In the Blink of an Eye by Kate Hewitt is a stand-alone novel about friendship, or what passes for it sometimes. Natalie and Eleanor were friends, but both had back-stories and inner lives that the other knew nothing about. Eleanor was perfect. Everyone said so. Natalie was her shadow. Eleanor’s daughter was perfect, too. Natalie’s was not. She was a little odd. Everyone knew it. It was to be Bella’s eighth birthday and Eleanor was throwing a party. That turned out to be the first hurdle. Bella didn’t want to invite Kieran. Eleanor didn’t really, either, but she was the adult. Kieran knew he was different and he didn’t care. His mother cared. How could life be so complicated? The day of the party arrived and Eleanor passed on parents’ offers to stay and help. She had Natalie. She hid in the kitchen while Natalie herded twenty-eight third graders. The reader’s anxiety is now palpable. Something bad is going to happen. All of a sudden Bella is face down in the pond, her head bleeding. Kieran is just watching. Everyone assumes the worst. The party is over.

Eleanor has a strict rule about screens. She even has a locked drawer in which to store them when she deems fit. Natalie cannot even call Brian to tell him his daughter is on the way to the hospital. Eleanor’s phone is locked up and she doesn’t have his number. Everyone is terrified. Everyone at school starts taking sides. Slowly the story unfolds. Frightening when it is a child. Worse, when it is your child. A well-written story with excellent characters, wonderful personalities and back stories. Very real, all of them. A frightening, slow-moving plot. Built to the climax perfectly. So much more frightening than many of the less realistic thrillers out there. Excellent! Kate Hewitt!

I was invited to read In the Blink of an Eye by Bookoutre. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #KateHewitt #InTheBlinkOfAnEye

Wow! This book hit very close to home and left me emotionally drained (in a good way)! It should definitely come with trigger warnings due to the subject matter. It involves mental health issues that are not easy to read for some people struggling with those mental health issues. I think I was in the right place in my life to read this book.

I loved everything about this book! This was not my first book by Kate Hewitt and I have loved all books by her so far. However, I have to say that this one is my all-time favorite by her. I have always loved her writing and her way of character building. This book was no different. I believe what made it so captivating for me is that I could relate to the characters (all of them!).

I believe that the book is so powerful because it is written from the POVs of all characters. We get to see behind the curtain of the lives of all characters and the things they struggle with. I felt with them, I cried with them, I wanted to hug them, I wanted to smack them…all of that.

"In the Blink of an Eye" shows what can happen when extraordinary circumstances expose everyone for who they are and that sometimes the family life is not as perfect as someone makes it seem.

This book is definitely on my list of top books in 2024!

In the Blink of an Eye is an emotional roller coaster ride with a heartbreaking plot.

Jo and Kieran recently moved to the small town from New York. Eleanor is organizing a birthday party for her daughter Bella. Natalie meanwhile is dealing with the fact that her husband had left her. But then Eleanor's daughter, Bella gets hurt and then she points the finger at Kieran before she was taken to the hospital. Jo must find out what really happened and saving her son's name.

This book is realistic and deals with real life topic issues. The story is mainly told in three women's POV--Eleanor, Natalie and Joanna and how they are each dealing with their own trauma. The book also touches on the topic of ADHD, bullying as well, the author educating the readers about it. Although the beginning was slightly boring, I found the book interesting later on in the book. There were some twists and turns and the ending was completely unexpected!

If you are fans of Jodi Picoult, then I recommend to try Kate Hewitt's books--worth five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC, Many thanks to Bookouture for the blog tour. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

This book illustrates how quickly things can change in less than a few seconds.
Three families dealing with their own issues intersect during a birthday party when it all changes.
I thought it was grossly unfair of Eleanor to expect Natalie to herd 28 kids during a party. There should have been at least 5 adult chaperones.
I thought Tim was a total wet blanket and Joanna shouldn’t have carried him as long as she did.
Most of my sympathies were with Natalie and Lizzy, who I think got the shaft and never got the attention she deserved.
Looks can be deceiving and one never knows what’s really going on, even among the closest of friends.

This is a novel about three mothers dealing with significant life challenges. Joanna moves her family to Wetherby, Connecticut for a fresh start, but they struggle to fit in. Her husband battles depression, and her son, Kieran, has behavioral issues. When Kieran is invited to a birthday party for Bella, the seemingly perfect daughter of Eleanor, a tragic incident leaves Bella in a coma and Kieran blamed. Eleanor stays by her daughter's side in the hospital, while Natalie, another supervising mother, is wracked with guilt and worry for her own daughter. As secrets unravel, the mothers' relationships are tested. The story explores the perspectives of Joanna, Natalie, and Eleanor, as they navigate the fallout from the accident and face real-life issues.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this one. Wow!! It had lots of Mom drama. It is so realistic on how it feels to be a parent and a parent of a child that doesn’t fit the mold. It’s so hard to be a parent who just wants their child to fit in but to add moms who seem so perfect and have “perfect” children, it’s even worse. Then add in an incident at the perfect Moms house and it is your child’s fault, well, look out because that is the worst feeling. This was so good that I could not stop reading it.

Liked ✅
- Multiple POV’s
- Character introspection
- Epilogue POV

Didn't Like ❌
- Slow paced

Thoughts 💭
Off the start this book gave me Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty vibes. After the initial incident I realized how each character played a far more in depth role in the events leading up to the incident.

The story is told from multiple povs showing us traits and habits from all the characters that led to mistakes that could have been prevented. The character introspection was my favourite aspect of this book. As a reader you witness growth and massive changes in all of them.

I did find the pace of the book on the slow side. The book was not meant to be a mystery like I originally thought, and I loved that quality of it. I also loved the POV of the epilogue, it brought another layer of truth to the incident.

Heads up to Kindle readers the last 15-20% of the book is promotional excerpts and descriptions of other books by Kate Hewitt. It threw off my percentage and how long the book was actually going to take.

In the Blink of an Eye by Kate Hewitt is engaging and has a well-written plot.
I loved the way the author built the suspense. It kept my attention and had me wanting to keep reading.
The story line was intriguing and fresh. The character building was just right and makes you feel connected to each character. Loved the suspense and mystery.
The character development was very well done.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I loved this book! I have read several of Kate Hewitt's previous books so I was looking forward to reading this one. I have enjoyed the others (light, fun, rom com reads) but this was on a very different level. A class of seven and eight-year olds have gathered for a birthday party, overseen by two of the mums. The unthinkable happens - whilst both of the parents are distracted, one of the children is seriously hurt. During pick up and drop off at the school playground over the next few days, fingers are pointed at one particular child. Kieran. He is new, and is clearly struggling to fit in, and some 'incidents' at school are all it takes for some of the parents to turn against him and his mum, Joanna, despite the events at the party being unclear... Told from three different perspectives (Eleanor, the holder of the party and class 'supermum', Natalie, Eleanor's best friend and the other mum at the party, and Joanna) once I started this novel I couldn't put it down and read it in two sittings over one weekend! Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC copy (this has not affected my review).

In my opinion, this is not a thriller, but is just an unraveling of the events of a children’s birthday party. When Bella is found face down in the pond, questions arise. How did she end up in the pond? Was she pushed? Who could be responsible? This is a story of the differences in children and shows how many parents can be fake.

I’m a huge fan of the author’s historical fiction so was looking forward to reading In the Blink of an Eye. This sounded like the kind of twisty thriller I can get behind. I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed. I liked the fact the book is narrated by three different first person’s POV’s, all mother’s involved in a tragedy. I related to Jo the most, her son has special needs and seems to be blamed for what happened by everyone else. I wasn’t 199% sure this was the case so I had to keep reading to find out. I liked the twists in the book but they weren’t too intense. I enjoyed this a lot and would recommend it.

I enjoyed this book, it was very emotional and intense. I love how the women are differently flawed, there were times it made me upset just how some of the adults treated Kieran, just because he was just standing there. But, it reminds me of today's world and how easy it is to judge and blame others. The moral of the story is not to jump to a conclusion before getting to the other half.

Whew! Lives change In the Blink of an Eye. It only takes a moment, and nothing will ever be the same again! I found In the Blink of an Eye to be gripping, thought provoking, emotion evoking and well thought out. I found myself feeling for each character involved in this moving and wonderfully written book. Three mothers and their children will find their lives changed after a child's birthday party.

Eleanor presents as not only having it all together but as having it all. During her youngest daughter Bella's birthday party, Bella is injured, and accusations are hurled. Natalie is Eleanor's friend and mother of Freya who is Bella's best friend. Natalie is helping Eleanor at the birthday party when tragedy strikes. Joanna is Kieran's mother. They are new in town and Kieran is struggling to make friends and fit in at school. He attends the birthday party for Bella and as Joanna arrives to pick him up, he is accused of causing harm.

Wowza! This book had me feeling all kinds of emotions. I wanted to give several characters a hug while chastising others. This book touches on many things such as friendship, marriage, secrets, bullying, mental health, social and emotional issues, communication and motherhood. This book also serves as a reminder about making assumptions and placing blame to name a few. I had a hard time putting this book down. I had to know how things were going to play out.

I found myself trying to put myself in the place of each mother. What happens is gut-wrenching. All the women have their own burdens to carry. Each will be affected (as will their children). Each is presented with an opportunity for self-reflection and growth. I enjoyed how Kate Hewitt provides the POV of each mother. This was a very nice touch and made the book more moving for me. It was nice getting into each mother's thoughts, struggles, doubts, concern, and emotions.

This book is dramatic, riveting, moving, and tense at times. I look forward to reading more books by Kate Hewitt.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an early copy of In the Blink of an Eye. EXCELLENT!!!!! Kate Hewitt always invokes emotions in each of her books. The tenseness I felt at the party was so real, I felt I was actually there. Jo was my favorite character but in the end, ALL found themselves and it was a Great ending. I am sorry it’s over, this was a book that could have kept going because it could have happened in real life. I have already started telling friends about this one. Thank you again.

What a gripping and emotional story!
Female friendship and betrayal are the key elements of the story.
A child’s accident at a birthday party. The families involved will be changed forever. Can they find resolution in the end?
A fast, quick read that kept me engaged throughout the story.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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

I enjoyed reading this book, which was hard to put down from the beginning.

When a new family move to a new place, it’s hard for them to get used to the surroundings, and their son is also finding it hard at school.

One of the girls, Bella, from his class is having a birthday party, and isn’t keen to invite the new boy, but, she gives him the invitation she’s handed out to all the others.

During the party, as there’s a lot of children, it’s not easy keeping watch over them and an accident takes place, and Bella is the injured child at the pond.

The story covered some sensitive issues. The mystery of how Bella was found at the pond tests friendships between some parents.

The twist in the story, I didn’t expect.

I highly recommend this book.

I was immediately hooked as soon as I opened this book, it kept surprising me over and over, great read overall!

This story is an emotional roller coaster with so many twists and turns. So many events leads to an accident, but who is to blame?
I loved this story. During reading you get to know the characters and discover the secrets they have.

This was a really fast and easy read, I couldn’t put it down and I really wanted to know what happened at the birthday party.

Written in multiple POVs, this thriller dives into how parents see their children and how they navigate through that and through their marriages. I really liked the characters development and I totally didn’t see the twist of what truly happened coming, the epilogue was pretty surprising.

3.75 ★

Thank you Kate Hewitt, Bookouture & NetGalley for an e-ARC copy.

#InTheBlinkOfAnEye #NetGalley

Kate Hewitt has written another wonderful and true-to-life story. Everything happening in this book is happening all over at school yards, within friendships and even marriages. Very heartfelt!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!