Beautifully written, and utterly engaging.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this title.

A Thousand Paper Birds by Tor Udall. This is the story of Audrey, a young woman who recently died in a car accident. It's the story of those she touched, those she loved and those she left behind.

Do you ever read a book a wonder if there's something wrong with you? Or of you missed something crucial that was obvious to everyone else? The writing was undoubtedly gorgeous and the Kew Gardens setting loomed large as a lush, beguiling character in its own right. And yet I found it hard to connect to the characters, I felt like is read them before.

It's a moving story of love and grief but the magical realism and supernatural elements strayed too far into sentimentality and were even a little saccharine at times.

I wanted to enjoy this book so much, but at times it felt like a struggle to continue reading. The writing isn’t actually that bad, it just feels very lyrical and whimsical. For whatever reason I just couldn’t connect with the book and found it far too sentimental.

The plot felt very slowly paced and sentimental. It had a fantastic blurb and seemed packed full of promise that it just couldn’t live up to.

The story is set in Kew Gardens for the most part, which is brilliant! I love nature and botanical gardens as a setting. I was sold on the magical realism alongside this wonderful setting. However, the magical realism aspect doesn’t come along until around 70% into the story and isn’t exactly an addition as I hoped it would be.

Just this once, it wasn’t my cup of tea...

A genuinely beautiful story. From the cover to the writing to the plot and the characters, everything about this book seems pure and honest in the story it's telling.

I’ve been telling everyone to read this book so I give it 5 stars. The setting of Kew Gardens is perfect. The sadness, hope and embedded mystery are powerful. I really enjoyed it and was sad when it ended.

A Thousand Paper Birds was an okay read. I liked the origami parts and the supernatural plot twist, but I didn't connect with the characters and the story dragged.

"A thousand paper birds" is not a short book, but I read it very quickly as I couldn't put it down! The mere fact that the plot is set in a botanical garden is what drew me in. The plot was very light, magical and kind of philosophical, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Chloe was my favorite character, and I could relate to her on many points, only one being origami. This is a beautiful novel to be treasured, and one of the most underrated books of the year!

A touching novel about how the death of one woman has affected not only her husband, but the lives of three
strangers. Set in and around Kew Gardens, Udall has weaved a story of love, loss, hope and redemption.

I picked this up as an ARC from Netgalley, initially drawn to the beautiful cover and lured in with the promise of a Kew Gardens setting and one of the characters being an artist (I'm obsessed with artists and their inspiration). However, this story is not what I expected, it unfolded, like one of Chloe's origami pieces, into a beautiful thing made up of many layers. This mysterious book keeps you guessing about what has happened to Audrey (the dead wife of Jonah) and Harry the mysterious man who's been following Jonah since she died.

Ultimately, for me, the book is about loss: Lost things, lost time, lost muses, lost love and lost lives. It explores the different kinds of grief we experience with these losses and how it affects those around us. Tor Udall does this beautifully with well written prose that begs to be spoken out loud, its lyrical nature helping spin the story into life.

This book does have its shortcomings though: some of the mystery seems inevitable and sometimes the characters are not likeable at all and I'm not sure why. There were little things that bugged me, like the sort of twist/realisation at the end which I didn't really think was necessary and spoiled what I felt would have otherwise been a satisfying ending to the book for me.

It wasn't quite there for me but I do think if you like books that explore relationships, involve a bit of magical realism and have a mystery at their heart then you'll enjoy this one.

I LOVE that cover so much!!! It describes the book perfectly :)

Jonah’s wife Audrey has just died in a car crash, it may have been suicide, she had been depressed after a series of miscarriages. But she’d seemed happier lately, since she’d started visiting Kew Gardens regularly, so Jonah isn’t sure. He just knows the woman he loved is gone and he can’t sleep for mourning her. He is drawn to Kew, looking for the solace it gave her and hoping to feel her there.

But Kew Gardens isn’t his alone of course, there he meets Milly, a charming child who says her father works there, but where is her mother, and why is she always wearing the same clothes?

Then there’s the gardner, Harry. His purpose is to save plants from extinction, but has his desire to save life been twisted into something destructive?

Chloe is also a frequent visitor, an artist designing a huge origami installation to be exhibited at Kew, finds her singular minded isolation challenged. And the guilt she feels exposed.

They don’t know it yet but these five strangers are all connected. Can they find the way through the maze of regret and guilt through to acceptance and forgiveness?

I grant you that this sounds sentimental to possibly bordering on maudlin but I promise you it isn’t. It’s a life-affirming novel of exceptional beauty in fact. In places it’s gritty, even ugly, and in others it enjoys some quiet mundanity, then it trips into dizzying revels of the foibles of the human heart.

I like to read my books depending on the season to an extent, I generally save gothic horror for the autumn/winter, or books based in cold climates for the winter and those with prettier climates for the Spring or Summer (am I weird or do you do that too?) But as this book traces a full calendar year in Kew Gardens it can be enjoyed at anytime of year. So whether you’ve holidays booked in the South of France this summer or in Scotland this autumn take this book with you.

Tor Udell described the scenery beautifully. I haven’t been to Kew for years but I now feel like I have spent months there recently – even though I read this book in about two days! So if you’ve no holiday booked maybe just have a weekend at home with this book! Apart from the human content this can also be considered a bit of a love letter to Kew and it definitely made me want to revisit it in real life.

Definitely 5 Bites from me and one I will be re-reading (even though I’m unlikely to forget the ending!)

NB I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review. The BookEaters always write honest reviews.

After the death of his wife, Audrey, Jonah is in consolable. He sits on a bench in Kew Gardens and reflects on their life together as the world passes him by. Chloe is an artist who focuses on origami but her personal life is chaotic and less focused. Milly wanders the gardens at will but seems to have no homeland no family. Harry is passionate about plants and committed to Kew. Audrey seems to be the link between them all but how is her life and death linked to Kew.

For the first half of this book I was entranced by the story of Audrey and Jonah, and the budding romance between Jonah and Chloe. However the story of Audrey, Harry and Milly just didn't seem to fit. Of course as the book went on it was revealed and unfortunately my enjoyment of the book went down. The premise felt a little too fey and forced, the supernatural pushed a little too much. Having said that there is some beautiful writing here, the emotional and sensitive way that loss and grief are dealt with is heartfelt.

Happy Canada Day to me! Well....for yesterday. It was Canada's 150th birthday on July 1st and I am pretty proud despite all the teasing I get from my British friends that I am from a country that is sooo young. Had I been more organised I could have told you about all the fun Canada Day activities I did but alas, I only have a couple of books to tell you about instead. So what did I read?

The two books I am going to tell you about this week have 2 things in common - 1) I received both from the publisher via NetGalley and 2) both authors have exotic names. Book 1 is A Thousand Paper Birds by Tor Udall. The story is set largely in Kew Gardens which is located in London. For those of you who don't know, Kew Gardens is a very popular and famous botanical garden located in the suburbs of London. In Udall's version of the Gardens four strangers find themselves interconnected by the death of a young woman. Jonah spends much of his time in the Garden trying to recover from the tragic loss of his wife Audrey a few months earlier. He meets Chloe, an art student who, is the antithesis of Jonah's dead wife but he is drawn to her all the same. On the periphery is Harry, one of Kew's gardeners and he is joined by Milly, a young girl who seems to spend her whole day running free in the garden. Audrey's death is the thing that brings them together and uncovering the cause of her sudden demise is event that will either bring them together or tear them apart.

I was drawn to A Thousand Paper Birds because it was set in Kew Garden which I thought would be the perfect setting for this moody 'coming together' type of story. While Udall exploited the beauty of Kew for the story I was very disappointed in the characters. I thought they were well rounded and well written but they weren't likable. Even the young Milly was the tiniest bit annoying. I felt I should feel sorry for Jonah in his bereavement and for Audrey who died too soon but I didn't. Overall, all the characters were selfish in their own ways and this distracted from the overall plot. I almost missed the big reveal which was the cause of Audrey's death, I had to re-read it and was a bit surprised by the ridiculousness of it. Overall, I felt the story was well written but I didn't like the characters so this book was a bit of a struggle to get through.

Book 2 is a complete departure from A Thousand Paper Birds. Tyrolin Puxty's Colt Harper: Esteemed Vampire Cat is the story of a group of monsters on community service. Colt Harper isn't just any old monster, he is a vampire cat inhabiting the body of a young man. Colt has been a typical vampire and killed too many and rather than having to spend his time in a purgatory that involves running Colt is sent to perform his community service taking part in community theatre. Along with a reluctant werewolf and a 'tickler' Colt believes he has entered hell itself until he meets the lovely, green-eyed theatre director Saffy. He is delighted when he learns she also fosters cats but Colt is conflicted. As a typical cat, Colt won't usually lift a paw to help another but for some reason he is drawn to the lovely Saffy and when her life is at risk Colt won't stop at anything, expect maybe a fish pie, to save her.

I love cats and as a cat lover I thought I would also love a book about cats, even a vampire cat. At first I was amused by the silliness of the esteemed vampire cat but midway through the story seemed to drag. I really struggled to drum up much interest in what happened to Colt and the rather syrupy ending didn't quite fit and neither did Puxty's self promotion in the final few chapters.

That is it for me this week. Next week it will be all about love, love love so drop by. Until then Happy Reading.

A Thousand Paper Birds

A beautifully written novel that deals sympathetically with loss and love. The book centres around a sudden death which brings the five main characters together to undertake a journey of discovery with each having their own story to tell.
The backdrop of the novel is Kew Gardens which the author magically brings to life and it is clear that the author has a special relationship with Kew.
The book is poetic and heartfelt, the characters well written and brought to life however the plot is very light but probably appropriate in regard to how the book unfolds. I would give the book a higher rating however the genre isn't my favourite but I would recommend the book to others. It is beautifully written and the description of Kew, a joy.

This is *the* novel of 2017 as far as I am concerned. It is an incredible book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it - plus, you just might want to live in Kew Gardens, the novel's beautiful, vividly-drawn setting.

The sudden death of a young woman called Audrey leaves her widow Jonas devastated and adrift. The interrelationships of Audrey, Jonas, Chloe, Harry and Milly are teased out over the course of a novel that explores grief, happiness, creation and creativity, letting go, and the beauty and fragility of existence and relationships.

This book had me in tears. (Context: I cry at a book perhaps once every two to three years; I can't remember when I have ever shed so many tears over a work of fiction). I found it hard to read about Harry's bookmark without thinking of Grenfell Tower but I would have wept even without the tragedies that are clouding the UK at present: it is Tor Udall's tender, visceral portrayal of our shared humanity that draws out tears of sorrow and empathy.

A Thousand Paper Birds shines with a rare beauty and truth. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Thanks to Netgalley, publisher and especially to the author. I put off reviewing this one for a little bit as I think it's one that I needed to ruminate on. A truly beautiful and creative read, dealing with themes of love and loss in a tender and poignant way.

I actually found the descent into this book the hardest part. It had lovely language and detail but there was a little bit of jarring with voice...the "I" used only twice, pedantic I know, took me out of the narrative. The rest is in the third person. Admittedly, once was when one of the characters was reading from his notebook so, fine, but the other wasn't. It is, no doubt, for impact, but it felt jarring. However, aside from that, the description was stunning throughout - opening with Jonah's grief as he is mourning the passing of his wife. We fall into his loss and are displaced as surely as he is.

The depth comes from the all-consuming sense that the characters have of being lost. Early on there is a sense that there is always a distance between individuals, that we can never know what they are truly thinking or feeling, even when you love them. Four characters converge throughout the narrative - Jonah (musician and teacher), Harry (gardener at Kew), Chloe (an artist) and Milly (a young girl) - all connected by the fifth character, Audrey and her death. The themes are summed up beautifully in the artwork created throughout the novel. I adored the creativity running through the novel - linking music, art, writing and all against the backdrop and art of nature in the setting of Kew Gardens.

This one does stay with you - I know I will be revisiting it to muse over some the beautiful passages.

Wow!! Reading this book has been an unforgettable experience and one that is going to stay with me for quite sometime! Not sure I can do it any justice with a review but I'll try and put how I'm feeling into words - it won't be as beautiful as this book that is for sure. I think I may be a little in love with this book - and I knew it would be 'for me' when i first saw the cover! Absolutely stunning!!

This is the story of Audrey and her sudden, tragic death. Her death that doesn't make any sense to Jonah, her husband who she has left behind. But they shared a love for Kew Gardens and this landmark keeps them close together as Jonah tries to make sense of the world he's now living in without his wife. He retraces his steps, his words, his actions but none of this brings her back. And the author captures this grief in amazing detail and in such beautiful language that your heart just breaks with each description of the void.

As the book is centred around Kew so much it allows other characters who visit the gardens and are connected to Audrey and Jonah to be introduced to the reader, and each character is another piece of the jigsaw that runs throughout the book. There is Chloe who is an artist, and is haunted by an incident she witnesses at the park, Harry who is an obsessive Kew gardener and Milly a young girl who is often found at the garden but what is she looking for? Their paths all cross in one way or another and is a fascinating aspect of the book.

It cleverly also introduces pages from Audreys' diary so we get to see her story, much of which Jonah was unaware of and this wonderfully adds depth to the story and lets you see life through the eyes of a lost loved one.

It is quite difficult to review this book too much without spoiling major parts of the book and would highly recommend picking it up to read without knowing too much about the story, as that is how I fell into the book so was unaware of the journey I was about to embark on.

It's a tale of love, loss, betrayal, hope, grief, lost souls, holding on and letting go and is definitely a reading experience not to be rushed.

One of my favourite books of the year so far!!!

Thanks Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and netgalley for this ARC.

Sad, honest, and heartfelt- this a pure novel that will leave you feeling wrung out in a good way.

I really wanted to like this book but somehow it just didn't hit the spot with me. I'm also very confused about the last page and read it a few times to try and understand it. An okay read.

I love botanical gardens. I have visited plenty of them in different countries all over the world and I just adore them. Some of my earliest - and happiest - childhood memories involve my mum, my baby brother and me visiting the botanical garden in my then hometown. As such I was pretty pleased to find a novel where the Royal Botanical Garden is very much one of the main characters. I love how vivid the picture of this place is that the author painted and I could have spent forever just reading about this place. However, the rest of the novel did not completely wow me.

This book tells the story of five people, Jonah, his late wife Audrey (who may have died accidently or may have killed herself following three miscarriages), Harry, Chloe (an artist obsessed with origami), and Milly. Those stories are connected in various ways and all revolve around Audrey's death. A death that has devastated Jonah who has been trying to just survive in the aftermath. He finds solace in Chloe's arms but might not be ready to move on. I don't want so say any more about the plot because while this is not a plot heavy story there are still some twists that work better if the reader is unprepared for them.

As I said, this is not plot heavy but more of an meditation what it means to live and to create and to built roots. Tor Udall writes about the importance of human connection and art and music and just living. As such the book is in places unfocussed and meandering; and I cannot believe I am saying this but I think I would have enjoyed this more without the reliance on magical realism to move the plot along. There were also some parts of the story that I wasn't happy with - but that is usually the case when it comes to stories with a focus on romance. The characters, however, were brilliant and here Tor Udall shows a brilliant knack of creating believable characters with believable relationships and reactions.