I have read other books by this author that I have really enjoyed however this one I didn’t enjoy as much. Having said that it was an easy read which I liked but I found it to be too predictable. I had guessed how it was going to pan out quite early. I didn’t like Laura’s husband however I really liked Laura and enjoyed her interaction with her neighbours. I enjoyed how the book ended and it wasn’t totally as I thought. I would recommend it to other readers as it was a touching story and quite uplifting.

This was a new author to me but definitely one I'll be looking out for in the future. It's a book that is so sympathetically written about our main character you are absolutely rooting for her to succeed.

🏘Gullible wife, pretty predictable mystery involved😰

3.0🌟stars
The description of this story intrigued me but, in the end, it did not touch the right note for me. I found it drawn out, mostly predictable and led by two characters, Laura and her husband Jim, for whom I had little sympathy.

The then & now format which continued throughout the story was not all that helpful to understanding how Londoner Laura got in her predicament with a missing husband and agoraphobia. The "then" never helped me understand why Laura abdicated common sense when she started seeing and then married Jim. I wished it had because I could not like Laura. Her excessive drinking certainly did not help, either. As for "loving' hubby" Jim, puh-leeze! His actions leave it loud and clear how much he really cares about Laura!

I wish I had liked the characters and plot better, but this particular Clare Swatman novel left me unimpressed.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I thought this was a good book. After about four chapters in I already knew how it was going to unfold.
I liked Laura and can’t imagine suffering from agoraphobia.
It did bother me as to how much she drank.
It’s a pretty fast moving story which I enjoyed.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the early copy

Darker than I expected. Well written and thought provoking about how quickly life can change after a traumatic experience. Happy to recommend and I look forward to reading more books by Clare in the future

This was a story about a woman, Laura, who is agoraphobic and whose husband goes missing. The chapters were written going from the 1980s when Laura meets husband Jim, to the 1990s when he goes missing. Laura is attacked on her way home one night and after that is unable to go outside or even look out of the window. Thinking that moving out of London will help, Laura and Jim move to the suburbs. Although I predicted the outcome I was intrigued to see how the story got to that point. It was interesting to see how Laura dealt with Jim missing and how she developed as a character. I liked how all the neighbours, who all knew Jim, rally round to help. There are some great characters in this and I found it an enjoyable read.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A waste of what could have been an amazing book.

I wanted a book that realistically explored trauma, healing and recovery but this isn't it. I felt like Laura's personal experiences and struggles were sidelined for the mystery of whatever happened to Jim (honestly, who cares?) and there was way too much focus on his disappearance.

Like I said, who cares about Jim? It was glaringly obvious what was going on and I guessed it from the start, so I find it hard to believe that Laura had no inkling at all. There were also often times when I wondered if I was reading a romance novel instead because of how significant the subplot was. I like Ben though, so not complaining.

The neighbours were wonderful and I loved the found family + community spirit. In fact, the synopsis gave me Fredrik Backman vibes and was the whole reason I read this book.

I just wish more time had been spent on developing each character individually and we got more details into their lives, instead of giving so much airtime to an underwhelming mystery and undeserving character. The revelation had zero surprise.

Truly it's a shame...

Predictable.

Unfortunately this book was a bit too predictable for me. I caught on to what was happening at 8%, but I continued just to see if I was right, and I was. I felt really bad for Laura, first for the assault that caused her agoraphobia, but then for her total cluelessness about what Jim was doing. I do appreciate her ability to recover when she had no choice, though. I don't write spoilers, so I won't go any further in my analysis so I don't ruin it for anyone.

I'm sure there are people who will get caught up in the story and enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book, author, publisher and NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

This was a very addictive and thrilling theme for a book,almost part drama/saga, part mystery. I loved getting to know Laura and the awful experience she has had, it was an interesting introduction to the reality of agoraphobia and the mystery of her husband's disappearance really kept me on my toes, at times it felt quite sinister and uncomfortable. So well written with great characters and plot development, I really was invested right until the last page.

Agoraphobic, alcoholic Laura lives with her husband Jim in a little crescent in a village outside London. She has never left her home and hasn’t met any of her neighbours since moving in several months ago.
Laura was attacked whilst coming home from work while living in London and since then has suffered from agoraphobia and a dependence on drink to see her through. They moved to this little village in the hope that she would start to recover but so far this hasn’t been the case. Her husband Jim works in Leeds and spends Monday to Thurs away from home until one day he doesn’t return at all.
Laura is determined to find out what has happened to him and with the support of her best friend Debbie she begins to try to move forward and find a way to leave the house and speak to their new neighbours, who Jim has got to know quite well since moving in. Do any of them have any answers to where he could be?

Whilst I found the plot slightly predictable and the ending wasn’t a huge surprise I did find this an enjoyable read.
I loved reading and seeing Laura developing and growing ever more confident in herself and her surroundings. I enjoyed the blossoming relationships between her and her neighbours as she managed to go and introduce herself to them one by one.

Highly recommend if you’re after a lighthearted, uplifting read

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book

The premise of The World Outside My Window by Clare Swatman was intriguing and I wasn’t disappointed. The main character Laura has agoraphobia and her fears and concerns regarding the outside world are relatable because of the state of the world right now. But, Laura must decide how she wants to handle the disappearance of her husband Jim. I found myself trying to piece together the clues to guess what the truth was in this mystery.

On the flip side, I did find the quick progress Laura makes in terms of her agoraphobia unrealistic. The descriptions of her fear and other coping mechanisms were realistic though. Another minor criticism is that some of the vocabulary used was confusing for me as an American. I was also shocked to see a certain word used maybe twice that in America is a very derogatory slur. In looking it up, it means something different in the UK. I think a warning or at least a footnote of some sort would have been helpful.

Overall, I enjoyed the mystery of the story and seeing the main character go from being weak and helpless to a strong and confident.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is the story of Laura, who hasn’t stepped outside of her house for a long time, as she suffers from agoraphobia from a trauma that she went through.

She views the outside world through the window of her home.

The story alternates throughout the book from the present to the 80s when Laura and Jim, her husband met.

We learn of the reasons why Laura is scared of leaving the house and why she drinks a lot of alcohol.

You will realise easily what Jim has been doing all along.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.

While I had completely predicted the plot from the beginning, the journey was still engaging and enjoyable.
There was strong character development and lots of side characters to add to the story.
Laura and Jim have been together for seven years and have been living in the suburbs of London for the past several months after moving away from the city after Laura was assaulted and it left it with severe agoraphobia. Thankfully Jim is supportive and loving on his days at home-he works part of the week away from home-until one day, he leave for work and never comes back. Laura is faced with challenging herself to go outside and look for him as the police don’t seem too concerned. She calls upon her best friend and the neighbors she never had a chance to get to know before now to help uncover the mystery of her missing husband and in the process discovers just how strong she really is.
My only complaint, if you can even call it that, is that I would have liked to see Jim get what was coming to him. We don’t actually get the kind of final resolution there that I wish we could have. Other than that, this is a solid, read in one afternoon read.
There are several triggers-alcoholism, gaslighting, mental health
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The World Outside My Window tells the story of Laura, a victim of sexual assault who is now confined to her home because the trauma has led to a serious case of agoraphobia.
The narrative alternates chapters set in the early 90s (now) and the 80s when Laura and her husband Jim met. As the story progresses, the reasons for Laura's fears and reliance on alcohol become evident, and the reader will easily suspect what has been going on all along with Jim.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's very well written, especially considering the difficult topics it explores. The narrative drew me into Laura's claustrophobic existence, effectively portraying her thoughts and emotions as she tentatively ventured beyond her front door.
I wholeheartedly recommend The World Outside My Window to readers who appreciate novels that deal with the complexities of human emotions and the triumph of overcoming adversity.

Special thanks to Clare Swatman, Boldwood Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

This book was a page turner for me, I enjoyed the mix of thriller, romance and heartwarming aspects of the story.

The plot was overall kind of predictable but nevertheless I still enjoyed the characters and connections they all made with Laura.

As I was reading I was frustrated to see how Laura was perhaps the only one not seeing things for what they were, but that’s just it; she’s suffering from trauma and depending on alcohol to get by… Of course she’s at some level choosing to be blind, she’s barely coping.

This is an easy 4 stars for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwooks Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I really liked this book it was different then normal books. I liked the fact that it had part mystery in it. You can't help but feel for the character who is confined to the house due to her health condition. It was an insight into a world we do not see very often. I really liked the characters in this book too.

I enjoyed this. It was mysterious and moved at a pace that worked well for the story. The characterisation of Laura as an acrophobia feels well written & justified trauma. Ben was a great foil to the mental abuse of Jim and their relationship wasn’t too rushed. While I saw the double-life coming, it didn’t take a way from the journey as Laura’s panic and subtle realisation kept me glued. All-in-all, an intelligent foray into mental health and sexual assault trauma.

Firstly I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, having read previous books by this author I was looking forward to it and I wasn't disappointed as I really enjoyed it. It's different to the other books I have read but I would definitely recommend it.

I liked the story of an insular world for Laura until one day her husband Jim goes missing. This means she makes friends with the neighbours and although I could see where the book was going,it's the relationships Laura develops with her neighbours which kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

The World Outside My Window is a touching story about Laura who has agoraphobia and afraid to leave to her house due to a trauma she suffered. Laura spends her days gazing out of her window, relying on her husband Jim and her best friend for help that she needs. But then Jim goes missing and doesn't return home, making Laura having to start moving forward as she searches for answers on where Jim has gone. I loved Laura and seeing her start to live her life again. I kept wanting to keep reading, and see how she changes and grows. The characters were well developed, the plot was intriguing and had duel time lines that worked perfectly together.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Publishing for my ARC.