Love Will Tear Us Apart by Holly Seddon
Love Will Tear Us Apart
by Holly Seddon
As I am such a huge Holly Seddon fan, I was more than thrilled to be asked to be part of the blog tour celebrating the publication of her third novel. I love her books because they are well constructed with engaging protagonists; as well as being page turners with gripping story lines, they also have depth and Seddon uses her characters and scenarios to explore issues, emotions and motivations in greater detail which adds multiple hidden layers to the plot.
Her previous two novels have been psychological thrillers with dual narratives, multiple points of view and plots which are full of exciting twists and turns. Love Will Tear Us Apart is a different kind of story, a slight departure from what she's done before and feels as if it has come much more from the author's heart. But it is without doubt as mesmerising and compelling, with a character that the reader at once engages with and cannot leave the side of until we have are forced to say goodbye on the last page.
Love Will Tear Us Apart is the story of school friends Kate and Paul who make the age-old vow that if they don't find love by thirty, they will marry each other. The novel explores what happens when they reach thirty and decide to keep their teenage promise; whether being best friends is enough to sustain a happy marriage and, once this one promise is kept, are they then strong enough to keep the subsequent promises that result from this choice?
Her previous two novels have been psychological thrillers with dual narratives, multiple points of view and plots which are full of exciting twists and turns. Love Will Tear Us Apart is a different kind of story, a slight departure from what she's done before and feels as if it has come much more from the author's heart. But it is without doubt as mesmerising and compelling, with a character that the reader at once engages with and cannot leave the side of until we have are forced to say goodbye on the last page.
Love Will Tear Us Apart is the story of school friends Kate and Paul who make the age-old vow that if they don't find love by thirty, they will marry each other. The novel explores what happens when they reach thirty and decide to keep their teenage promise; whether being best friends is enough to sustain a happy marriage and, once this one promise is kept, are they then strong enough to keep the subsequent promises that result from this choice?
This novel switches between the eve of the couple's tenth wedding anniversary and their childhood, weaving a perfectly structured narrative between the present moment and the history of the characters. Gradually, we learn more about Kate's past, about the dynamics and relationship between Paul and Kate and how complex it is. Over the decades they have faced so many situations together, from problems at school to much more traumatic and life changing moments. The backstory is so well constructed and so well executed that the reader becomes part of this journey, finding themselves caring about both these characters and also acknowledging that however well you know and love someone, the road is never straightforward or easy. Seddon's depiction of this bond between Paul and Kate is handled with conviction, insight and understanding, reminding us exactly how gifted she is as a writer.
But it's not just about showing a couple who grew up together and supported each other through the ups and downs of being teenagers, young adults and parents. This is a novel that explores what it means to love someone, what it means to make a commitment to someone and what happens when a decision from the heart comes from the head. It looks at the complex emotions between two people that do love each other, that do have a strong friendship and do think they are doing the right thing for both of them but when faced with the every day challenges of work, family, parenthood and the routine of daily life, find that their relationship is more precarious and vulnerable than they realised.
And then, once having taken the time to construct these very real, hugely relatable characters, with depth and authenticity, Seddon challenges both Kate and Paul with revelations from their past. Secrets that affect they way both of them view their current situation and which make Kate in particular, reassess the cross roads where she now finds herself.
Once again, Seddon has written a novel that kept me turning the pages, that gave me characters I really did fall in love with and that perfect balance between delivering a great plot as well as depth. What struck me most about this novel was how emotional it was and how emotive some of the scenes were. Not gratuitous, not over written, not over sensationalised, but vivid and heartbreaking. I can honestly say that I really did share Kate and Paul's pain as they tried to navigate their way through life and Kate's story in particular was very powerful. The writing is fluent and gorgeous and the movement between the past and the present is fluid and perfectly judged.
Holly Seddon is a fantastic story teller who creates characters you care about. This is one of the most moving and emotional novels I have read for a while and the thing I truly enjoyed was how immersed I became in the life of the characters. When you become part of the character's life, when you find yourself reacting emotionally to their situations, when you feel as if you know them like friends and you want to stay between the pages for as long as possible despite also wanting to rush to the end of the book, that's when you know an author has written a 5* book!
You may need tissues for this one, but I promise you, it's time you met Kate and Paul and time you read their story about life, love and friendship.
Love Will Tear Us Apart is published by Atlantic books on the 7th June 2018.
But it's not just about showing a couple who grew up together and supported each other through the ups and downs of being teenagers, young adults and parents. This is a novel that explores what it means to love someone, what it means to make a commitment to someone and what happens when a decision from the heart comes from the head. It looks at the complex emotions between two people that do love each other, that do have a strong friendship and do think they are doing the right thing for both of them but when faced with the every day challenges of work, family, parenthood and the routine of daily life, find that their relationship is more precarious and vulnerable than they realised.
And then, once having taken the time to construct these very real, hugely relatable characters, with depth and authenticity, Seddon challenges both Kate and Paul with revelations from their past. Secrets that affect they way both of them view their current situation and which make Kate in particular, reassess the cross roads where she now finds herself.
Once again, Seddon has written a novel that kept me turning the pages, that gave me characters I really did fall in love with and that perfect balance between delivering a great plot as well as depth. What struck me most about this novel was how emotional it was and how emotive some of the scenes were. Not gratuitous, not over written, not over sensationalised, but vivid and heartbreaking. I can honestly say that I really did share Kate and Paul's pain as they tried to navigate their way through life and Kate's story in particular was very powerful. The writing is fluent and gorgeous and the movement between the past and the present is fluid and perfectly judged.
Holly Seddon is a fantastic story teller who creates characters you care about. This is one of the most moving and emotional novels I have read for a while and the thing I truly enjoyed was how immersed I became in the life of the characters. When you become part of the character's life, when you find yourself reacting emotionally to their situations, when you feel as if you know them like friends and you want to stay between the pages for as long as possible despite also wanting to rush to the end of the book, that's when you know an author has written a 5* book!
You may need tissues for this one, but I promise you, it's time you met Kate and Paul and time you read their story about life, love and friendship.
Love Will Tear Us Apart is published by Atlantic books on the 7th June 2018.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Holly Seddon
is a full time writer, living slap bang in the middle of Amsterdam with her
husband James and a house full of children and pets. Holly has written for newspapers,
websites and magazines since her early 20s after growing up in the English
countryside, obsessed with music and books.
Her first novel TRY NOT TO BREATHE was published
worldwide in 2016 and became a national and international bestseller.
Her second novel DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES was
published in July 2017.
Website: http://www.hollyseddon.com/
Love Will Tear Us Apart publishes on June 7th 2018. You can buy a copy of the book using the link below.
My huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of this tour and for the publishers for an advance copy of this terrific novel!
You can read my reviews of Holly's other titles by clicking on the links below:
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