Book Review - One Moment At Sunrise by Karen Aldous

Amazon UK

Title: One Moment At Sunrise

Author: Karen Aldous

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HQ Digital 

Publication Date: 18th April 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

Nothing will ever be the same again…

Evie Grant has spent two years hidden away in a quiet French village, longing to escape her beautiful villa with its blue-shuttered windows. Maybe this summer, the father of her child will keep his broken promises and return to whisk her away to another life. One way or another, Evie’s determined to stop feeling like his dirty little secret…

Yet when a mysterious stranger almost knocks Evie off her bicycle early one morning, her world begins to change in ways she never expected. Embarking on a painful journey of self-discovery, Evie begins to face her darkest fears and rebuild her fragile dreams. But can she ever truly break free from her gilded cage and learn to love again?

One Moment at Sunrise is a seriously impressive book, that gets better and better the further into it you read, until it becomes completely unputdownable. I spent the entire book willing Evie to gain in confidence and to see the reality of her life, and to try and plot her " escape". 

Evie is living in the South of France with toddler Charlotte, who is utterly adorable. She does have a partner, who is a famous singer, but he is barely about, and keeps her hidden in France. As a result of her relationship with him, she is distanced from her family and barely has any friends. 

Her life starts to change the day she has a near death experience and meets film producer Ben. It is early in the book but also you can tell its a pivotal moment, and it was fantastic to go on Evie's personal journey with her. 

At moments my heart was in my mouth, as I was shocked at the turns the action was taking, and the rest I was just enjoying the story of one mother, her young daughter, her neighbours and new acquaintances. It really is a story of a woman re-discovering who she is as a person, not just as mother, and not just as a hidden secret. As a result it was really uplifting to follow Evie's story. 

Charlotte was my favourite character, although I'm not sure I know many two year olds that love fish as much as she does, especially not in finger form! She definitely has the dialogue of  a toddler, and Charlotte was a ray of light in any scene she was in. 

I firmly believe this is the best book by Karen Aldous so far, it has a great deal of depth to the story, there are fun moment, but there are also more serious threads running throughout too. I absolutely despised Evie's partner, with his controlling personality traits, and his actions are just awful and really do speak louder than a thousand words. 

I am wondering why on earth it has taken me so long to pick up One Moment in Sunrise to start reading, as I have been missing out of months of knowledge of such an enjoyable story. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and HQ Digital for my copy of the book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Guest Post - Inspiration for One Moment At Sunrise by Karen Aldous - Blog Tour

Today I'm delighted to welcome Karen Aldous to Rachel's Random Reads, and she has written us a lovely post about her inspiration for her new book, One Moment At Sunrise. I can't wait to read it, and hope you all enjoy the post. 

A traditional French villa, blue shutters, a central sweeping staircase, cool marble flooring, high ceilings, contemporary décor with tasteful furnishings, French doors leading to a vine-covered terrace and the crystal-clear waters of a pool, overlooking the most magnificent canal ever built!  This was the moment inspiration struck. My character appeared before my eyes; wheeling a bike in through metal gates, her cheeks pink, her expression – melancholic. Her head hung low as she entered the echoing walls of her home. Why? She lived in this stunning villa, had a gorgeous little girl, and her man - so what was wrong? Why was she so swarmed in darkness?

Cycling under dappled light along gently rippling waters, through ripening vineyards bursting with fruit under a Mediterranean sun, my character sobbed out her loneliness to me. I would stop and sit on the banks of the canal whilst my notes tumbled on to the page; her story gradually revealing itself. My villa wasn’t beside the canal du midi, it was in a village several kilometres away but, it was fitting that Evie lived and breathed the canal.

It was after a visit to Bezier and seeing the statue of Jean-Paul Riquet that I began to explore the visionary and the history of the canal-du-mid in more depth. This is where I found my character had more in common with some of its past characters too.  Inspired from my research and discovering just how instrumental the Pyrenean peasant women were in building this monumental canal I was moved by the fact that they failed to ever receive recognition for their contribution. I felt their story had to be told and developed the plot to include them. So by finding strength from a chance encounter with Ben, a film director and, unwittingly absorbing the plight of the peasant woman from the past, my character Evie is able to discover and recognise just how she could use her own resources.
This blend of past and present gave me such a stir because the common theme was disempowerment; strong, intelligent women who had so much capacity and talent as individuals became so overruled, isolated and immersed in self-doubt.

One of the reasons I love being a fiction writer is because anything is possible; if it doesn’t exist, you can invent it, if you need to find out more, you research, then you can explore. Let your characters speak to you, tell you their problems, then you can help them. Like many writers of women’s fiction, my motivation for my characters, is not just about finding romance and living happy ever after, I wish my characters to be strong independent women who find fulfilment in some form for themselves.

Escape to the south of France with the irresistibly compelling new story from Karen Aldous – the only book you’ll need this summer!

Nothing will ever be the same again…

Evie Grant has spent two years hidden away in a quiet French village, longing to escape her beautiful villa with its blue-shuttered windows. Maybe this summer, the father of her child will keep his broken promises and return to whisk her away to another life. One way or another, Evie’s determined to stop feeling like his dirty little secret…

Yet when a mysterious stranger almost knocks Evie off her bicycle early one morning, her world begins to change in ways she never expected. Embarking on a painful journey of self-discovery, Evie begins to face her darkest fears and shatter her fragile dreams. But can she ever truly break free from her gilded cage and learn to love again?

Amazon UK | Amazon US

About Karen Aldous

Karen Aldous enjoys village life on the edge of the north-downs in Kent with easy access to the buzz of London. Not only does she love the passive pleasures of reading and writing, she also craves the more active pursuits with her family and friends such as walking, cycling and skiing especially when they involve food and wine!

Karen gets much of her inspiration from her travels and if she had to choose, France, Greece, Switzerland, Italy and the USA would be her favourites. However, wherever she goes, she discovers a new character emerges in 'Karen's World'. She likes to write about strong independent women who can direct their own lives - but struggle to control them! And, of course there's always a gorgeous hunk or two!

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Giveaway

This giveaway is for a £15 Amazon Voucher and a copy of the book as first prize and a copy of the book as second prize.

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