This was so good. The idea of listening to my husbands thoughts would (hopefully) bore me senseless as his only interests are collecting coins , reading coin magazines and napping in the chair. That certainly is not the experience in this book which is absolutely fascinating and compelling. A super new dystopian book.

This is a great black mirror inspired thriller that keeps you guessing. Fully recommend. Twists and turns and a great futuristic story

Ooh I wish that I hat written this. Totally original. Beautifully penned.
Have you ever wondered what your partner is thinking.....really thinking, the dark mysterious hidden thoughts that never ever surface.
This story explores one couples' journey with this enlightenment, will this be an enriching experience or a destroying one?
Definitely read this book to find out, it is an amazing page turner.

Set in the near future, the book offers a glimpse into the terrifying future that may await us thanks to ever-increasing advances in technology.
Anna gets the worst anniversary present in the world from her ever-loving husband - a chip in their brains where they can hear each others every thought. Oh, what were you thinking?
It's a great premise & there's a constant undercurrent of threat that quickly hooks the reader. However, the reader needs to totally suspend belief as the story doesn't quite add-up if the technology works as it's purported to. It kept bringing me back out of the story as I was mulling over the specifics of the tech. Despite this, it was a great read with a terrific ending.

Looking at the cover, you can be forgiven for assuming that this is some cheerful romcom, however, it’s nothing of the sort! (Don’t worry, NO spoilers.)

Set in the near future, Elijah decides to invest in dual microchips implanted so that he and his wife of 10 years, Anna, will be able to read each other's thoughts. Understandably, Anna is dubious about the whole thing, but decides to go along with it based on it only transmitting current thoughts. But things soon turn dark…

Anna, in addition to experiencing pain where her chip was implanted, seems to have access to her husband’s dreams, specifically concerning a lads holiday abroad where a friend of theirs died. Elijah and his friend Gavin had always maintained that they weren’t present when Oscar died, however, Anna begins to wonder whether these repeating “dreams” are actually memories.

Meanwhile, Anna has secret memories that she wants to protect. The couple had been trying for a baby for quite some time, but Anna learns that due to her abortion she had many years ago, she’d struggle to ever carry a baby to full term. The reader assumes that this is the secret Anna is trying to cover up with her frequent internal dialogue constantly turning to nursery rhymes to prevent her memories coming to Elijah’s attention. However, this is not the full story!

Elijah usually has the upper hand throughout, and he uses coercive behaviour to manipulate Anna, all the while acting as though he’s none the wiser, and is the all-caring, doting husband.

I definitely enjoyed this book, although I usually prefer my psychological thrillers to have a faster pace. That said, the suspense was well maintained, and having so few characters in the book really helped to keep me on track with what was going on when the novel jumped occasionally from “now” to “then”.

I also believe that the book is realistic, which is something I don’t often say about books set in the future, and it’s an important taster about what can happen with microchips being planted in people’s brains, which is currently being worked on today. (Google Neuralink.)

Always on My Mind by Carys Green is a chilling and captivating psychological thriller that had me hooked from start to finish. The concept of the OneMind implant, which allows partners to hear each other’s thoughts, initially seemed like a fascinating exploration of intimacy, but Green quickly turns it into something far darker and more unsettling. The premise of knowing your partner’s every thought—without the possibility of hiding anything—felt both thrilling and terrifying, and I was immediately drawn into Anna’s world as she navigates this new level of connection with her husband, Elijah.

At the start, everything seems perfect. Anna and Elijah have been together for ten years, and the OneMind implant is meant to bring them even closer. Anna, although a bit sceptical, agrees to go along with it to please Elijah, but what starts as an exciting experiment quickly spirals into something much more sinister. As Anna begins to experience vivid dreams that aren’t dreams at all, but memories—memories that belong to Elijah—I found myself feeling her growing unease. What if Elijah could see her memories too? What if he could uncover the secrets she’s been hiding for years?

Green’s writing is intense and immersive, pulling me deeper into Anna’s increasingly paranoid and claustrophobic world. The psychological tension is palpable, and Anna’s internal struggle to keep her darkest secrets buried, while knowing Elijah could potentially unearth them, was both heart-wrenching and anxiety-inducing. I couldn’t help but feel her desperation as her mind became a prison, and I couldn’t tear myself away from the page as I wondered how long she could keep up the facade before everything unravelled.

What I found most fascinating about this book is how it explores the idea of total transparency in relationships—of knowing everything about a person, including their most intimate memories. At first, it seems like the ultimate form of closeness, but as Anna’s story unfolds, we see just how dangerous it can be to strip away all privacy. Green’s exploration of trust, secrets, and the fragility of the human mind is as thought-provoking as it is gripping.

The twists and turns kept me guessing until the very end, and the suspense never let up. Anna’s descent into madness felt inevitable, and I couldn’t help but be on edge as I waited to see how her story would resolve. Always on My Mind is a brilliantly crafted thriller that will have you questioning the very nature of relationships, trust, and the lengths we’ll go to in order to keep our darkest secrets safe. If you love a book that’s both thrilling and thought-provoking, this one is an absolute must-read. Five stars without hesitation!

Anna and Elijah are celebrating their 10-year anniversary and rather than a nice dinner out or flowers, they’re getting implants to allow them to hear each other’s thoughts. It’s a way of being ultra intimate… and it goes well, for a while.
Anna, however, begins experiencing a weird side effect: having dreams that are memories, rather than fictional. And the question remains: if she can see her husband’s memories, surely he can see hers? She probably doesn’t want him to do that…

Thank you so much Carys what a terrifying book.

Loved the premise of this book.

I love my wife but not this much. This sorry keeps building and slowly builds into something is more than just hearing and talking with eachother. A brilliant ending.

Cannot wait for Carys next book.

Loved this book! The first chapter pulls you in and makes you want to find out what’s happening. The concept of being able to be ‘one mind’ with your partner due to technology is interesting. Unity, the company who invented the chip that enables this, promotes all the positives of it and even suggests it as an anniversary gift. How can the main protagonists, Anna, refuse when it’s a ten year anniversary gift from her husband Elijah? What unfolds from then on, shows you more of their characters and how guilty Anna feels from something that happened when she was at Uni and how it’s affects their lives. Anna starts to see a different side to Elijah, one she’s starting to fear. If you want to read something a little different then this is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers (Random House UK, Vintage) for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

"You can her his every thought. But he can hear yours too. "

This book follows Anna and her husband Elijah as they get a revolutionary implant that allows them to hear each other's thoughts. However, when Anna starts getting strange side effects, like seemingly being able to see Elijah's dreams that point to a dark secret from the past, she begins to feel trapped with no escape from her own thoughts.

This was a very interesting concept, with a feeling of something that's possible in the near future. While you were rooting for Anna, and sometimes fearing for her safety, she was by no means depticted as perfect, which fitted well with the overall story plot. The middle of the book seemed a bit predictable, but the ending was a great twist whilst being a good continutation of what had come before it.

Overall a good read, I'd recommend it if you like a mystery.

#AlwaysonMyMind #NetGalley

A toxic, suffocating and obsessive tale about love when it takes over everything, showcasing the darker side of relationships that become possessive, controlling and dangerous in a world of advanced, terrifying technology.

I tell my partner everything, but not my every single thought. The idea of never having a single thought that is just mine e ever again sounds almost like death, like losing your sense of self. But here, the adverts show us a beautiful, useful tool to share your life someone- unless they turn it into a weapon, of course. As soon as we met Elijah, I’m scared. He’s clearly deeply in love with Anna, but acts like he owns her, like she’s a part of him, made from his rib and almost doesn’t hear her when she talks. But then Anna lets on she’s hiding something too …

Switching smoothly between our couples history, their current journey and media snippets about Unity, we build a magnificent, clear picture of the world the author creates, adding a new layer when we move between speaking and thinking. Mundane pictures become strange, concerning, reality becoming slightly distorted as things start to go horribly wrong to create an exciting but uncomfortable tension that builds every page.

I had such mixed feelings about the ending, I loved seeing Anna grow but the final reveals, the wrapping up for me almost felt like I desperately wished for something else to happen.

If you loved the universe in John Marrs' The Marriage Act or Helly Actons The Couple, you’re going to love this.

I found the premise of this book so fascinating and couldn't wait to get stuck in but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. There were a few holes and parts of the book that you had to suspend disbelief over and as a result, I just couldn't take it seriously. That's not to say it wasn't an entertaining read but unfortunately I'm just not sure the author is skilled enough to take such a big concept on. This isn't helped by some of the basic writing ("She smiled cutely") either. The plot is pretty predictable and not many of the characters are that likeable. Even Anna it's hard to feel anything over than 'meh' about. An easy read but sadly underwhelming.

Anna and Elijah have been married for 10 years.
Anna would like nothing more than a lovely holiday as a gift for their anniversary however Elijah has other ideas.
He surprises Anna with a Unity chip which enables them to hear each others thoughts.
Anna although very unsure about getting the chip implanted goes along with it for her husband.
However both have secrets they don’t want the other to know.

I loved this book! The idea of the chip letting us hear our partners thoughts is a bit scary as it’s something I can see happening in real life! 🙈

I really want to know the outcome of Elijah!!

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Netgalley, Carys Green & Random House for this ARC.

Anna, Elijah, Gavin, Oscar and Helen meet in their first year at university and become friends immediately. Although they must have done something useful at university, we only learn that all they do is drink, drink, drink. I’m astonished about the amounts of alcohol they consume daily and sometimes they themselves think so too. That is, if they even can remember how much they drank.
Ten years later Anna married Elijah and Gavin married Helen. What became of Oscar plays a major role in this extremely captivating book. Besides the fact that Elijah and Gavin are now in business, working at the same firm, and Helen also has a high-demanding job somewhere, nothing much has changed. Anna became an artist but she is still struggling and drinking too much. There is a lot of grief in hers and Elijah’s life although she will tell everyone they’re very happy. We, however, read about Elijah being very controlling; Anna is not supposed to turn her telephone off when she’s out, and the whole house is controlled by an app on Elijah’s phone – including the many camera’s with which he can follow her every movement.
The story is set in a future not too far away; all cars and public transportation are electric, nobody smokes but they vape (apparently they are not aware that vaping is more dangerous than smoking, there is not an ounce of meat to be found in their meals – but people are still fond of alcohol and consume this whenever they can.
When Elijah surprises Anna with the latest, a chip in their brains so they can hear each other’s thoughts, Anna immediately has reservations but she just cannot say no to Elijah. And then the troubles begin. The past is creeping up with them but is it the chip? Or just coincidence?
From the first chapter on the tension is building up, and as more and more secrets are revealed, it’s not easy to say which way this will end. Sadly the characters are not very nice people and they keep making the wrong decisions so at the end, which holds a nice little twist, I could not say I was happy for either of them.
I really loved the book, also because it made me think about the books by John Marrs who also writes very suspenseful and surprising books with themes such as this.
Many thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this review copy.

Elijah surprises Anna with the unity chip, giving them access to each other’s thoughts in the hope of being so close they are almost one mind. But with a secret harboured what could possibly go wrong?

I found the concept of the story line to be highly intriguing but the execution of the idea didn’t quite hit the mark. The writing was good but for me the story lacked substance and it felt a little flat.

I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a standard fiction that doesn’t really fall under a specific genre.

Anna is wary when her husband Elijah suggests getting a ground breaking implant that will allow them to hear each other’s thoughts. Feeling as though she owes him she agrees to go ahead but then she starts to get side effects. Will this be good for their marriage or will hey discover the other person’s secrets that are meant to stay hidden?

I was drawn in straight away to the concept of this one as it sounded intriguing and original. This ended up being a fun, thought provoking story, blending thriller with speculative fiction. The idea presented in the story is a scary thought and the way the character’s handled the situations felt very authentic. I actually felt quite stressed out during some parts!

Although there were no major surprises I liked the way the story flowed and was invested in seeing where it would go next, although at times the pacing dipped slightly. I have to say I didn’t love the ending as it seemed really sudden, however I really enjoyed the majority of the story and would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a very unique, futuristic, interesting story. I can’t wait to see what ideas this author comes up with next! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

An exciting, futuristic tale of technology, control and hidden secrets. As I read on, I couldn’t help but imagine this book being adapted for the screen, with an interesting concept that would make a brilliant mini series! Overall, i really enjoyed switching off and sheeting lost in this book!

An insight into what the future could be like. A thought provoking book that was a huge conversation starter for me at home and in work. I love the premise and the way the whole story was told! Will be recommending this to everyone!

Your partner can hear your thoughts. You can hear theirs. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Before reading Always On My Mind, I’ve often thought that I wouldn’t mind knowing what my husband was thinking but I have swiftly changed my mind. Some thoughts should never be shared.

So, the positives. It was an interesting plot that felt very John Marrs’y’ and I’ve loved his dystopian/sci-fi reads so couldn’t wait to pick this one up. I loved how the story played out and how we were drip fed the flaws and faults of the characters. Nothing was given away too quickly.

I absolutely loved the ending. I can’t say too much without going anything away but I outwardly smirked to myself😏.

Now the reason I didn’t rate this higher is because I found it easy to put down and not so easy to pick up. I wish I could pinpoint why. Whilst I enjoyed being drip fed, I do think it was a little slow at times which may contribute towards me not picking up constantly.

Overall a very good read👏🏽.

I did enjoy this book despite the 3 star rating. I read this copy via Netgalley and I'm afraid the experience was severely ruined by the formatting of the eBook. I'm not solely judging the book based on the formatting but I do think if it had been formatted better, I would have connected more with it.

It's an interesting concept. And I did guess a lot of the twists. The MC wasn't exactly likeable either so I struggled to connect with her. However, it's a clever story. I didn't understand the reasoning behind the husband wanting the unity chip. Surely there were easier ways!

Anyway, a decent story but I'm loathe to call it a proper thriller.