"Life's most important journeys you take on your own. Certainly the hardest ones. You just have to be brave."

When Willa was 17, her younger sister Laika went missing on her way to school. Years later, everyone assumes she's dead, but Willa never stops believing she'll be found. It's something that's overshadowed her life ever since, ruining her connection to her best friend, Robyn.

Fast forward 25 years and Robyn and her wife, Cat are hosting a dinner party. Willa is there with her boyfriend Jamie, as is Cat's brother Nate with his partner, Claudette and Robyn's brother and his girlfriend. But during this party, secrets will be revealed that will shake the foundation of all these relationships.

This book is very much about memory: how we suppress the most painful ones, how we may misremember to protect ourselves, and how we cling to what is precious. It's also about how difficult it is to escape abuse, and the undeniable strength of love, between sisters and between mothers and their children. Willa and Robyn's relationship is so tender and beautiful and heartbreaking. You can't help but feel for Willa and everything she's been through.

'Things Don't Break on Their Own' is both an intriguing and moving mystery that will stay with me for some time. I think my only critique is that sometimes I struggled a bit to connect to Robyn – I wanted more of her flaws to make her real to me. I feel like the book could have been grittier to really gut-punch you. Otherwise, a great book that I read in a day.

Beautifully written but ultimately I struggled to get into this book and I am unsure why :(

I think at another time I would probably have thoroughly enjoyed it!

This is an emotionally charged family drama, rather than a thriller. It’s about a missing sister and contains references to child abuse and domestic violence.

It’s very literary and isn’t the easiest read. But, it’s well written and has real depth of emotion. I found it overall to be a decent read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK, Fig Tree for the opportunity to preview.

The cover of this book jumped out to me so had to read it.

I'm so glad I did as it was brilliant read.

Couldn't put it down.

It amazes me when someone writes a book so perfectly then you find out it’s their debit! This is such a book and her hardest task will be to write something equally as good or better.
Twenty Five years ago Willa’s younger sister, Laika, disappeared on her way to school. No trace was ever found of her, no sighting, no glimpse no last minute eyewitness account. Willa has never stopped looking for her. Now a group of friends old and new gather for a meal. During the course of the meal the last 25 years are relived, an undercurrent of violence and despair filter their way through the story. Old love, friendships and a startling revelation from one of the guests changes the course of the dinner.
It’s a haunting story of family violence, sibling love, aching loss and the importance of memories. I loved it.

#ThingsDontBreakOnTheirOwn. #NetGalley

I was sent a copy of Things Don’t Break On Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins to read and review by NetGalley. While I quite enjoyed this novel I’m afraid I can’t rate it as one of my favourites. The premise of the story was good and the characters were engaging, however I found the foil of having the same episode being often relayed via a different character to be annoyingly repetitive – there was not enough difference in accounts for me to feel this was worthwhile. It could also be quite confusing as to what timeline the specific characters were ‘living in’ until further into their chapter. I did like the fact that the characters were each voiced first person, I always like that point of view, but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough to move this novel out of the mediocre bracket for me. Such a shame as it could have been quite outstanding.

A bit late with my feedback but what an amazing story. It tugged at my heartstrings & I just could not put it down. Fabulous!

I was completely hooked and drawn into the world of sisters Willa and Laika. Willa's life changed forever when she was 17 and her 13-year-old sister Laika vanishes on her way to school. The story moves between life just before Laika's disappearance and the time leading up to a dinner party hosted by Willa's best friend Robyn. The characters are wonderfully well-developed and the story is lovely.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Quite a slow burner ,Willa's sister disappeared on the way to school 25 years ago and it has defined her life for ever as she believes she is still alive as no body was ever found .This is a story of grief ,sexual awakening ,abuse and sisterly bonds .I thought it was going to be a thriller but it isn't more a family drama .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

This book follows the story of the disappearance of Willa’s sister Laika when the two were children. Willa is the “golden girl” in the family and Laika appears cast as the troubled child, but it is clear that there is something going in in the home which is very wrong, which we find out as the book unfolds.
25 years later,Willa is at a dinner party hosted by her friend Robyn when a familiar face from the past appears. Can we finally find out what has happened to Laika?
I loved this book. It’s so much more than a mystery, it’s about relationships and how things which are broken can be put back together in beautiful new ways. There a story about the Japanese art of kintsugi threaded through the book which illustrates this wonderfully.
Highly recommended.

Things don’t Break on their Own opens with a dinner party and quickly we meet the main protagonists, Robyn and her old school friend and ex lover Willa. Some of the other dinner party guests will play key parts in their story - the question is who and why?
Willa’s sister Laika disappeared in her teens and was never found - an event that shattered Willa’s life and affected all future relationships with friends, family and lovers.
As we return to the events of the past it is clear that Willa’s home life was extremely broken and Laika was the main victim of their father’s cruelty. In contrast Willa’s time with Robyn's family brings her to understand what a normal life can be like. The question is can she ever embrace a happy and normal relationship while Laika is missing?
This is a clever book which reveals much while keeping you guessing. There is little more to add without spoilers I’m afraid!

This is a brilliant debut. Lovely writing style that completely engages the reader . It's cleverly plotted and although told over multiple timelines and characters’ POV it’s never confusing or convoluted.
I will definitely look out for other books by Sarah Easter Collins and can happily recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Penguin General UK for this ARC.

I don't really want to give too much away about this book! Laikia goes missing on her way to school on day and after extensive searches she is never found either alive or dead. Her sister never gives up in the hope that one day she will be found alive. 20 years later and the truth about what actually happened on that day and after is about to come out!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this novel. I will be highly recommending it.

When Laika vanished as a teenager it affected her mum and sister very badly.

Fast forward 20 years and is the truth of that night about to come out?

A very well written book which goes back and forth in time as the story goes on and we get to see what really happened back then.

4 stars

This immersive tale is a poignant Pandora's box of emotions, fears, and dark secrets. It is told from multiple viewpoints, giving the reader an omnipotent view of events and each character's actions and emotions. Tracking back from the dinner party, the reader discovers why Laika disappeared and what happened to her. The protagonists' complex emotional journey makes this riveting. It is disturbing and dark in parts but also empowering and uplifting in other ways. The female relationship dynamics are believable, the emotions realistic, and the vibrant characters are compelling.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I was invited to read and review the debut novel "Things Don't Break On Their Own" by Sarah Easter Collins. Thank you Penguin Random House UK for the ARC

This is a story of how a family is fractured by the disappearance of thirteen year old, Laika. The book opens with at a dinner party with friends and family around the table. The conversation becomes fraught when the discussion turns to the fallibility of childhood memories. Then one guest makes a surprising revelation that forces Willa to rethink everything about her missing sister.

This is a slow burn story but definitely a page turner. It's cleverly plotted and told over multiple timelines and POVs. The characters are complex and very well drawn. When the reveals came they were unexpected and I certainly didn't see them coming. Overall I found this to be an original and compelling read.

An amazing storyline with characters that stayed with me between reading bouts. The type of book you want to finish quickly but wish it would never end. Laika goes missing and it recounts how it affects the lives of her family and friends.

Robyn and Cat have three children; twin boys and a daughter. They have invited a number of their relatives to a family gathering. Attending are Robyn’s brother Michael who has brought Liv, his new partner. Liv is a psychiatrist who’s specialisation is false memory syndrome. Cat’s brother, Nate, brings his French girlfriend Claudette, Also present are Willa Martenwood, Robyn’s ex-lover and long standing friend and her partner, the boorish Jamie who appears less than happy to be at this gathering.

As the dinner progresses it becomes clear that Willa’s sister, Laika, disappeared when Willa was only 13 and this has had a profound impact upon her. Both were walking to school , Willa following in Laika’s footsteps, but only Willa got there. Of Laika there has been no sign, and it’s now been 25 years since she disappeared.

Ever since, Willa has been searching for Laika . She has never got over the loss of her sister, indeed she keeps thinking she has fleeting glimpses of her and this has stopped her from progressing with her life. Though everyone presumes Laika is dead, Willa refuses to believe it

The book makes quite a slow start until we begin to understand more about Willa as Sarah Easter Collins leads us through Willa’s life, weaving past and present together as we see how Willa and Robyn met and fell in love, only for Willa to find herself unable to accept her sexual orientation.

Robyn and Willa reminisce, revealing more of life in the Martenwood household and over much wine the dinner party guests discuss memories and how they can become distorted. As discussion and reminiscences join together, we realise that there is a harrowing and difficult story being told here; one that is dark and deals with a dysfunctional family and what happens behind closed doors.

Though I thought I was going to be reading a mystery and a thriller, this book is rather more literary fiction, but not for the faint-hearted. It is a character-driven story in which the protagonists are a lively and vivid bunch that you can easily picture.

The narrative perspective moves from Willa to Robyn and then to Laika herself as we understand the complexities and the awfulness of Laika’s childhood. It’s hard to read but nonetheless absolutely compelling. Sarah Easter Collins’ writing is full of tenderness and compassion without any saccharin.

There’s poignancy too as Robyn touches on her father’s illness and though there were hardships, the compassion shines through in Collin’s stunning prose. Sometimes traumatic, often heart-breaking, Sarah Easter Collins peels away the façade of her characters to reveal the vulnerabilities beneath.

Verdict: Things Don’t Break On Their Own wasn’t quite what I had anticipated going in, but it turned out to be an immersive, beautifully executed story about grief, loss and renewal. With multiple points of view from wholly convincing characters, it is painful but satisfying and ultimately a warm and compassionate read. It is hard to believe that such a well-crafted story is a debut. I am so very glad I read it.

i'm so sorry, i just found this interminable to read - one of those books that isn't fun or interesting enough to be a good mystery, and isn't well-written or compelling enough to be lit fic. didn't care about the characters, felt them all paper and cartoonish.

I enjoyed this book - but it isn't one that will stay with me.
I found the pacing to be very slow, without any real payoff and no real twists.But even though there wasn't any big twists or reveals I still managed to get lost at times when reading.
I just didn't get along with this at all.
Just OK.