Another great read by Kate Hewitt. I was hooked from the beginning trying to figure out what happened at the birthday party , and I definitely didn't see the twist and what really did happen.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was totally my kind of book. In the Blink of an Eye is said to be similar to books written by one of my favorite authors, Liane Moriarty. This is true to a certain extent, but not quite. There are a few similarities in the story that had me thinking of Big Little Lies, but it definitely lacked the uniqueness Liane brings to her novels.

The story is pretty much about every parent's worst fear. Joanna, her husband, and their troubled seven-year-old son, Kieran, is new in town. Queen-bee Eleanor, the envy of most women in town, is having a birthday party for her angelic daughter, Bella, who will be eight. Joanna is over the moon to hear that Kieran is also invited to Bella's birthday party, since he's been having trouble in school and finds it hard to make friends.

However, things go terribly wrong at the party as someone gets hurt and Kieran is blamed for it.

But is problem child, Kieran, really to blame for it? Or could it have been an accident? Is it possible that someone else, or even the mother could be responsible?

Friendships, families, marriages, and a town taking sides, is what drives this story, albeit at a slow pace. The outcome isn't predictable, but it's not really a mindblowing revelation either.

Although the plot caters to every parent's worst nightmare, much of the story is repetitive, and though I found the characters quite complex, I still felt the plot wasn't properly fleshed out.

That said, I have to add that I was hooked early in the story, and whenever I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. I enjoyed the twists, the focus on how some seemingly great friendships can also be toxic to some degree, the intricacies of marriage, and how tragedy can affect family dynamics.

Apart from a rather blah ending, I did enjoy this book, and am excited to read more of this author's books.

Many thanks to Netgally and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Kate Hewitt for the advanced reader copy of the book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Every now and then I find a book that's so relatable that I just can't put it down. In the Blink of an Eye was just such a book. The story in some ways is nothing surprising, but the observations here were so on target that I was compelled to finish it just to see how it was resolved in the end.

When I began reading, I sort of groaned. The setting was the near-perfect suburban-rural town of Wetherby, Connecticut. The houses here are expensive, and the first people who are introduced seem near perfect. Eleanor is a stay-at-home Mom who seems too good to be true. She's involved at school including the classroom and PTA. She is beautiful and has a handsome, seemingly perfect husband as well as two daughters. They eat all the best and healthiest food, much of which she makes herself.

Her best friend is Natalie, who is separated from her husband although she's not really sure why. She loves her husband a great deal, but one day he said he just couldn't do it anymore and moved out. It's been hard on her daughter, Freya. To make matters worse, the friendship between Freya and Eleanor's daughter, Bella, is not a healthy one, although Natalie doesn't see it.

Kieran is a new kid in school. He has some behavioral issues that have the school on high alert. His mother, Joanna, is trying to balance everything between working and taking care of her son, as well as her husband, Tim, who suffered a breakdown.

The story is told from each of their perspectives, trading off the point of view in each chapter. From this, though, we get some interesting insights on what it's like being a parent in this day and age. I see my own daughter struggling to be "perfect" under the microscope of social media and all of the pressures that come along with it. In a town such as Wetherby where it seems they are all trying to outdo each other, it's even worse.

I could also relate to the difficult relationship between the two girls who are supposedly "best friends." I had a similar situation when we lived in suburban New York with my oldest daughter and it's hard to navigate when you're in such close proximity. Hewitt gets the situation so perfect as Natalie wants to do something but she's not sure how to handle it in such a closed community.

Eleanor decides to invite the entire class to Bella's birthday party to be held in their backyard. It's a step back from the competitive birthday parties they've been having. Kieran is invited, although reluctantly. It's only Eleanor and Natalie supervising 28 third graders. Tragedy strikes when Bella is found face-down in the pond with Kieran standing over her. Eleanor immediately assumes Kieran did something to Bella.

Much of the story is not really that original. I've read other stories with a similar storyline. What Hewitt does, though, is capture just how hard it is from the perspective of a parent, particularly a mother. Eleanor is driving herself to be perfect, at the cost of her own well-being. She's afraid of making a misstep that will lead to criticism from her husband. At first, it seems that he is demanding that perfection, but it's really more her putting that pressure on herself. These women all carry baggage while they are trying to navigate their place in a world that still demands a false existence.

I do recommend In the Blink of an Eye to anyone who enjoys this type of fiction. It's extremely relatable and the story is well-written. I devoured it in a day.

This story revolves around three mothers and their children . Each has their own problems to deal with and they all become entwined. It is very emotionally told and teaches us never to make assumptions until you know all of the details. I could sympathise with all of the families and loved how everything came together at the end. Another brilliant story from Kate Hewitt.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review. I loved it.

In the Blink of an Eye is an interesting contemporary novel by Kate Hewitt. A book filled of secrets and lies. Following three mothers/wives that are navigating their way through parenthood and marriage. A little repetitive however filled with real life drama, touching on mental health and parents’ anguish of child's health with some twists. Enjoyed the ending. 3 ½ stars

I would like to thank Bookouture, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨ Psychological Drama
✨ Bullying
✨Secrets



✨ the story has 2 person pov of a mother. Elaine’s and Rachel. One has having a trouble with marriage and troubling son who get bullied a lot that’s why they keep moving. They felt left out in the close right community .
When they attend the party something happen and one is to blame?

✨ The story contains of betrayal,secrets , bullying and some heart wrenching feeling as a mother . A mother who is willing to protect there child no matter what.

✨ it was a good story plot yet it was very dragging with repetitive story lines.


✨ Thankyou netgalley for the arc copy of this book for a honest review .




🫶🏼shaye.reads

I am new to Kate Hewitt, and this book has instantly made me a new fan! WOW!!! What a phenomenal read! The lives of these characters change in an instant when an incident occurs at a child's birthday party. What develops afterwards took me on the best roller coaster ride!

The main characters are three mothers who all have a POV narrating this story. I found myself feeling for each of the main characters at one point or another as the plot developed. Eleanor, Natalie, and Joanna were all so well developed that I felt as though I truly knew them. They took me through a whole gamut of emotions - from empathy to sadness to anger and more.

The plot to this book is so complex. It touched on many topics that range from friendship, marriage, deceit, betrayal, bullying, and motherhood. Hewitt's writing style wove the various topics together in such a beautiful manner. I was captivated by the characters, as well as the storyline. This book was extremely relatable, and I found myself wondering what I would do if presented with the situations described in the book. This is a profound, emotional, and captivating book masterfully crafted by one of my new fave authors!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WOW!! This book had me staying up late, turning pages, needing to know what would be happening next. In the Blink of an Eye is the book that you really want to get to the end of to find out what is really happening, but you do not ever want the book to end.

The three mothers in this book were all trying to raise happy and “normal” children while having the same happy and normal life for themselves. Each mother is having their own issues and just trying to keep it hidden and portray that their lives are fine and “perfect.” I felt that I could connect with each mother on some part of their life.

This book is a great thriller with unique twists and turns. Both the adult and children relationship are realistic and relatable.

I read this in one sitting on a flight, and really liked it! I loved the different perspectives, it’s a great reminder that we’re all dealing with our own issues and to have some patience for those around us. I’m glad characters took ownership of their flawed choices and everything wrapped up fairly neatly and in a realistic way.

I extend my gratitude to Kate Hewitt, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book to review. Kate Hewitt, known for her emotionally charged narratives, took a darker turn in this particular story, showcasing a different side of her writing. This shift added an intriguing depth to the narrative. While the book started at a slower pace than I typically prefer, once the story gained momentum, I found myself effortlessly engrossed in the plot. Kate adeptly addresses crucial medical conditions such as sociopathy, conduct disorder, bullying, harassment, ADHD, ADD, and PDD, enriching readers with valuable insights. The portrayal of a parent's worst nightmare, depicted in a shocking and heart-wrenching scene, was profoundly moving. Filled with unexpected twists, turns, and poignant moments, this book offers a compelling and engaging read.

Just wow! Love this author so much and have absolutely adored every single one of her books. And this one - just wonderful. So poignant and beautifully written. Just brilliant!

Really excellent drama. Captivating!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

In The Blink of an Eye is dramatic story about a birthday party gone wrong. The story plays on every parent’s worse nightmare….their child being injured, their child being bullied, or being that parent on the outside of the mom’s club. The story follows three women as they tell their sides of the story and what role they play in that days events. Everyone wants to point the finger and hide from the truth but in the end the truth always comes out.
Eleanor is the perfect wife and mother and the envy of all the other women. She’s planning a birthday party for her daughter Bella and her classmates but there’s one student she’s reluctant to include. Kieran. He’s the new kid at school and so far he’s a menace. The school year has just begun and he’s already been to the principals office three times. To make matters worse Bella doesn’t want to invite him but Eleanor convinces her that it’s the right thing to do.
The day of the party Eleanor is distracted by the possibility of her perfect world imploding and asks her dearest friend Natalie to watch the kids. Everything seems to be fine and the kids are having fun until Eleanor goes to find Bella and discovers her unconscious and Kieran standing over her.
Joanna knows Kieran is different from the other kids but she can’t get the courage to confront what might be wrong. The family is new to Wetherby and so far it’s not going well. Her husband Tim is paralysed with depression and anxiety and every time Joanna goes to pick up Kieran at school she’s afraid of what she’ll hear. The moms at the school are very clicky and she can sense when she’s not welcome. When Kieran gets invited to a classmates party Joanne is hopeful that this is the opportunity for her and Kieran to make some friends.
She’s about to find out how wrong she was……

The title is incredibly fitting for this book and will definitely take your emotions on a ride as a parent. Get ready for a wild ride as you read through the situation via multiple POVs about a situation that turns numerous lives upside down and inside out.

Throughout the book, I kept feeling my heartache grow as assumptions abundantly grew focused around the accident. All it takes is one person to say something and it rolls down the hill, snowballing into something too big to contain. The characters were very well-developed and easy to relate to. Some I wanted to be angry with, some I was disappointed, and others made me feel incredibly sad. Their outer appearances hide an incredible amount of darkness, untruth, and fear.

As a mother, I have felt the emotions that swirled around women who are trying to live life, facing marital difficulties, and several other real-life traumatic events in addition to the accident that each of their children had a part in. The book is a quick-paced read that keeps you submerged into the drama to the very end.

This is a compelling story that shows the power of words, and how they can hurt. It shows the consequences of making assumptions and excluding people based on what you think you might know. And through almost every single character, it shows how appearances can be deceiving. The characters are well developed and are woven together into a story of an elementary school where status matters and everyone gathers around the “perfect Mom.” And it shows the people left on the edges, those who do not appear to be as unflawed as the clique of Moms that presides over the school.

My only slight criticism is that the story moves a little slowly in the beginning. But the power of spoken words, and how they can cause catastrophe whether they are true or not, is so well laid out here that it makes this book an important read.

my rating is 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on sites with no half-star option.

I received a free copy of this book from Bookouture via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Hewitt has such a talent for writing such compelling, thought provoking novels. This book touched on many tough subjects such as pediatric mental health, unbalanced adult relationships, marriage difficulties, what happens when you keep secrets, relationships among classmates, and how so easily influenced a pure child can be (pure meaning not tainted by the bad in the world).

In this book, we learn about Eleanor, Bella’s mother, Natalie, Freya’s mother, and Joanna, Kiernan’s mother. While none of these characters are 100% likeable, they are relatable, they are real. There are plenty of mothers who strive to make it look like everything in their family is perfect, mothers who gossip, and, in Natalie’s case, mothers who know that their child may need a diagnosis but isn’t ready to admit it to themselves just yet. Natalie is whom I related to the most. I didn’t want admit that my first son needed a diagnosis, intervention, and medicine. It took me a while to accept it, but I got there. Natalie does too.

The realness of this book is what pulled at my heartstrings. My heart was broken for Bella being hurt, but it was also broken for the other children who had to witness it and the people that it impacted. Unfortunately, sometimes, we need a tragedy to get real with one another, and that is exactly what this book shows.

So if you enjoy a compelling, riveting, heart string pulling type of book, then this book is for you.

I loved this book, such a variety of interesting characters, and it was great getting to know them and the dynamics they had between the various families/friendships.

This is a slower burner, but this means you can really get to know them and the many many secrets they hide. The friendships between the children and adults kept my interest throughout, different POVs also kept me engaged with the book.

This books gives a lot to readers, friendships, relationships issues, secrets, jealous and some epic playground drama! This is my second book by the author and I need to binge her previous releases.

When a mom, facing family’s difficulties, moves into a quiet Connecticut suburb with her behaviorally atypical son, acceptance from school staff and local parents proves to be a challenge. When the unthinkable happens to the birthday girl an outdoor birthday party, there is enough guilt and blame to go around in never ending circles.
Very quickly, the new boy is cast as the deliberate perpetrator of the crime, and becomes an instantaneous pariah.

Kate Hewitt has written a cautionary tale with important lessons to be learned. Rush to judgment, parental responsibility, boundaries of friendship, acceptance of others with their flaws and “warts”, alcoholism, marital discord, kindness, and the meaning of love are addressed and deftly woven into an interesting and thought provoking plot. Who among us cannot identify with people doing their best just to fit in?

This book was published on July first so it’s available right now. Four deserving stars for a good read. My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “In the Blink of an Eye”. Kate Hewitt is a MUST read author for me. She has an amazing ability of writing both contemporary realistic fiction and historical fiction wonderfully.
This story is told from three moms' point of view.
Eleanor- is the “Queen Bee” of moms. Her house is “perfect” with her two daughters and devoted husband.
Natalie- is newly separated and raising Freya by herself. Her and Eleanor are besties.
Joanna- is new to the neighborhood. She is struggling with raising her son, who has problems in school, and her husband who is overcoming a mental breakdown.
Emotions run high when Eleanor has a birthday party and a child gets gravely injured.
Kate Hewlitt will rip out your heart and put it back together. I look forward to her next read! Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#InTheBlinkOfAnEye #KateHewlitt #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks

In the Blink of an Eye by Kate Hewitt

A high-level of captivating and heartbreaking thriller. This thriller gave me a strong hit and I was hooked until the end. I enjoyed how the author linked everything together. The various POVs gave a bigger and fuller picture of the story, especially we know how each character was thinking. The content involved the traumas of characters, mental problems and ADHD. These all were quite sensitive to cover, but the author had made it worked well. The story was slow-paced, but it got more exciting.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: July 1, 2024