Before You Were Mine by Em Muslin

Blurb

Sometimes hope has a way of changing everything…

Just hours after giving birth, Eli Bell is forced to give up her newborn baby daughter for adoption. Devastated, she tries desperately to rebuild her shattered life.

Then, over thirty years later, Eli catches sight of her daughter. And she knows that she must do everything to find a way back into her life. Even if it means lying…

While her husband Tommy must grow to accept his own part in the events of her early life, he can only try to save her before her obsession with the young woman ruins them both.

Review

Eli made me want to cry for her and rage at her, both at the same time, especially as the story drew to a close and the various truths were revealed.

I hated her family and Daisy too, and I really wanted to give her hateful mother a good shake! It's testament to the author's writing skill to be able to cause such feelings in a reader.

I felt Eli's pain throughout and simply adored Tommy because of his unstinting love for her, his awkwardness, his determination to try to put things right for her.

The whole book was riveting from start to finish. There are a couple of loose ends and not everything becomes rosy - but that's the way life is, and the realism in this story, and the way the ordinary lives of ordinary people is reflected in the descriptions and the characters makes for a fascinating read.

About the Author

Em Muslin has worked in the film and television industry for over 20 years. She first fell in love with reading and writing after experiencing Judith Kerr's 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit'. She hasn't stopped devouring books ever since. She loves words that capture an experience or emotion in a singular form: her current favourite, describing herself, is 'nemophilist'. Em's writing focuses on the texture of domestic life, relationships, family and the pressures of social convention. Her characters are often fighting to become the hero of their own story, searching for hope, despite the adversities that life inevitably brings.