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.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
What an outstanding debut novel. The story is slow to start, but as we get to know the characters, the story becomes intriguing. Twenty five years ago Laika disappeared. What happened to Laika, was she snatched as she walked to school on her own, only a short time behind her sister, or did she leave of her own accord. Her family are dysfunctional to say the least, Her sister Willa is the only one who believes that Laika is still alive, her life has been defined by her sisters disappearance, she will never give up hope or searching.
The story is told in the past and the present, it’s so much more than a story of a young girls disappearance, it’s about the unbreakable bond of sisters, friendship, discovering sexuality, family violence, abuse, hope and above all, love.
I loved all the characters especially Laika, Willa and Willa’s great friend Robyn.
Congratulations to this new author on this beautifully written book.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. A good debut story, which was something different. It was on my tbr list for a while, & unfortunately seemed to slip down the list. I wish I had read it sooner. A story of loss, mmories, longing, families & friendship. It is told through the different characters perspective, but this takes nothing from the reading.
I can recommend this book to readers who are looking for something different.

This was a beautiful story which starts quite innocently with a dinner party. During the party one of the guests, Willa, becomes quite distressed when she believes that another guest is in fact her long lost sister, Laika, who went missing as a child. The life stories of these two sisters then gradually unfolds with some twists and turns along the way. Beautifully written and a real page-turner! I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

This was just OK for me, I feel like I have read very similar books just like this one so many times and didn't see anything really different, but it was OK to relax with on a sunny afternoon. Character driven and and not a bad story.

This book initially hooked. I loved the start and it really felt like it was shaping up to be a 5 star read. However, about 3/4 of the way through I felt that the story got a bit far fetched and lost its way. Not for me I'm afraid.

The book started out very intense and with twists and turns . It engaged me right up to about three quarters way through and then it started to slide off a bit . An ok read but just found the ending lacked a punch .

Now this was a book I REALLY REALLY enjoyed! Totally unexpected from my first impressions reading the blurb. This book was a heartwarmingly, gripping journey of love, trials and family drama. There was a real level of depth to this book, which made the book so much more enjoyable making it an immersive read and developing a real level of sincerity within it. The surprises throughout the book kept coming and I loved that these weren't outrageous unbelievably but subtle twists which added to the book. I will definitely be recommending this book to others!

Wow, wow, wow. This book was an emotional rollercoaster, that I was utterly gripped by. An incredible read.

Willa’s sister (Laika) disappeared when she was 13 years old. Willa spends then next 25 years imagining she sees Laika everywhere she goes. Willa and her mother (Bianka) never give up hope of finding her. This is an excellent debut novel. Intricate and very clever. The story is character driven, fast paced and expertly written. The author does an amazing job of developing the characters over the years drawing the reader in and you can’t help being invested in the outcome. The story is told in 2 timelines with several POV characters.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

Loved this book - told from different character POVs and times to build up a picture for the outcome, which is not a huge surprise in the end but well put together.

Things don’t break on their own was a different sort of read for me that did take me quite a while to get into, I’m glad I persevered as I felt it got much better half way through.
The book details a very dysfunctional family and the effects that had on both the daughters and their mum throughout their lives!
Domestic abuse/ coercion, missing child,confused sexuality and trauma are all present,as we follow the sisters as they grow into adulthood and try to come to terms and rise above their traumatic upbringing!
Told in past and present form which I did find a little confusing at times, but I enjoyed the dinner party scenes where previous experiences were discussed and the plot really started to make sense.
A read that is emotional at times but has a clear message of triumph over adversity
Thank you NetGalley for this early read

This was not the book I was expecting it to be at all. It was interesting and enjoyable but it is definitely not a thriller. I was very intrigued by the part about memories and I would have liked for it to have been explored further but the dinner party was just a starting point, not much happens there so I found the multiple points of view a bit repetitive.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the ARC of this book.
Characters were described really well and you did almost feel part of the enticing storyline but I did find the ending somewhat disappointing and a bit flat.

Twenty five years ago Willa’s sister Laika disappeared without a trace. Seventeen year old Willa left without her to walk to school to start her first day in sixth form with thirteen year old Laika following not long afterwards. Despite an intensive police search and investigation, she was never found, although they took a strong interest in her father’s movements and vehicles.

With the intense media focus on her family and school, Willa transferred to a boarding school on the other side of the country. Her roommate Robyn became her only friend and they were lovers for a time. They spent one glorious summer break together at Robyn’s family home where her father, a potter, showed them how things that are broken can become beautiful in a new way when they are put back together. Willa would never stop looking for Laika, following every lead no matter how flimsy.

This is beautifully written first novel centring on the ripples that the disappearance of a child has on a family and those connected with them. It’s not a thriller, but a literary drama focusing on family, love, friendship, grief and loss with an unsolved mystery at the heart of it. Willa would never stop looking for Laika, following every lead no matter how flimsy. The novel rotates around a supper party hosted by Robyn and her wife Cat, to which Willa is invited along with her boorish fiancé Jamie, Robyn’s brother Michael, his girlfriend Liv, Cat’s brother Nate and his new French girlfriend Claudette.

Woven around the supper party, events from the past and the present are related that gradually fill in the truth about Willa’s dysfunctional family and what really happened to Laika. The truth is unexpected and heartbreakingly poignant. The characters are so well written we really feel that we know them and become invested in their fates. Fortunately, the author leaves them looking towards a brighter future as broken pieces are pieced back together in a new and stronger way. A compelling novel that I won’t forget quickly.

This was quite a heart wrenching story with so much going on. I cried and it made me think of many things.
I liked the mystery throughout and I wasn't sure how it was going to end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.