#BlogTour: Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton @EmilyJHoughton @TransworldBooks @RandomTTours @HJ_Barnes #BeforeISawYou #EmilyHoughton #RandomThingsTours

Book Synopsis:

CAN YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN?

Alice and Alfie are strangers. But they sleep next to each other every night.

Alfie Mack has been in hospital for months recovering from an accident. A new face on the ward is about as exciting as life gets for him right now, so when someone moves into the bed next to him he’s eager to make friends. But it quickly becomes clear that seeing his neighbour’s face won’t happen any time soon.

Alice Gunnersley has been badly burned and can’t even look at herself yet, let alone allow anyone else to see her. She keeps the curtain around her bed firmly closed, but it doesn’t stop Alfie trying to get to know her. And gradually, as he slowly brings Alice out of her shell, might there even be potential for more?

Before I Saw You is available in ebook and hardback now . You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

Before I Saw You is a heartwarming, fun book which is surprisingly emotional in places.

I absolutely loved Alfie, one of the main characters who was a very funny, positive person who it was easy to warm to. His easy conversations and banter with the other patients was great to read about and had me chuckling out loud on a few occasions. I had to admire him his determination to try and get Alice to talk to him when many would have probably given up.

The story alternates between Alfie and Alice which lets the reader get to know more about them. Through this we learn more about their past and what brought them to the rehabilitation ward. I found it very insightful to be able to learn more about the character’s emotion state throughout the book and it was quite emotional at times to see how the two of them have struggled with what has happened. I liked the way that the author doesn’t sugar coat this, when I think it would have been easy to do, but instead has made it quite realistic with how the two characters have to learn to live with the realities of their new lives.

The book is quite a page turner and I found it difficult to put down at times as I was enjoying the interaction between the characters. The plot is a bit predictable at times but I actually liked this as I felt I could relax into the story and just enjoy watching it develop. The ending was very interesting and I liked that the author doesn’t tie everything neatly into a bow but instead leaves it open ended so the reader can imagine what happened for themselves.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future – especially if it was a sequel to this lovely book!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Hayley from Transworld for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Emily Houghton was a digital specialist, but is now a full-time creative writer. She originally comes from Essex but now lives in London. Emily is a trained yoga and spin teacher, completely obsessed with dogs and has dreamt of being an author ever since she could hold a pen.