This is a novel idea for a story and really works well. The characters mostly work although a few are a little lacking in depth, but on the whole the story moves well, and from a totally different angle. The ending is unexpected and not what I would have wished! Would highly recommend - a crime novel on a different level, you can identify with the author. I'm not going to divulge any of the story as that would spoil it for new readers!

This novel is about a journalist who had a climbing accident. Alex had been in a coma for nearly two years. His family and friends visit and talk about their lives and Alex’s accident. Gradually through fragmented conversations we find out about Alex and what caused his accident.

Sorry I couldn’t get into this book at at. I found the pace too slow and it was drawn out too much. I had to give up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Emily Koch for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

This is unlike any thriller I’ve read before. Told entirely from the viewpoint of Alex who is in a coma. Alex has had an accident whilst rock climbing and has been in a coma for 18months. We learn about the build up to the fall and meet his family and friends. Was it an accident? Was it attempted murder? This writing was descriptive and vivid. A very interesting and thought provoking read. Highly recommended.

Girl In Snow

The cover of this book intrigued me and the blurb drew me in. Girl In Snow is a compelling murder mystery that also touches on being a psychological study of the characters as well. It is beautifully written debut novel that is worth a read! 3.5 stars from purplebookstand.

I was lucky to be provided with an advanced copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.

I thought this was a really fascinating perspective to write a novel from, and one that I’ve never read from before: the perspective of a person who is ‘locked-in’. Since finishing this book, I have read into this syndrome a little more, but before reading this I’d never even heard about it. I found it difficult, initially, to find this kind of coma believable. Surely the doctors would be able to figure out if someone was conscious? But once I managed to suspend my disbelief I found that I really enjoyed reading from this perspective. It allowed for an experience of reading that I’d never had before – the ability to listen in to other people’s conversations without them realising that you can hear them, but only when they are in the same room as Alex.

I really liked Alex, as a protagonist. I thought he was a very likeable character and also a very realistic one – he admitted to his faults, which made me as the reader like him more. The plot itself is a little slow, which is unavoidable really because the main character is confined to his bed and can’t so much as open his eyes – but there was a lot of attention to detail in what Alex could smell and hear and feel that made it very atmospheric. The way he was dealing with life – and sometimes not really dealing with life – was realistic and honest.

I thought the ending was satisfying. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone thinking of reading it – you should, it’s a great read! – but I’ll just say that if anything else had happened I would have been almost disappointed. I sped through this book in about two days and found it very difficult to put down.

A good read. 3/5

A unique concept but sadly didn't live up to expectations, too slow for me

What a book i can’t believe how it touched me it was fantastic i truly cannot believe i was moved to tears all i can say is get it and see

Tense and compelling reading. Make sure when you pick this book up you have very little else to do. This book is told from the point of view of Alex, he is in a coma and everyone believes he is no longer alive, when in fact he can hear everything.

It is questionable why Alex is in a coma, we learn he has had an accident, but this is in itself questionable. Alex starts to recall different things, and we gain information from his visitors. What exactly has happened, there are twists and turns that will keep your mind rolling and we learn he isn't out of danger. Alex isn't sure whether he wants to survive or die, and wonders what has happened to him, you can't help but feel frustrated for him.

This book is different, and keeps you guessing.

I found the premise for If I Die Before I Wake exciting and original and couldn't wait to read it. I devoured it in two sittings.
This follows Alex who's been in a coma for awhile now after a rock climbing accident and his family and girlfriend are debating turn off his life-support...Until the police re-open the investigation and perhaps Alex's 'accident' wasn't in fact an accident...
The entire novel is from Alex's POV and the reader is with Alex trapped in his body. I think Koch did a great job capturing the claustrophobia, frustration and pain of being able to hear, smell and sense everything around you but being paralysed and unable to communicate. This aspect of the novel felt authentic and well-researched so props to Koch. I also enjoyed the secondary characters and found their relationship with Alex really moving.
The only gripe I had was with the pacing. I found the suspense element was slow and it wasn't until the last third of the book that it picks up. But as the writing and protagonist was compelling it kept me turning the pages nonetheless.

This book was so different from any crime thrillers that I've ever read. Thought provoking, interesting, and with a unique plot I was hooked from the beginning. Definitely worth adding to your reading list

The way this story is told is so unique, that I was gripped from the get-go. Alex is in a coma after an accident, and the story is told through Alex's eyes. Through the many visitors to his hospital room, he is the fly on the wall, witnessing the goings-on around him but unable to participate, no matter how much he wants to.

Interspersed with the conversations that Alex witnesses from his dad, sister, girlfriend, and a number of friends and healthcare staff, Alex fills us in on little anecdotes from his life which gradually build the story. Was Alex's fall an accident? Or was it something more? As Koch guides us through the story, we are alternately suspicious of everyone that Alex comes into contact with, until we reach the very end and the answer is revealed.

Koch's style of writing is absolutely brilliant, and she managed to build the suspense steadily but gradually. To use an old cliche, this is a real 'page-turner'. The only reason I didn't aware 5/5 stars was because I felt that the ending fell a little flat, and came a little out of the blue. I know that twists often are out of the blue, but this felt that there hadn't been enough lead-up to this ending, so when it finally came, it seemed as though it had been written as an afterthought.

Provided with an ARC in exchange for a fair review

I'm really surprised at how highly rated this book is. I found it pretty boring, the protagonist is literally in a coma for the whole thing and it's all just flashbacks and snippets of overheard conversations. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters. It feels like an effort to even review and I think I'll have forgotten it entirely pretty soon.

There was perhaps something intriguing in the idea of the drama and mystery playing out around someone trapped in their own body but in execution, it relies too heavily on everyone around this person having stagey conversations. I also felt very irritated that throughout there is a level of suspicion laid towards many of the main characters but the actual situation involves someone we've never heard of until the protagonist suddenly remembers the incident in the last 10% of the book. It felt like all the suspicion and work the reader does in trying to understand the mystery is useless.

This book is simply incredible. I am literally struggling to remember a book that has evoked so many feelings inside of me. I felt the pull of it constantly yet almost tried to drip feed myself, not allowing myself to read too much or too quickly as then the journey would be over.

Koch transported me into an inner world, Alex's whole world. Alex's inner voice resonated my very core. I felt his confusion, his terror, his love. His fight became my fight. Sometimes I cried so much I couldn't even see the page.

Powerful and richly imaginative, this is a book to be savoured and to be raved about. Let Alex tell you his story, it's one you won't ever forget.

Thank you so much to the Publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This book deserves the highest of recommendations.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
It is told solely from the viewpoint of Alex, who has been in a coma for almost 2 years since a climbing accident. However, Alex could see, hear and feel things and his situation seemed to be that of locked in syndrome which is one of my worst fears! The book was written extremely well, we were really drawn into the character of Alex. The thriller element to the book comes about half way through, when we find out the accident might have actually been intentional, and a police investigation begins.
I did enjoy the book, I certainly couldn't put it down and the whodunnit aspect was excellent, but at times it read more like a horror to me. Because the situation Alex was in was so horrific, I found it very hard to read at times, but I realise that is purely due to my own personal opinion.

I was really drawn in to this story from the start. It makes you think and wonder what it would be like in his situation as well as those of his family and friends. The ending was not quite what I expected. Overall a good read.

This book is told from Alex's view point, he is in a coma and everyone gives him little hope of any improvement. He lies motionless in an hospital bed but can hear the goings on around him. Alex is torn between wanting to die and wanting to live. Unable to communicate he tries to work out what has happened to him and how he has ended up in a coma, and fears he may still in danger.
This is an excellent read and I will be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

I would like to thank Random House UK and Net Galley for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for chance to read and review this book.
An interesting read but I found I could cut a lot of the reading out by reading a couple of words per page without losing track of the story line.

Ms Koch had taken a potential boring subject matter (climber falls and ends in a coma) and made an absolutely fantastic story from this idea.

Alex is the main character and you cannot help but take a liking to him, and you want things to work out well for him.

The book actually features a lot of action and is written in such a way that it is unobtrusive, but fleshed out the people and story.

There are some neat twists and the ending was, to me, a surprise.

All in all, a very enjoyable read.