This is the first book I have read of Pennys but it won't be the last. Well written, a good pace and twists along the way! When Renee's grandson goes missing, the family must face the accident which happened years before. Highly recommend this book for fans of thrillers.

A heartbreaking drama telling the story of a loving grandmother that makes a life altering mistake of not picking up her grandchild. Thus, she and her entire family are thrown into a tailspin. Beautifully written!

Not one for me I’m sorry to say and luckily I see from the reviews I’m probably an exception. I simply found it an ok read but rather too unrealistic.

The first book I've read by Hancock and what an absolute tearjerker this was. I found so much in this that I could relate to with my step-fathers behaviour and resentment towards me and that was over a misunderstanding too.

A beautifully written piece of family drama showing how perceptions and favouritism can change a family's dynamic overnight. It shows why secrets and lies should never be told/kept as they'll always work their way back to the surface.

With solid characters who were both realistic and relatable I found The Choice an emotionally raw read, that was both powerful and thought provoking.

Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the first book I've read by Penny Hancock. A solid family story where secrets cant stay hidden forever.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC

This was a very compelling story of how judgements made of children can affect that families future. Some good and appealing character depictions and a feel good conclusion.

A good story, readable. Some comments have been made suggesting that this book illustrates how easily family life can become complex and disturbed. I found it rather unrealistic but that's acceptable in a novel. We can't expect ever plot to be life like although I did find a few inconsistencies frustrating. Many twists lots of guessing and a reasonable conclusion.

A fabulous read. Renee has been estranged from her youngest daughter for six years and she is desperate to be in touch with her again but with other family problems ,caring for her husband who had a stroke and helping her other daughter and grandson whilst working as a therapist she makes a mistake which sets off a chain of events that will eventually lead to why her daughter disappeared. A great story of how secrets in families can finally bring them together or tear them apart .A great 5⭐ novel

To the outside world Renne has it all going for her. She and her husband live in a beautiful house on the coast , a job she loves, three grown up children and an adored grandson.
Then one day she forgets to pick her grandson up from school and he disappears.
She feels as though her world is falling apart as her priorities are questioned and her family commitments.
Then she is expected to make a decision which will affect everything she holds dear - a choice no mother should have to make!

This is a good family story where secrets cant stay hidden. Well worth a read.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opPortunity to read this ARC

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was an okay read, parts dragged on too long for my liking but saying that I finished the book but cannot say it left any lasting impression.

I loved the last novel I read by Penny Hancock, I Thought I Knew You, so was excited to read The Choice and enjoyed it very much. The characters are believable and the heroine, Renee, faces an agonising choice. She has a busy, relentless life as a therapist and carer and plenty of family stress which leads her to forgetting to pick up her much-loved grandson from school. And then there’s huge family fallout. It’s a very readable story for our times - sad and thoughtful but with funny moments too and a beautiful location. A book to get lost in!

I really enjoyed this book, I felt it was a well written document about how you never know what is really happening in someone elses life, and how flawed people can be,
This is the first book I have read by Penny Hancock and I will be looking for more.

Renee Gulliver appears to have it all: a beautiful house overlooking a scenic estuary on England’s East Coast, a successful career as a relationship therapist, three grown-up children, and a beloved grandson, Xavier. But then Xavier vanishes after Renee fails to pick him up from school, and the repercussions are manifold.
Renee is wracked with remorse; the local community question her priorities, clients abandon her; and, as long-held grievances surface, her daughter Mia offers her a heartbreaking ultimatum. Amid recriminations, misunderstandings and lies, can Renee find a way to reunite her family?
Gripping from the start and everything that a psychological thriller should be. Dont take my word for it.......read it !

A fantastic book to read of family drama and how secrets will always come to the surface no matter how hard one try’s to hide them.. so good…

A relatable and raw look at the family dynamics and how they are navigated through. A very powerful read that I couldn't put down.

A gritty depiction of the realities of how families rub along together and how the truth vs. secrets can cause deep unspoken fissures. A book of hope, nevertheless, as each character plays their part in bringing the family together again.

This is a moving family drama centred around therapist Renee who, due to a clandestine meeting, forgets she has to collect her grandson from school and when she realises he isn’t there and no one knows where he is. The impact of this causes a rift with daughter which leaves her with an impossible dilemma and repercussions at work caused by a lack of trust in Renee. There’s a whole lot more to this than just this incident as Renee’s family has quite a backstory which is well revealed as the book progresses. I felt for Renee not just due to this lapse but overall as she, like many women her age, has a lot to juggle with her day to day struggles and with menopause on top of everything else. It wasn’t as easy to feel for the other characters as individuals but I certainly felt some sympathy for them. Overall this is a solid character read with a whole lot of drama thrown in.

I haven’t read any of Penny’s previous books but am now compelled to do so as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Renee is a relationship counsellor who from outward appearances seems to have the best life so the locals flock to her door for help with their family problems. But there are cracks that are threatening to widen in her world that others don’t see. Her perfect family is not so perfect. Her three adult children all have issues relating to previous traumas and she struggles to balance her life between caring for her husband after a stroke, her work, her children's interactions, and her aging mother. When an incident causes her to forget to pick up her grandson at school and he goes missing she is forced to confront all the angst and resentments members of her family hold for past events.

Some clever observations about how easily misunderstandings happen within families that have far reaching consequences and even the most seemingly perfect families have secrets and scars.

I absolutely loved Penny Hancock's previous novel I Thought I Knew You so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read The Choice. Renee Gulliver is a therapist living on the East coast of England. After the disappearance of her beloved grandson, family grievances, lies and misunderstandings emerge and Renee is forced to make an unimaginable choice. I really enjoyed this novel, I loved the setting and felt drawn into Renee's life and the choice she is forced to make. The author brilliantly conveys the different perceptions of family members and the trauma they have all suffered over the years. An excellent read that I'd recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.