This is completely different to my usual psychological thriller type story. Oh what a beautiful story. I loved it and highly recommend it .
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it

Such a lovely story, very believable and you felt a real connection with the characters. Jake the little boy and his father have a wonderful relationship and when Beth comes into their lives things can only get better, or can they?

The opening of the book finds Beth relocating from New York after a period of several years and returning to England – to escape something that happened in the USA that has left her vulnerable and uncertain. As she navigates the country roads, and sheep, she in involved in a road accident that involves Jake, a seven year old boy. Whilst Jake is relatively unhurt, his father, Simon is incandescent with rage and Beth is left mortified, guilty and uncertain.

We soon discover that Jake has a heart condition which helps to explain Simon’s anger. We also learn that Jake’s mother abandoned the marriage and child, when they discovered his heart condition. As is the magic of fiction – Beth ends up living next door to Simon and Jake.

A really great story, heart-breaking in places, heart-warming in others. Jake is a delight, Simon is soon revealed to be sensitive and caring and extremely over-worked and over-stressed in his domestic situation and his care and worry over Jake. Beth, of course, is lovely – maybe a bit hasty at times, but undoubtedly a loving, caring person.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Unbreak Your Heart by Katie Marsh tells the story of a seven-year-old Jake who suffers from a heart condition. Jake is determined not to leave his single father, Simon, on his own if anything happens to him. The book also introduces us to Beth, who returns home to the Lake District from America after her marriage breaks down. Jake and Beth become friends after she accidentally hits his bike. This contemporary fiction is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching in equal measures. Katie Marsh should be proud of the work she has put into writing this book. The characters are very much as relatable as the story itself. This is an interesting book that will hold your attention until the last page.

Fell in love with this book, it was just a heartwarming story. Told between Beth and Simon it was a beautiful book. Would highly recommend.

Loved this book even though it was miles away from my usual genre of psychological thriller. I loved all the characters and the story and even though it was predictable at times, it still had me crying at the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this, I'm a fan of this writer and enjoyed this story. It was not as good as her previous books and at times too far fetched. Overall a good read.

Beth is a nurse in bustling New York City but when one night shift she makes a mistake that ends with a lost life, she decides to leave and return to her happy place in the lake District.
Simon is Jake's dad and he is doing his best just to make it through each day, His son Jake has a serious heart condition which means that every day is a blessing for him and his dad so when Beth quite literally crashes into their life, Simon isn't ready for the way that she begins making him look at what his life has become.

Unbreak your heart was emotional in parts but also laugh out loud funny. Jake is a great central character and one you really can get behind, It is heartbreaking in parts especially when you realize why Jake is so desperate for his dad Simon to meet a new girl and settle down.
I would really recommend this book, I read it straight through, couldn't put it down!

I loved this book - I read it in one sitting. It is uplifting and heartbreaking - I was tearful at the end.

Jake has a serious heart condition and is cared for by his dad, Simon. His mum left a year after his birth after suffering post-natal depression. Simon has coped since then juggling his care alongside various jobs. Jake’s close friend died of heart complications and he is well aware that he might not survive and wants his father settled with someone.

His matchmaking efforts give the book its lighter edge.

Beth has escaped from a poor decision and her marriage and is putting her life back together. She moves next door and their lives become connected.

This was a beautifully warm and rewarding story. One I will be recommending.

I love Katie Marsh's fluid, matter-of-fact writing and particularly enjoyed her earlier novels My Everything and A Life Without You. Marsh uses her experience as a nurse to write medical dramas that are accurate and engrossing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a very uplifting read with some heartbreaking moments and some wonderful characters. Nurse Beth moves to the Lake District having fled her life in New York following the breakdown of her marriage and loss of her job. Seven year old Jake has a life limiting heart condition and worries about leaving his dad Simon on his own once he dies and Simon does all he can for his son and still misses Tamsin who left when Jake was just one as she couldn’t cope with their son’s illness. The characters are beautifully written and very selfless and despite Jake’s illness and the impact it has there’s such warmth to this. The area it’s set in sounds breathtaking and the relationships between all characters work so well, this is a charming read.

I really should know by now to avoid any novel that is described as "heartwarming" or "life affirming", because that is just another way of saying saccharine, over sentimental and unrealistically romantic. The plot is predictable, trite and has some far-fetched plot threads: Jake seems far too mature for his age and a child with an illness like that would cling to his father and want him to himself; the way Tamsin just swanned back after no contact at all was unrealistic; Jake would have no memory of his mother so why would he welcome her back? And so on.
I like books with more of an edge.

This book made me cry. The extraordinary emotional resilience of Jake, despite his illness, his losses and his Dad falling apart is a beautiful thing to behold. The complexities of the relationships around Jake and the passion he approaches his life with were wonderfully described and I found myself rooting for him with every page turn.
You have to read this book!

Thank you for allowing me an arc copy of Unbreak my Heart. This was a lovely heartwarming story, easy to believe the characters and a well written flowing storyline. Highly recommend this author

Quite a readable story with likeable characters but quite predictable.

One thing which did bother me was the 'voice' of 7 year old Jake as he just seemed too grown up in the way he spoke. I actually had to go back and check his age as he comes across as a much older person.

A heart-breaking but heart-warming novel that is just a joy to read.

A child character in a book who has a serious medical condition is always difficult to read and on more than one occasion it produced a few tears. But with wonderful characters that are very believable, Katie Marsh hits the perfect combination of an emotional story with a rewarding feel good factor. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Beth has flown over from NYC following her divorce & is looking for a quiet new start in The Lake District... Simon & Jake are father and son whose bond is extremely strong, Jake is an extremely poorly boy with a rare heart condition and is keen for his Dad to find love. They all crash into each others lives literally.....

I really enjoyed this book, heartwarming & heart wrenching! I shed a few tears as I turned the pages.

Thank you to the publisher & netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication, I shall be recommending to friends.

What a wonderful heartbreaking story of little boy Jake who has a horrible illness. He has a wonderful loving personality with a father who fights tooth and nail for him, however puts his own needs and feelings aside. This book made me laugh, cry and touched my heart. I hope there will be a sequel as I would love there story to continue.

Unbreak Your Heart by Katie Marsh. This book is about a little boy called Jake who has a medical condition which means his heart is failing. Jake is scared he is going to die and leave his dad Simon alone. Beth moves in next door to Simon and Jake having run away from her problems after her divorce in New York. We see what journey this book takes these three characters on. This is definitely a heart wrenching book and it’s so much more than a book about a sick child. However for me it’s just ok, it seems to be missing something or maybe it’s because the whole book is somewhat predictable. In parts it did seem to just drag, the narrative seemed long and sometimes unnecessary and I almost thought just get on with it. Without a doubt there were parts that brought you close to tears and these parts were obviously connected to the health and survival of Jake and Katie Marsh writes these parts sensitively, with heart, warmth and with feeling but it’s the other parts that perhaps let this story down. And then this makes me think that perhaps why I couldn’t fully connect with this story is that there’s a lot going on apart from Jakes health and survival, it’s about Jakes mental health knowing he has this condition that affects his heart, it’s a love story, it’s a story about relationships and about reunions. All of these things are a lot to take in and focus on as a reader and a lot to keep up with. There were moments of suspense when you kind of knew what would happen but the way it was written at that point you weren’t sure if the author would definitely take it in the direction you assumed but these moments were few and far between. I didn’t hate this book, I’m glad I’ve read it, however I’m equally glad that I hadn’t purchased this book, because it was just simply a ok and nice book. I probably if I’m honest wouldn’t recommend this book to friends and family and this book wouldn’t make me seek out other books by this author.

An enjoyable story, following the lives of 8 year old Jake, his single Dad Simon, and Beth, who comes crashing into their lives, quite literally, fresh from her few years working in New York as a nurse.
It’s well enough written, though I did find myself becoming exasperated by Simon and Beth. They are both unremittingly down on themselves, with no discernible self-esteem or self worth. Their constant angst goes on too long, and becomes wearing after a while, and I found myself wanting to give them both a shake.
The characterisation is excellent in describing Jake and the detail of his particular life threatening heart condition is informative. The characterisation of other central players is less convincing, Simon, Beth and Tamsin, when she turns up, are more two dimensional, maybe because they are all so angst-ridden?
A good read, if predictable, with some moving moments, and also some amusing ones, particularly around Jake’s efforts to find his Dad a life partner.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.