Today dear readers I am on the blog tour for One Moment (Published 2nd March 2023) By Becky Hunter. A big thank you to the publishers Corvus for sending me a copy to read and review, always appreciated. Also to the wonderful Anne for the invite to take part in the tour, always a pleasure to work with.
One Moment
One moment in time can change everything…
The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn’t feel fair that she’ll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she’s still … here – wherever here is – watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.
Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend’s death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie’s life in directions she’d never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.
If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?
About The Author
Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure.
My Review
Scarlett is on her way to work when she sees a cyclist on his phone run a red light. He then gets hit and falls off into the road. No one stops to help him so Scarlett rushes to aid him. As she retrieves his bike she is suddenly hit by a car and dies on impact. She watches her body be taken to the hospital, her friend Evie being told she has passed away and breaking down. She feels helpless and is angry at Nate, the cyclist that she helped. Scarlett has no idea where she is, she isn’t alive but hasn’t crossed over either. She is stuck in limbo watching the world carry on, watching Evie her best friend live a life without her.
The narrative follows Scarlett in first person and switches to third when the reader follows Evie. Scarlett is forced to watch the aftermath of her death unfold, stuck. She witnesses the present but also revisits her memories. Scarlett starts to see how she could have supported Evie more, encouraged her to do more things and not let her MS define her. Scarlett is glad in ways that Nate and Evie found each other. She hates how they came to be but slowly starts to see the old Evie she remembers, the one who enjoyed life before her diagnosis.
Scarlett and Evie have been best friends for as long as either of them can remember. They lived together in a flat in London, Scarlett worked in fashion and had big dreams of launching her own label while Evie works as an assistant, mostly at home and doesn’t leave the house if she can avoid it. Evie’s real passion is music. She plays the violin but since she was diagnosed with MS she struggles.
It was interesting to follow Evie on her journey of grief and how she is forced to overcome her fear of her MS and take control of her life without Scarlett. I was cheering for her on the sidelines with Scarlett, wanting her to achieve her dreams and live her life. Not hide away and let her MS define her, but to take charge and make a change.
Hunter has created perfect characters that come into Evie’s life after the death of Scarlett that not only help her but encourage her to push herself, to do more and pick up her violin again. Evie’s new neighbour, Astrid, a 13 year old girl plays the violin and asks Evie for help with a solo. Evie is hesitant but she soon builds a friendship with the teenager as in ways she reminds her of Scarlett. Nate seeks Evie out after the accident and worries about how she is coping but also doesn’t bubblewrap her because of her MS. He takes her places which forces her out of her comfort zone and challenges her MS. Evie feels she can’t do much because of it but through Nate and Astrid she slowly starts to see that maybe she can live a full life and not let her MS stop her but to find a balance. It’s wonderful to read how these characters come together and help Evie as you grow fond of them. The reader has only just met Scarlett and yet she quickly dies but you come to know of her through Evie and Scarlett’s memories.
I give One Moment By Becky Hunter a Five out of Five paw rating.
This story broke me, I was a mess! I loved every second!
This is an emotional read and deals with themes of death, depression and suicide. Everyone deals with grief in their own ways, there is no right or wrong way. Life is unexpected, you never know what is round the corner so make the most of each day, take chances and live in the moment. I highly recommend this book to everyone, I absolutely loved it, I couldn’t put it down!
Don’t forget to follow the rest of the blog tour, dates below, enjoy!
Links
Buy a copy
@Bookish_Becky
@CorvusBooks
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Thanks for the blog tour support x