The day we disappeared by Lucy Robinson

Another one from Mount TBR, recommended by Ellie of Curiosity killed the Bookworm.

Kate is running away from her life. The stress of her life in Dublin has prompted some sort of a breakdown, or a burnout, she wants a complete break from that. So here she is, in Somerset, in an eventing yard, trying to pretend that she knows something, anything about horses. Luckily for her Becca does know about horses and takes Kate under her wing as she tries to keep her job for the demanding Mark Waverley.

In London Annie has been trying to escape her past for years. She has serious trust issues and anxiety problems. She hangs out with her small group of friends and tries to get through life as best she can. Occasionally it all gets too much for her and she has to get away, usually to head off backpacking through Asia.

I can’t say too much more because the events are key to this book. I’m not going to risk spoiling anything, in my opinion even the tagline Show Spoiler ▼

goes too far, I mean why make that the centre of the story and have people start to speculate before they’ve even read the book. Although maybe other people like the whole speculation side of a book, I much prefer to uncover what the author reveals as they reveal it, not some marketing person.

And I loved this book. Loved it. I had only read that blog post about it, so didn’t know much about it, had never read the author before, but I loved it. Both Kate and Annie were so wonderfully written, as were all the supporting characters. Sure, you know, almost as soon as you meet him Show Spoiler ▼

is not going to turn out to be a good guy, it wouldn’t be much of a story if that was the case. Chekhov’s gun and all that.

And it is the characters that make this story work so well. Character over plot for me every time, although, in fairness, this book has both things going for it. At the heart of the book is a story all about dealing with loss and grief, and learning how to move forward in your life. It isn’t always easy, and it takes some people longer than others, but moving forward, once you can, is what life is about.

It is funny, and sad, and bits made me cry. It also has horses. What more could you possibly want in a book?