I loved the cover of this book, it drew me to it straight away, purple is my favourite colour and i am a big romantic. The story is really well written with some amazing charactors which really gelled well. I loved how the plot unfolded and kept me hooked. This was a book with many different emotions but most certainly thought provoking and powerful. ( )

Kat is just got a promotion at work, although it seems to be more than she can handle when her boyfriend of 5 years leaves her with nothing but text. Rhys is just trying to hold himself together and is just brimming with questions (and guilt) after his brother commits suicide. Susan is a mystery wrapped up in a non-speaking package, however once Susan's story begins to get revealed These three characters will face nothing like they have ever faced before. This book was an Emotional Rollercoaster. While I didn't cry (it really does take a lot for me to cry) I was damn near close to shedding those tears. Kat's, Susan's and Rhys story draws you in and the way Mansell makes everything intertwine was great. There is so much I want to say about this book but I really can't without giving things away and I really don't want to spoil things for you.

The entire time I just kept thinking please let everything end up well. Please let these poor souls get a happy ending, please just let there be peace. While I did enjoy this book I wanted to know a little bit more about Kat, her P.O.V didn't really feel as complete as Rhys and Susan's did. Also, I wanted more from the ending, It just didn't wrap up how I wanted it to for Kat. However despite that, I was also glad Mansell didn't go completely down the route I wanted her to go for Kat,

I recommend this book for those who have recently encountered Heart Break, Whether your significant other didn't work out, you just recently lost someone important to you, or maybe you made a wrong choice in life and have to just live with the consequences of that choice. Either way, this book is for you ( )

HOW TO MEND A BROKEN HEART:
An Emotional Uplifting Page Turner About Love, Loss and Friendship
Anna Mansell

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️
PUBLISHER Bookouture
PUBLISH DATES March 1, 2017

SUMMARY

"Susan Smith. Female, fifty-six. Had an argument with a bus down Ecclesall Road and lost."

Susan has possibly tried to commit suicide. No one know for sure. She is in Northern General Hospital in Sheffield with a broken leg and injuries to face. She refuses to talk to anyone.

As a last resort Kat, the acting Ward Sister, finds a diary in Susan's purse. Kat finds one name and number in the diary, so she calls and leaves a message to call the hospital. Upon receiving this message Rhys drops everything and rushes to the hospital thinking something has happened to his mom. Instead he finds he was called to see Susan, one of his plumbing customers, a lonely woman who had recently lost both her parents. Susan refuses to talk even to Rhys. Why was Rhy's number in Susan's diary? Kat is at a loss for what to do about Susan.

All three main characters, Kat, Rhys and Susan, are in emotional turmoil. Kat's boyfriend has just walked out on her after living together for five years. He took her heart with him when he left. She is devastated. Additionally she has just been promoted to acting Ward Sister, and is very insecure in the position and feels the need to prove herself. Rhy's brother, David committed suicide six months ago and Rhys feels like he should have done more to prevent it. Susan had recently lost her parents whom she had been living with and taking care of most of her life. Was the loss of her parents why Susan tried to commit suicide? Or was there something else causing her unbearable pain. She doesn't seem to want to get better. She still will not talk to anyone!

REVIEW
This is Anna Mansell's debut novel. Mansell is brave for tackling difficult topics like deep loss, sacrifice and suicide in her first book. And she does a good job. For some reason, the cover art and title made me think this book may be a nice light read. It's not so light.

The characters were well developed emotionally. It was easy to understand what they were thinking and why they reacted the way they did. Kat, Rhys and Susan were all searching for understanding of the loss they experienced. They were all searching for happiness. They had "opted out" emotionally as Mansell discusses in her notes. They were perhaps not seeing the happiness that was right in front of them. What makes any of us stop wanting to make the most of every day we have?

The first half of the book was a little slow, but it definitely picked up in the second half. I liked the ending.

As a U.S. reader I felt I may have missed some of the nuances in the book due to not totally understanding some of the English references in the book. A minor issue because the voice in the book was authentic and real. The story was a good one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )