With a title of 'Ten Birthdays' and the tagline stating that it's an emotional read, I was expecting an earth shattering, emotive, tear inducing book. That type of book isn't what I got though...

Birthdays..the day for celebrating, creating memories, and stuffing your face with cake. Admit it, we have all been there! Unfortunately, birthdays for some people aren't the happy and joyous occasion of their dreams. Take Poppy Kinsey for example. Her birthday is no longer a day for creating memories, instead it is a day for remembrance.

Why?

Poppy's mum died on that day; so instead of counting down the days until her birthday, she's faced with yet another year without her mum. Although, technically that isn't quite so true. Poppy's mum left her ten letters which were only to be opened on Poppy's birthday for the next ten years. Cute eh? Whilst I could feel the poignancy of the letters standing to attention, I didn't get that 'quick I'm going to ugly cry' moment. Her mum had died and left her letters, how the heck wasn't I crying?

Ten Birthdays isn't a long read at all. We get to brush over the characters personalities, leaping forward a year just when we were able to get to know them better. Personally I feel that the lack of in-depth detail hindered the emotion. It was as though we were skimming over the situation and we could have found out more about Poppy and her fathers lifestyle in the aftermath of her mother's death.

That said, the entire storyline was raw and extremely poignant. The letters which Poppy received, were full of words of wisdom only a mother could give; a mothers touch if you will. It was the feeling of hope that managed to stir up some emotion from deep within; but it wasn't the ugly crying, snot fest emotion. It was a heart-warming, thought-provoking and beautiful emotion. You know, the sort that is extremely hard to explain!

The concept of the storyline is certainly unique, but it really does warm the heart. For me, the downside of the novel was the lack of depth and detail, however, I adored the concept as it moved me in a way even I couldn't explain. Pretty beautiful actually.

Thanks Bookouture.

This was a nice read and had a feel good factor about it.

Gosh, I hated to see this end—such a sweet story! I have just recently discovered Kerry Wilkinson as he has within the past year signed on with one of my favorite publishing houses Bookouture. He appears to be quite versatile, writing crime fiction, fantasy, dystopian/science fiction, and now real life stuff. Most of his novels are crime fiction, with two series ongoing. He is really prolific for a younger author; for example, his Jessica Daniel series has eleven installments already. He also has five books coming out in the next year, including four standalones. Ten Birthdays is a nice change of pace for Mr. Wilkinson, something very different from all of his other books. I am a big crime fiction/thriller fan and loved the first book in the Jessica Daniel series. I am also fascinated with authors who can successfully write in different genres so thought I would give this one a go.

The protagonist of Ten Birthdays is Poppy Kinsey, age 16 at the start of the story. This is a shorter novel and consists of 10 chapters, each one focusing on Poppy’s birthday between ages 16 and 25. Poppy’s mum died on her daughter’s 15th birthday. She left Poppy 10 letters, one to be read on each of her next 10 birthdays. What we get are 10 slices of Poppy’s life, each accompanied by a thoughtful note from her deceased mum who continues to guide her daughter with sage advice regarding this difficult thing called life.

It was so fun to watch Poppy grow and mature in her thoughts, her relationships, and her confidence. And to follow her journey with those most important to her—her two best friends, Mark and Freya, and her father. I must say, Mr. Wilkinson does an excellent job portraying thoughts, gestures, and talk of older teens and young women. He nails their emotions beautifully. The author states in a letter to the reader at the end of the book that many of Poppy’s thoughts and experiences are his own, which made the book all that more endearing to me.

One small criticism I have is that I wish the book had been a little longer in order to bring out Poppy’s character just a bit more. I would have liked a little more depth to her thoughts regarding the impact of her mum’s letters, the reasons why she did not embrace her artistic talent early on, and her complex feelings about Mark. But again, we are dealing with one day a year in 10 years of Poppy’s life, and I respect that this format does not lend to maximal character development.

Overall, this little tale was a joy to read. I am smiling from ear to ear with the knowledge that I have a lot of Kerry Wilkinson ahead of me. I plan to read all his thrillers, but would definitely love to see more in the vein of Ten Birthdays! Highly recommended.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for an electronic copy of this book. The opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

As I started this book I was a bit worried it was going to be hard to get into. However it soon proved nice and easy to read, and quite hard to put down, I found myself very eager to find out what Poppy was doing each year on her Birthday. Lovely idea being left those letters from her Mother. Probably one of the fastest books I've completed for some time.

Poppy's birthday is front and center in this book because not only is it her special day, but it is also, tragically, the day her mother died. Poppy's sixteenth birthday marks the one year anniversary of her mom's death. Her mom has left behind 10 letters to be read on each birthday giving Poppy the advice and insight that her mother knew she couldn't do while she was living. The story follows the lives of Poppy and her two best friends as they grow from being inseparable adolescents to adults who have inevitably followed their own paths in life. The book only takes place on one day in each year, Poppy's birthday. And life moves on quickly in it's pages.

I enjoyed this book but sometimes it felt like pure torture because of all of the unspoken words between Mark and Poppy. Truly, it drove me crazy. Each birthday, was a little bit more frustrating for me. Then again, life is like that sometimes. Sometimes we just can't align all of our stars. So, all in all, a good read.

I received this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to Bookouture, and to Kerry Wilkinson.

Bookouture and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Ten Birthdays. This is my honest opinion of the book.

16 year old Poppy Kinsey definitely did not want to celebrate her birthday, as it was the day that her mother died the year before. When her father throws Poppy a surprise party, her initial reaction is to run away. After he presents her with a special gift, one that is duplicated for the next nine years, will Poppy be able to gain some perspective on her loss and have hope for her future?

I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought, maybe because it reminded me too much of the mentality of those in their late teens and early twenties today. Poppy skates through much of her life, not making long term investments in her future until she is able to step back and see her life in its entirety. Although this does base her character in reality, the author does not go far enough to allow the reader to see Poppy fully. Ten Birthdays was a solid read, but not all that uplifting or motivational.

I enjoyed this book, very easy to read. We meet Poppy on her 16th birthday as she receives a letter from her Mum who passed away. Poppy has a letter for the next ten birthdays to read if she wants to. The book skips ahead a year at a time which is a nice way to read a book making it something different.

What a wonderful and emotional story this is. It is just so beautiful. I simply loved it.

Ten Birthdays tells the story of Poppy Kinsey. We meet her on the day of her sixteenth birthday. A bitter sweet day as it is also the anniversary of her Mothers death. Whilst she should be having the time of her life, one of the people she loves most is missing. But she receives an unexpected gift in the form of a letter that her Mum wrote to her before she died.

Not only does Poppy receive this one, precious letter, but her Dad tells her that her Mum wrote ten letters, one for each of her next ten birthdays. And so we begin a journey where each year we meet Poppy, catch up with what life has bought her over the last 12 months, and read what words of love and wisdom her Mum has to impart.

This book totally touched my heart. It was moving, emotional, inspiring, and thought provoking. I feel incredibly blessed that whilst I have had loss in my life, those that I am closest to are still with me. I cant begin to imagine how it must feel to lose someone so pivotal in your life, especially at such a young age. This book really tapped into my emotions and made me think about life and love.

I loved the almost diary format where each chapter was another birthday. I don’t know how Kerry did it, as to cram a years worth of info into one chapter, whilst making me as a reader feel like I was in the journey with Poppy seems impossible, yet this book achieves it. I don’t feel like there is such a gap in time, and it all just flows and slots together perfectly. Just like the writing does. Beautifully descriptive, and cleverly written this book was just totally engrossing.

I hadn’t read anything by Kerry before, and I understand that previous work is more thriller writing, so hats over even more to them for being a multi talented author! I must admit that it also came as a shock to find out that Kerry is a male writer! Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that men are not in touch with emotion etc, but I must admit that it caught me by surprise and certainly made me realise that I need to cop on to myself a bit more!

I loved this book and it will stay with me for a long time to come.

Heartbreaking and beautiful. A little slow on occasion but nicely written, weaving the elements of Poppy's history into the story. Brought tears to my eyes. PS Shocked that the author is male, was convinced that this was a female voice.

Great coming of age book! What it's like to grow up and some of the things that you face and feel! Really enjoyed this one! I think this would be a great book for anyone really! Just a down right sweet book!

Decent book but not really my style - the writing style threw me off and the jumps between chapters felt pretty forced.

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author

The book is based around the main character, poppy, it is her sixteenth birthday and a year ago to the day her mum died so her birthday will never be the same again. Her dad gives poppy a letter and it is from her mum and tells her there are nine more. Each chapter is Poppy's birthday but a year older till she reaches 25, here you briefly catch up with her life and what is in the letter from her mum.
The book isn't as emotional as I thought it was going to be but that isn't a negative in fact it made it much more enjoyable to read. I liked how you saw poppy grow up and how her relationship with Mark developed.
I would like to thank netgalley and bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this at random off all the to reads on my kindle without reading the blurb again (I like stories to be a surprise!) and I was so glad that this was the one I picked! I devoured it in just a few hours, stopping only to make cups of tea! It was such a lovely story and I loved how the chapters were the years of her life. I was always excited to get to the next letter, and see what had changed in the space of that year. The love story between Poppy and Mark was so sweet - I sort of knew that they'd get together in the end but it was nice that the ending was left open so we could decide for ourselves. I cried when Poppy's dad died and for quite a few of the letters too - it was a beautiful read with some great advice about life which helps see everything in a different way. It made me stop worrying about the little things that take over from day to day. Thank you for the chance to read and review this - blog post up soon!

What's not to like about this book, although it's not my usual read, I really enjoyed it. It starts as Poppy turns sixteen, she is given a letter by her dad which was writen by her mother who had died years earlier. He tells her that he has another nine letters to give to her on her future birthdays. The letters are an insight into her mothers life offering advice and although Poppy finds the letters deeply upsetting as she really misses her mum but she also finds them a comfort. The story continues with accounts of how Poppy grows up, her friendships, loves and the inevitably mistakes. A very thought provoking read

Wasn't the most riveting of books but I do like a crime thriller so that may be why

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Poppy's mother has passed away but has left a special gift for her - ten letters. These letters are to be read on her birthday each year. The letters are humorous, beautiful and full of advice.

There are some books which just make you feel all warm inside. This is one of those books. It made me feel at times, sometimes happy, sometimes I laughed out loud and mostly, it made my heart melt. It was so inspiring to see how Poppy matured as the years passed and how her friendships lasted, despite her and her best friends moving in totally different directions. I would have loved for it to be a bit longer, didn't want it to end.

I would highly recommend this book. It is perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern.

I really enjoyed this story. It is a lovely idea, receiving a letter from a parent each year on your birthday after they have gone. It could very well have ended up being depressing, but the way in which the author tells the story is so well done it warms your heart.

I know some had a problem with the fact that the story goes from one birthday to the next with no 'filler' chapters in between. I, however, thought that this worked really well as I didn't have to wade through anything else. I wanted to read exactly what the author gave me, the letters from each birthday and where Poppy finds herself. I don't feel I missed anything due to the way the book is written as the author took me straight to the nitty gritty.

There is one particular part which sticks out for me. Poppy meets a stranger, Neil, and strikes up a conversation with him. Hearing her talk about both of her friends he tells her "There's no shame in being the glue." He goes on to explain what he means - "So what's wrong with being the person in the middle? The one who has a normal, enjoyable life? Everyone else stumbles from disaster to disaster; shambles to shambles. You're the one who holds it all together." That explains Poppy's place in her friendships perfectly.

This is a lovely read albeit an emotional one at times. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

This was an enjoyable story. Although some may find it emotional in places, especially if you’ve lost a close member of your family, this book was quite a light and easy read.

I loved the idea behind this story, having each chapter as one of Poppy’s birthdays from the age of sixteen, and her receiving a letter from her dead mother on each of her birthdays, providing her with advice and revealing the past. While the idea was a good one, I felt each chapter moving on to the next year made the story feel too choppy and rushed. I wasn’t able to fully connect with the characters, as their lives moved on too quickly for me. Having said that, I did have tears in my eyes at the very end.

I quite liked Poppy, but I really wasn’t keen on Poppy’s best friend, Freya, and wished Poppy would toughen up and get rid of her.

Ten Birthdays put me in mind of Recipes for Melissa, by Teresa Driscoll, which I absolutely loved, but this didn’t quite grip me in the same way. Some readers may find Recipes for Melissa to be too emotional, so if you’re after a lighter, easier read then I definitely recommend Ten Birthdays.

I absolutely adored this! It is essentially a day in the life of Poppy, that day being her birthday, for each year from age 16 to 25... at first I confess I did find it a bit jarring to skip from 16 straight to 17, especially as 16 was quite a long section (relative to the rest) and it felt like an odd leap! But then once we hit 18 I was into the swing of it all. It's a lovely story and it's fun and interesting to see Poppy - and her friends Freya and Mark - as they grow and change and move apart and then back together - and to see the others who come and go in the meantime, and how some years barely nothing has changed and then some other years EVERYTHING has! So much love.