What can I say, this is a strange and intriguing book! Turning and twisting, making you think more than you want to. That said, I have never read any of Sarah Hillary's books and it was the summary that drew me to the book.

I found memorable characters and sharp, witty and clever writing, sad and happy at times. Nell Ballard is a runaway and has been in foster care since the age of eight has not had a good experience but she is tough, resilient and that is her strength in life. Nell has a secret to keep and it has to remain her secret. The character I disliked immensely was Meagan Flack, Nell's foster mother, an unlikeable, cruel and selfish person.

At 18 years of age, we find Nell employed as housekeeper at Starling Villas, owned by Dr Robin Wilder and they have a strange relationship. Then Carolyn, Robin's wife turns up. Carolyn has an agenda of her own!

I give a 4 star rating.

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

I have read all of Sarah Hilary's Marnie Rome series which I absolutely adore and when I heard she had written a standalone novel, I was excited and intrigued and as soon as I received an invitation to join the blogtour organised by Random Things Tours I jumped at the chance.

Where to start with Fragile? Well I can say it's completely different to any of Sarah's previous books, the characters and the storyline are both fascinating and addictive and I found myself reading this at every possible opportunity

Nell and Joe are foster children who have escaped a toxic and unhealthy foster home and are now living rough on the streets of London. When Joe disappears after visiting Starling Villas, a house in London, Nell manages to get a job as a housekeeper there under the employment of Dr Robert Wilder, a strange and controlling character and his terrifying wife who seems to enjoy tormenting Nell

Nell has the saddest and most tragic past, discarded by her birth parents and left to fend for herself from the age of 8 in a foster home. The chapters about her time in care are heart-breaking and as a parent it's particularly difficult to read. Struggling with guilt about something awful that happened in the foster home and the reason she and Joe ran away keeps the reader gripped and concerned in equal measures

The writing in this novel is sublime, it's practically poetry and whilst the storyline is dark, Sarah Hilary has created an atmospheric and emotionally intense book about jealousy, love, loss and revenge.

I’m not sure really where to start with this book. It wasn’t WOW/AMAZING but it wasn’t awful either. I wanted to keep reading and see what happened but I also didn’t feel gripped and excited for the story.

The story focuses on Nell, she has a nasty past in a foster home and is involved in the death of a younger foster child. She feels she needs to be punished. She finds a job as a house assistant in London and has left her life behind but the foster mother still has a grudge to bare and will not let the dust settle over the events of Nell’s past.

A good concept but lacked depth and anticipation.

Nell Ballard, a runaway from foster care, now homeless, lands up by chance - or is it? - as a kind of housekeeper at Starling Villas, home of Dr Robin Wilder, a strange character who lives by a rigid set of rules.

Alongside Nell’s narrative is that of Meagan Flack, who formerly ran Lyle’s, the Welsh children’s home where Nell grew up. It’s fair to say Nell’s childhood, and that of the other children at Lyle’s, left a lot to be desired.

Both Nell and Meagan are layered and believable characters. The appalling Meagan justifies her behaviour on the grounds that it’s a hard world and being soft on children - showing them any care or kindness, in other words - is doing them no favours. Really, of course, she’s just lazy and self-serving.

Not everything is believable - Meagan was running a children’s home (it’s not foster care, not with a dozen children, and nobody would call her a “foster mother”) and it’s not credible that she’d be doing so with no staff and little oversight.

Fragile is a dark, beautifully written story about the damage inflicted on children, casual cruelties and neglect, fragility and strength, which gives up its secrets only gradually. Nell, the neglected and unwanted child carrying a heavy burden of guilt and grief, constantly strives to restore some kind of order to her world, cleaning and tidying, caring for others as best she can.

The concept of kintsugi- the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, thus making it stronger - is used towards the end as a metaphor. It’s a good one - though so much so, that I’ve read it used similarly in several other stories!

A recommended read - many thanks to the publishers for providing me with an advance copy.

"Fragile" is the story of Nell, runaway foster child with secrets in her past. Nell has run from Wales to London and found herself a live-in housekeeper position at Starling Villas , working for the enigmatic Dr. Wilder. Nell has an agenda, which is gradually revealed, and the narrative switches back and forward between past and present, so the reader gets to see just what Nell and Joe mean to each other, and what secrets each is keeping.

This is a slow burn literary thriller, beautifully realised and well-written. I liked the way the story followed a split narrative from the perspectives of both Nell and her former foster mother, Meagan, and the way the story unfolded slowly. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for sending me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of Nell, a young girl running away from foster care.

If I'm honest, I found the story a little strange, and didn't particularly bond with any of the characters. The book was really well written, and, whilst I did enjoy reading it, it wasn't the kind of book that I found impossible to put down.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Pan Macmillan, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

A haunting and evocative tale of a young orphan whose only desire is to belong, Sarah Hillary’s Fragile is fraught with emotions and a tense atmosphere. The story of Nell that I read with goosebumps on my skin and tears in my eyes, is dark and desolate, utterly compelling with a gothic overtone that was literally unputdownable.

Nell Ballard needs to be ‘needed’ and to achieve that she is ready to take over anything, thereby, making herself indispensable. Abandoned by her mother at 8 years of age and raised by a foster mother Meagan Flack whose only interest in life is the services money that would be paid to her, Nell knows nothing about love or care. Starling Villas was supposed to be the haven that she never had but the enigmatic Dr. Robin Wilder and his rota of work is nothing as she expected.

Nell’s desperate attempts to change herself seductively pulls at a reader’s heart. At times depressive, at times poignant the author deceptively encompasses the loneliness and madness that may lurk behind any closed doors irrespective of the social strata they belong to. Told in alternate chapters thru Nell’s present and Meagan’s flashbacks, Nell’s and Joe’s life at Lyle and the death of 6yr old Rosie is brought to light. The author thankfully keeps the derivative in a passive voice, it would have been heartbreaking to read the absolute disregard meted out to the children by Meagan.

It’s been a while since I read a good character-driven story, Fragile has in fact everything manipulated by the desires and whims of each character, my only wish that there was something positive or light in the story, to overcome the resonating sadness left by this classic.

Highly recommended!

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Meduim.com, and Twitter.

First of all, let me start my saying that I found this to be a very enjoyable read – I devoured it in a weekend. I was immediately drawn to Nell, and the author created empathy through strong characterisation and a really interesting backstory. We soon find out that Nell has escaped from one life but may have inadvertedly fallen into a worse trap than she’d been in before. She is fragile, and the lives of others around her echo this fragility.

I was excited to read this book after hearing it compared to both ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Rebecca’, which are two books that I’ve loved reading. ‘Rebecca’? Yes. Hilary has captured the voice of Daphe Du Maurier here in the tone of youth and optimism overcoming, and even being blind-sighed to, oppression. There are reflective passages where reality dawns on Nell, that match those of ‘Rebecca’s’ protagonist, and Mrs Wilder can certainly be seen as a domineering echo of the former Mrs de Winter. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’? Nope. Nell goes to the local shops, has a rota of jobs to complete (rota irked me – ‘schedule’, surely?), and has sex, but she’s chosen to work for Robin, can leave whenever she wants, is paid and the sex is consensual. This is hardly a feminist statement of oppression and male-dominance in society, in fact the two most domineering characters are both female.

There is a real ‘energy’ to this story. Nell is hard-working and unafraid to get stuck in to a task. We hear about her cleaning at Wilder’s and cleaning at her foster home. And there is a joy to her clearning, a real enthusiasm that carries the reader along with it. When I can’t be bothered to do housework, watching something like ‘Filthy House SOS’ for half and hour will normally give me the motivation I need to whip out the bleach and attack the clutter. This novel, strangely, had the same effect on me. I’m pretty sure that this wasn’t the author’s intended effect, but this novel will make you want to clean!

I wasn’t quite sure how this joy of cleaning really sat with Nell’s feeling that she is perhaps trying to punish herself. For all that I could grasp, she takes a pride in sorting out the old house, fantacises about it’s past, and takes joy in returning it to a homely environment. Rather than this being a dark, psychological thriller, I found many sections to be rather inspirational – her attic makeover is certainly pinterest-worthy.

As a teacher of English, I really appreciated the gorgeous figurative langauge in this novel, which is so often missing from thrillers. I now have a life goal of owning a Japanese Kintsukoroi bowl, which Hilary described so beautifully, winding the symbolism effortlessly through her narrative, and highlighting Nell’s own fragility. The parts of the novel that I found most chilling were the descriptions of Nell’s life before her arrival at Starling Villas. As a mum, anything to do with children being mistreated always makes me feel particularly uncomfortable, and for this reason I really disliked the character of Meagan. Could Hilary have gone further with the descriptions of life at Lyle’s? Absolutely. Am I glad that she didn’t? Yup. Equally, other authors may have gone to town with details of disfunctional dometic relationships – there was certainly the opportunity for it here – but I rather preferred this ‘soft’ version of abuse. Not the dark portrayal that I’d expected after reading the above synopsis from the publisher, but one that I was comfortable reading.

There were, however, parts of this book that didn’t really seem to link together. The novel starts with the idea that Nell has a definite purpose in choosing to work for, and live with, Robin Wilder. It sounds like she knows what to expect, and that her reason to be there is merely to track down Joe. What confused me, was that (a) there is no need for her to be at Wilder’s in order to find Joe, and (b) she doesn’t leave once she’s found him. I also didn’t really understand why Nell allowed the relationship with Wilder to progress to the extent it did, when she appeared to be pretty clued up on his intentions. I wonder whether Hilary’s vision for the narrative changed as she wote it, and that maybe a few loose ends didn’t quite get tied up.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for an interesting domestic read with a twist, this is the book for you, and personally, I really enjoyed it. I’d go as far to say that it may even be classed as a YA thriller. However, if you’re searching for a dark, psychological thriller, than you may be a little disappointed.

A beautiful use of language and imagery but somehow this book did not satisfy. I felt it needed condensing somewhat and it also lacked likeable characters, even six year old Rosie was difficult.
I have no literary skills so it pains me to criticise the work of those that do but this is my honest opinion.
My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of Fragile.

"Fragile" is a dark and twisted standalone novel from the author of the "DI Marnie Rome" series, but it is also a very sad story. It's brilliantly written (as expected), with a very good plot (also as expected), but I couldn't quite connect to any of the characters (a surprise for me). I enjoyed this book a lot, and hope that Sarah Hilary writes many more standalone novels.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a secret she's desperate to keep. All Nell wants to find is a place she can belong. So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the chance with both hands. Only her new lodgings may not be he safe haven that she was hoping for.

It took me a couple of chapters to et into the book but oonce i did, i quite enjoyed it. This is a story about foster children and the ones who run away from home to et revenge. This is a well written and atmospheric read. It's also slightly creepy but thrilling. Nell and Joe run away from their foster home and the story is told from Nell and the foster homes manager, Magan's point of view. But neither of hem is reliable. Nell and Joe get seperated and she manages to get a job as a housekeeper. A story of jealousy and revenge.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #PanMacmillan and the author #SarahHilary for my ARC of #Fragile in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this had me really intrigued; just what exactly happened that made Nell runaway from her old foster home and what the heck is going on at Starling Villas. Unfortunately I found it hard to relate to any of the characters and the situations they found themselves in. Told with the viewpoints of two characters; Nell and her old foster parent Meagan, it’s unclear if you can trust either of their reliability as narrator in this story as Nell’s past slowly unfolds, which adds to the mystery of her story.

I would like to thank the author, Sarah Hilary and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

This is not your typical thriller, I felt it was very slow paced and I just felt I couldn't get in to it as much as I was hoping for. I struggled with the 'slow-ness' of the book. I'm more of a fast-paced type of person who likes to be feeling quite scared and on the edge of my seat and I just didn't feel it with this one.

Although, I loved the story line and the route the book took me down, I would just have liked it to be a little quicker.

This is a slow placed, claustrophobic gothic thriller. With chapters narrated by foster runaway Nell and the children's home 'manager' Megan we view the story from different perspectives. Nell's story is one of a lost childhood, sadness and a constant fear for the worst. She has been exposed to a litany of cruelties and is struggling to keep her head above water. Securing a job in the stark and mysterious home of Dr Robin Wilder, Nell is exposed to a level of control and structure she has never experienced before...but is she safe? And where is her best friend Joe?

This isn’t your usual fast paced thriller, it takes us at a much slower pace. The story is told in the present with flashbacks to Nell’s childhood as the events leading up to a fateful day resulting in a dark secret gradually reveal themselves. This is a really dark, and at times slightly chilling thriller but at the same time it is actually much more than that. It is actually quite thought provoking and at times poignant with some very sharp observations about society. I finished this novel feeling quite emotional. Nell the main character is a very likeable and although many of the other characters aren’t they definitely make good ‘bad’ guys!

On a busy street in London, tucked away between the office blocks, there is an old house no one seems to notice. No one, that is, but Nell, who stalks the house waiting for her best friend Joe to appear. He’d gone in the night before, desperate to escape from the cold, and Nell hasn’t seen him since. Which means she’s desperate too, to get into the house and find Joe.

A random meeting with a random stranger gives her the opening she needs. She’s in! But no Joe. Convinced he’ll be back, Nell talks her way into the job of live-in housekeeper, something her years of being a surrogate mum in her former foster home has prepared her well for.

It seems like the perfect opportunity. Money in her pocket, a roof over her head, and the chance to wait for Joe to come back, because she knows he will. As you might expect from a novel by Sarah Hilary, however, nothing is quite as it seems – which Nell quickly realises when her boss’ ex-wife turns up. Suddenly, she finds herself in the middle of a toxic relationship and backed into a corner, unsure where to turn.

All of this happens very quickly, almost too quickly for me. And, while the reasons it was so easy for Nell to walk into a are eventually explained (as well as the reason Nell and Joe are homeless, which is told in flashbacks), this meant that I felt like I was playing catch-up for a fair bit of the story.

Yes, there was tension, which I felt, and which was great. And there were plenty of secrets to uncover – which I love. But I struggled to ‘fall’ into the story, to get lost in it. Nell never became real to me, and neither did any of the other characters. I also struggled with Nell and Joe’s backstory. I couldn’t picture it, couldn’t see myself there.

Which leaves me liking but not loving the book. I’m not sure I would recommend it to others, which is definitely not the case with other Sarah Hilary novels. But I’m also not sure I wasn’t maybe expecting something else, which is why I struggled.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I have read other books by Sarah Hilary and really enjoyed them, and the blurb for this one sounded right up my street.

But I just couldn't get into it at all. I kept getting confused and was unsure of what was happening. I had to keep going back and re-reading parts.

I didn't really like the main character either, so had no encouragement to carry on with this book.

I DNF'ed at 26%

I enjoyed reading Fragile up to about halfway and then thought crikey this needs editing. I felt it rambley and it dragged on far too long. However, I liked the way the author gave the feeling of mounting anxiety and the, did she didn’t she and did he or didn’t he kept me guessing. I good book but far to long.

Nell and Joe run away to London , from their foster home in Wales, after a tragic event. When Nell sees Joe disappear into a house she knocks on the door and talks herself into a housekeeping job with Dr Robin Wilder at Startling Villa, he has very strict rules and likes a regimented routine.

Nell has her own agenda as she wants to know why Joe was there, but it soon becomes apparent that Dr Robin has secrets that he is also hiding!!

I was drawn into this book from the start. As the story unfolds I was left with the chilling feeling that the safe haven Nell had found, was about to put her in danger!!

The backstory of what happened to Nell and Joe at the foster home and what they went through is a haunting and sad tale, reaching its gripping finale at the end .

A new author for me. I will definitely look out for her other books!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Reading the premise of this book and having enjoyed Sarah Hilary's writing previously I thought that this would be interesting. It certainly twists and turns leaving you wondering who is lying here or even what is the truth? I found it particularly difficult to read. Not only was it a very tragic and uncomfortable storyline but the style of writing, told from Nells perspective, was tricky to read and follow. I also didn't like any of the characters and although I had huge sympathy for Nell and Joe, I didn't like them or understand them. All in all I can't say that I liked this book. It didn't help me rest well, it was not a pleasant or even exciting read. Very tragic.