The themes stick with you. As do the emotions. I finished this book and needed time to process everything I had read. I also was left with the feeling of wanting to connect to people, wanting to have people around I could share with because the power of companionship cannot be over-rated.

I’d highly recommend this book, but with a note of caution there is no shying away from difficult themes here and it may not be appropriate for everyone. This will be one that stays with me and the more I dwell on it, the more I realise how powerful it really was.

Feel good fiction for a rainy day. I really enjoyed this, there were some lovely ideas, although it was a bit cheesy in places. Fortunately there was also some grit to the story which made it an entertaining read. It touched on some interesting things about modern life, and I liked the dig at the customer service ideal of four minutes.

Charlie needed to start a new life, so he changed his surname to Sparrow, burned all of his possessions and starts a new job as a delivery driver for a large supermarket. His round includes Hope Street, where he recognises one of the names on the list of deliveries - he is desperate to make amends with this person. But he also finds that some of the other residents may profit from a little help. But can he change anything when he only has 4 minutes pro delivery? And why does he want to change things at all?

This was an absolutely uplifting, charming and touching book with some twists that I didn't see coming and that I enjoyed immensely - I do love a book that succeeds to surprise me. Judging the story on its cover I was expecting it to be much more light - hearted, it turned out to be much darker and touching and about heavier issues than I have expected but I loved those elements of this tale.

The characters are all so different but they all have troubles, problems and are not flawless, and thanks to this fact I quickly got the feeling that they're believable and relatable. They all felt so human and true to life, with Vik and his cooking, Ruth and her mending, Greg and his honesty and Charlie with his huge, huge heart. The more I read about them, the more involved in their lives I was and I fell for them all, for their loneliness, their sadness and hope that Charlie was giving them. There was this "something" in Charlie that has made him a perfect leading character, and the way the author has written him was brilliant. There was a feeling of mystery around him, and the build - up to the reveal has showed his character as a reasonable, responsible, lovely soul who couldn't forget what has happened, who felt so guilty and this guilt was killing him inside but you were also able to see that he tries so much to somehow atone - he doesn't want to forget, he simply tries to start living again, without guiltiness, which he deserved, in my humble opinion.
I was desperate to know who it is that Charlie was so desperate to help and why, and even though the group of characters is rather a small one, I didn't guess it, as well as the reasons - it was really cleverly and well plotted.

I really liked the way the story was developing and it was totally not obvious. I really wasn't sure in which direction the author is going to take us, I couldn't tell where the book is leading us, and it was great. Anna Stuart has a great way with words and is a truly great story - teller, delivering us a tale like a rollercoaster ride filled with feelings and emotions. And even though it's so emotional and full of serious topics, I still found it a light - hearted and easy read that left me feel so satisfied at the end. I sometimes found it a bit too dragging on, and the end felt too rushed but other than that it was a lovely read that had me invested in the characters' lives.

Altogether "Four Minutes to Save a Life" was such a lovely emotional tale that dealt with many heavier issues, such as depression, suicide, grief, feeling guilty, broken family relationships, in such a gentle and careful way. The small acts of kindness are so cheerful, they can truly brighten up your mood, especially when you see how huge a difference they can make to people. It was a warm book about friendship and forgiveness that felt like a warm blanket on a cold winter night. Hugely recommended!