Member Reviews

I was so looking forward to I'll Leave You With This and I most definitely wasn't disappointed. I remember the wonderful turmoil of emotions we all felt when my family received a letter from the recipient of my niece's heart and I was hoping Kylie Ladd would be able to embrace this. She did, in spades. Wonderful stories, great characters and a beautiful outcome.

Was this review helpful?

A beautiful story with such a lovely sentiment whilst showing the differences on all sisters and how their grief and relationships are so different.

Was this review helpful?

I’ll leave you with this is a heartwarming story about love, loss and the up’s and downs of life. It had a strong sense of the tv show ‘this is us’ throughout.

It followed the lives of four sisters after a mutual tragic loss of their brother and I guess life after the impact.

An easy, slow read that makes you appreciate life and the little things.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to wed and review this book.

Was this review helpful?

A really good emotional read which captured me from the start.
Four sisters are struggling after the death of their brother. They have never had a close relationship but could tracking down their brothers donor recipients help bring them closer together?
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This book brings together so much of what makes family so unique. The sisters in this story all so different, all with different lives and different priorities. We see this even more clearly when they lose their brother. He was the glue that kept them together. This was a very moving story, and I took the characters to my heart and found myself wanting them to a be a unit and become so much closer. At times they seem to be so separate from each other but I always believed it would change and the love that is family, would win out. I longed for that love to unite them and then it seemed that their lost brother may be the one to do that.
It’s a beautiful story. Told with feeling, I loved it and was so pleased at the beautiful ending that I smiled..

Was this review helpful?

I received a free copy of, I'll Leave You With This, by Kylie Ladd, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Daniel's sisters are heartbroken over his death, they decide to locate the people his organs were donated to. Daniel's sisters are Allison, Bridie, Clare, and, Emma are all different, and all going through their own issues, when they decide to try and contact Daniel's organ matches, though not everyone is onboard with it. This books gives you all the feels, it was an emotional read for me, but a good one.

Was this review helpful?

I hadn’t heard of Kylie Ladd before, so it’s been a delight discovering this book, I’ll Leave You With This.

The book follows an Australian-Irish family and specifically the sisters who are not very close partly due to the big age differences between them and also because they are so different. Alison is the eldest and a surgeon, next comes Bridie who works in film, Clare is a nurse and Emma is a musician.

On the third anniversary of the death of their brother Daniel, Clare suggests to her sisters that they try to find the recipients of his organs. The very suggestion rocks the foundations of the sisters already fragile relationship.

The story follows the O’Shea sisters navigating their own personal losses, the tragic loss of their brother, and how his death did benefit a wide range of people. It sounds corny to say, but it is a journey of discovery for all the sisters. For the reader, it’s a heartwarming story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading I’ll Leave You With This. The sisters are so different and I warmed more to a couple of sisters more than the other two. I also found the topic of organ donorship thought provoking.

Huge thanks to the publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, and also NetGalley for making this ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will definitely look out for Kylie Ladd books in the future.

Was this review helpful?

A really good read. After Daniels death one of his four sisters decides to try and find the recipient's who benefited from some of his organs not all them think this is a good idea as they are all struggling with problems in their own lives. They are all interesting characters and all their stories are really good and it really keeps you gripped from the beginning..I really enjoyed their relationships and the journey they face before eventually finally finding happiness .A lovely story

Was this review helpful?

A book about families, their complex relationships and loss. Organ donation is such an emotive subject and meeting the recipients is a difficult decision but it was handled sensitively and well in this book.
The sisters all have their own troubles to deal with but I liked how their relationships developed more as you read . The last few sentences in the book brought tears to my eyes .
A well written, thought provoking book.

Was this review helpful?

When Clare suggests that they find out who received Daniel’s organs after his death, the other sisters have doubts about what this will accomplish for them. Will meeting these people help the family heal or will old tensions resurface and cause problems between them? I couldn’t wait to find out what happens in this intriguing novel.

The characters in this novel were incredibly well-developed and relatable. Each sister is facing her own life struggles, and each character has a distinct personality that makes them easier to remember. Through their interactions with one another, readers can see how each sister processes grief differently when faced with difficult situations.

Ladd also does a great job at building tension throughout the story as she reveals more details about Daniel's life before he died and how his death impacted his sisters. As Clare starts connecting with the recipients of Daniel's organs, she learns more about organ donation and the relations between the sisters get stronger, bringing them closer together than they have ever been. There are plenty of touching moments in “I’ll leave you with this” and the title is very fitting when you realise why it is chosen.

I really enjoyed learning about the various donations that had happened, ones you wouldn’t necessarily expect as well such as skin, bones, and hands. Daniel's death was sudden and shocking, leaving the remaining family reeling at such a great loss but when they realise the good that has come from it, they begin to heal, despite not all being on the same page at the beginning.

The way Ladd draws her readers into the story is simply brilliant; we feel like we are part of this family as we watch them go through heartache and healing together. The novel also touches on deeper themes such as organ donation, which is an important conversation to have today. Even though there are some sad moments in this book, ultimately it is a story of hope and resilience that gives its readers something to reflect upon even after they finish reading it.

There are separate stories interwoven through the donation story which bring life and changes for all of the sisters. Ladd has done a great job of seamlessly brining these stories together into one tale. I particularly enjoyed the ending and shed more than one tear while reading.

If you're looking for an emotionally gripping book that will leave you feeling hopeful at the end of it all, then look no further than “I’ll leave you with this” by Kylie Ladd! This book provides an honest look at how families grieve while providing subtle reminders about the importance of organ donation and selflessness. Readers will be sure to enjoy the journey that these four sisters take together as they search for meaning in life after loss. Highly recommended!

Was this review helpful?

An interesting plot which will certainly make the reader think if they ever find themselves in the position of parts being donated after the tragic death of a loved one. Set in Australia, the O'Shea family were quite fractured both whilst growing up and in adulthood but a series of circumstances gradually builds bridges between the very different siblings. Heartwarming and uplifting against a background of tragedy.

Was this review helpful?

A book full of family, all the things families experience. Quite an eye opener about transplant. Could open a very wide discussion. Should you or should not know the reciptant of the body parts.. very heartwarming and educational.. loved it.

Was this review helpful?

The O'Shea sisters were young when they lost their parents and then they lost their brother in a tragic incident. They all have different relationships with each other but were all close to Daniel. Searching for meaning in his death, Clare seeks out the recipients of their brothers organs. I sped through this one and thought it was an excellent read. The characters are well crafted and it is gripping throughout.

Was this review helpful?