I really like Sara Cox & I found this book to be just like her her: warm & funny. I really liked the characters & look forward to reading more by Sara.

A fun debut novel by presenter Sara Cox.

Becky is manager of a run down community centre, who is introducing a weekly pottery class to try and revive the flagging interest in the centre. A number of local residents sign up, and the reader is introduced to their various side stories alongside the pottery class. Will everyone get their happy ending, and will Becky create enough interest in the centre?

The characters were a varied group, of different ages and lifestyles, so interest remained as each chapter passed. I found the timelines a bit wobbly in places, some things seemed to happen very quickly, but all in all, a solid read.

The book tells the stories of a group of women who get together at a community pottery class. The idea is good, the individual stories are interesting but, for me, the book never really took off and I struggled to finish it. Somehow the story-telling magic ingredient was missing. Sara Cox is an entertaining broadcaster but sadly her wit and warmth failed to make it to the page.

Well done Ms Cox this book was a brilliant witty, sparkling read with lots of warmth and spirit.
Becky is the bedraggled manager of a community centre and to keep it afloat she looks for new classes.
Cue Sasha a feisty hot Scot!
She instantly has feelings for him and they fall into lovely pattern of flirty friendship until her dastardly ex turns up to let her know he is still around.
What happens next is testament to Becky’s strength and character.
This is multi layered and my favourite book I’ve read for a long time.

As a lover of the tv show Great Pottery Throwdown, I really enjoyed the pottery terminology in this book. I also liked the very realistic characters and their life stories. The friendships, courtships and petty jealousies seemed true to life and the different mother/son relationships were very relatable. Perhaps the jailbird ex-husband was a little over the top as a character? The main thing that struck very true and is perhaps not usually explored enough in fiction, is the pain of infertility, which was heartbreakingly described.

'Thrown' by Sara Cox focuses on four women, Becky, Louise, Sheila and Jameela, who all live on the Inventors Estate and for different reasons attend a pottery class at the local community centre run by attractive scot Sasha. Previously isolated and struggling with crises in confidence and their personal lives, the four women come together to deal with their difficulties and to develop their creative skills.

Cox has obviously drawn very heavily on her experiences presenting The Great Pottery Throwdown, and at times the challenges the contestants faced on there are replicated in the novel. She likes using similes, and has a bit of a tendency to over write (people don't just say things, they 'chuckled' or 'gurned'). However, despite this, the book was very light and enjoyable and a good antidote to to the bad news that proliferates in the news at the moment.

I really enjoyed this book but felt like I was just getting to know the characters when it ended. I think I'd quite enjoy a follow up.

"Thrown" is a really enjoyable book in the style of, "Evening Class" by Maeve Binchy. A disparate group of people, who might not otherwise meet, are brought together for a new experience. We learn about their backgrounds and then see them interact, help each other and grow both as a group and as individuals. A commendable effort by Sara Cox whose book show has already proved her love of literature and reading.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Full of heart, feelings, relationships, sadness, fun - and more. Everything you could wish for in a book to curl up with.
We’ll done Sarah, I loved it

Well, this was a magnificent book!!! I didn’t know what to expect, but this book packed a punch and I couldn’t put it down!!! I can’t wait to read more by Sara Cox

This story revolves around 4 women, each of them going through something. Becky, a single mum, who helps run the community centre. She gains money from a grant to help set up a pottery class. Sheila (who I immediately pictured as Pam from Gavin and Stacey) who is struggling with her husbands lack of love for life since retirement. Louise who feels her life has become stagnant, and wonders if it’s her marriage that is making her feel like that. And finally Jameela, a women who so desperately wants to be a mum but after another miscarriage pushes her husband away.

They all meet at the pottery class taught by Sasha the hot Scotsman and soon you find yourself in a story about friendship and community that is quite heart warming.

I read this book fairly quickly, it’s a lovely easy read. It’s one of those books to pick up after a hard read, kind of like a palette cleanser of the book world.

I guessed one of the story lines pretty much straight away and personally feel it was written like a show from the 90’s but I don’t think it took away anything from the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book in return for an honest review

Sara Cox's book introduces us to the world of a group of people living near Manchester. Their lives get a new focus when a pottery class starts in the community centre. Although it brings them together and new friendships blossom, it also helps to highlight rivalries and relationship challenges.

This was an enjoyabe read that was funny and lighthearted at times, but also had some darker storylines. Sara Cox's debut novel is well worth a read for a bit of escapism, some slightly grittier elements and a few pots thrown in for good measure.

I love the light heartedness of the book! How a groups of people come together for a new hobby and become friends! Surprising in different character stories too.

An evening pottery class helps save a local community centre and at the same time brings together a group of neighbours as unlikely friends. Sara Cox''s humorous narrative brings the characters to life and they feel like familiar friends. A fun, light-hearted book, i enjoyed this one!

Character And Circumstance…
Character and circumstance tale - four main protagonists, a housing estate, a community centre and a plan of passion and pottery. A surprising tale of hope and new beginnings, keenly observed and told with warmth where difficult issues are handled with sensitivity and appropriate empathy.

A very readable story, well constructed and highly enjoyable. There is a complexity to the story which I was surprised by but really enjoyed making it an engrossing read. A number of issues well handled all of which contributed to the story and didn't feel like add ons to look good. A great holiday read, hard to put down at times. Id definitely recommend it to others

As much as I live Sara Cox I have to be honest and say I found this book a little too hard going, I struggled to follow the individual stories and wasn’t invested in their outcomes

After reading and loving Sara’s autobiography, “Till The Cows Came Home”, I was delighted to be approved by NetGalley to read her debut novel.
Set in a fictional suburb of Manchester, the story is told of 4 different women, living in the same estate and brought together by pottery classes at the local, rundown, community centre. Becky is the boss and a single mum who has had to overcome her own demons from the past. Jameela looks like she has it all….but does she? Shelia has an opinion about everyone and everything, including whether she and her husband should emigrate to Spain now that they are empty nesters. Louise lives with her loving husband and gorgeous daughters but can’t help thinking she gave up on her dreams too easily.
Told by all 4 characters as their lives become thrown together with secrets uncovered and hopes and dreams are brought to the forefront of their minds.
Thank youNetGalley for my copy.

Oh I loved this- a wonderful smile from the very beginning. This tells of a group of people who get to know each other through a pottery class. Each of the group has their own issues- Becky lives with her son, her ex husband being in prison. Jameela has had a string of miscarriages and her husband has up sticks and left. Sheila is retired and would love to move to Spain only her husband isn't that keen. Louise and Danny are a couple, Louise being a little fed up with Danny's “happy to settle, not push for things” in life.
I had a good feeling with this book very early on when I read ( she) “ squeezed the extra bit of fat that had taken up residence over Christmas and had made itself so at home that it seemed set to stay through spring”. This to me gave a hint as to not only the humour which is nicely woven throughout the book, but also that life experience which you can't buy. The one that enables us to perhaps laugh at ourselves when sometimes we are doing anything but still manage to make someone smile- which can be worth its weight in gold and in turn makes us feel that little bit better ourselves. Sara of course hosted “ the Great Pottery throw down” and her experience in this shines through in discussing the pottery classes. A book to enjoy and perhaps reflect on life a little albeit in a light hearted way. Of friends and relationships that can ease our way through the storms life sometimes throws at us. A wonderful, entertaining read.

(rest of links on publication)

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I love Sara Cox's radio show, and her warmth and humour came through in 'Thrown'. I enjoyed the story and the cast of distinctive characters who all had their own clear voices. A lovely holiday read.