Cover Image: On My Life

On My Life

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Another great Angela Clarke book, didn't guess the ending at all, highly recommend
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I was gripped from start to finish by this compelling thriller. Such a good storyline which kept me totally absorbed - I found it so difficult to put down. Excellent characterisations and descriptions. I could imagine how scary it must be to be in these circumstances in prison. The descriptions of prison life were shocking and the treatment of pregnant women is troubling.
I thought I had it figured out who did it but what a shock - the twist at the end was brilliant and I didn't see it coming.

Fantastic - I can't recommend this highly enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this story from start to finish!

All the characters were excellent, there was such a wide range of differing personalities too and the interaction was perfect, I had my mouth open in parts nervous in anticipation about what would happen and it was a story that really got under my skin.

The whole book was superbly researched and believable, the whole prison experience was brought life and I can only imagine how terrifying it must be for someone in Jenna’s position, it was hard enough for me being pregnant towards the end never mind all the other things that Jenna has to deal with on top!

Jenna was a brilliant character, she was very well developed, had a great personality and the author really made me feel for her. The book is very well written and I loved the flow of the story. There were bit of suspense and everything in the story was needed, it had the right amount of detail and is an excellent story and OMG that ending – just brilliant!!

It is definitely five stars from me for this one, I have read a few of this author’s books so far and this one was exceptional, certainly her best to date!! Very highly recommended and I know it will be in my top books at the end of the year for 2019.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book this book was a different read for me I really like the storyline it kept me hooked couldn't put it down. The writing just flowed and the description was brilliant could picture characters and setting clearly.

Was this review helpful?

I tried to like this one. I really tried. I couldn't get past the first chapter. The characters are flat, the writing style is forced, in my opinion. Definitely not a captivating thriller. Sadly, this is a 1 star read for me because I just couldn't finish it.

Was this review helpful?

Wow. This was a good book.
This book follows a woman who has been framed for the murder of her stepdaughter, she is imprisoned until trial. Surrounded by other women in prison she must keep her identity a secret because no one likes a child-killer, but it gets more difficult to keep to herself when she finds out she is pregnant.
Now I'm not quite sure how to rate this book and I have been sitting on my review for a while with the hope that my opinion would become more clear.
90% of this book was absolutely brilliant. I was truly gripped by the story, I wanted to know the true identity of the killer and her struggle to survive in prison with women that hated her guts was absolutely terrifying, made even more so by her pregnancy. It reached a brilliant crescendo at the end that had me on the edge of my seat but unfortunately I felt that at the end the main story line fell apart a little. Although I am satisfied with how it closed I couldn't help but feel that it just wasn't as strong as the book had been so far.
However, taking this into consideration, I still flew through this book, I could not put it down and I was so scared for our main character that I have to give it four stars. The author set the scene and the atmosphere so well and I really enjoyed the writing style. It was still an excellent book. I was immediately intrigued by the blurb and I am so happy I read it, especially as it turned out to be unlike anything I had read before.

Was this review helpful?

An intensely gripping story, as we discover just why Jenna is in prison, why she is adamant she is innocent, and the events leading up to that fateful night.

What really struck me about this story was how much research the author must have put in, to make account of what happens in jail so vivid, realistic and claustrophobic.

You feel as though you are incarcerated alongside Jenna, although the only difference is as the reader you are yet to be wholly convinced who is guilty, whether it is Jenna or as she suspect someone is framing her. The lack of evidence pointing to anyone other than Jenna is overwhelming.

I liked the pseudo friendships that were formed in the prison, you are never sure who you can trust, and the book definitely touches on issue that are relevant to real life prisons too.

I was kept guessing throughout until the reveal as to just what happened the nigh that Jenna's fiance disappears and his daughter was brutally murdered.

Previously I had enjoyed Angela Clarke's social media murders books, and was excited to see a new release from her, which was even better than her previous great books.

I was completely hooked on On My Life.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

I could not put this book down from the moment that I started reading. Jenna seems like she has it all and she managed to get away from the childhood that should have prevented her from having the life that she does. What would make her murder her step daughter and potentially her fiancé? Are the things she’s been accused of true? Will she survive prison? Brilliant twist at the end that I did not see coming! Highly recommend!

Was this review helpful?

What a brilliant book! Jenna is arrested for the murder of the daughter of her fiancé and her fiancé is missing. The bulk of the story is her trials and tribulations of prison life.

The story had me enthralled from the start and the excellent characterisation made me feel I was part of the story. It is a very clever book and written in two timelines which works very well.

I highly recommend this book and it keeps the reader intrigued from start to finish.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great book, but I feel like it was ridiculously predictable. I read a lot of books in this genre, I know, but I knew exactly what kind of a story this was going to be just from the first chapter.
Raise your hands if you're with me!?
I could probably name at least five books with similar twists that came out only last year, but that would mean serious spoilers, so...

On the other hand, Angela Clarke has created a marvelous work of popular fiction highlighting and bringing to attention a very underestimated problem - pregnant women in prisons.

I've been sort of following this issue since I found out that one of my favorite actresses - Leighton Meester - was actually born in the prison. She claims, NOT actually in the prison, but in a prison hospital or whatever...the point is there is someone so talented and wonderful from that kind of a past.

So, yes. Kudos for the courage to research and describe these issues in a crime thriller.

Other than that, it's more of domestic suspense than anything else. And like I said, super predictable. But very well written and deeply emotional.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Wow - what a read! Totally absorbing, really compelling and feels like you’re there with Jenna.

A thumping good read. Still recovering from the adrenaline rush!!

Just read it! It’s that good!! 5🌟

Was this review helpful?

Starting with a bang, On My Life swept me up immediately. Its sense of place is so arresting that I could hear the sounds of the prison all around me, I felt the weight of the bars as they closed around me and the fear that engulfed me felt so real that I struggled to catch my breath.

Jenna is a woman who had a fairytale life (the time shifts to before starkly juxtaposed against the horror of now) until she arrived home to find Emily murdered and her fiancé, Robert, missing. What follows is a fascinating and adrenaline filled exploration of how even the most perfect of lives can flip in an instant. It delves deeply into the justice system and shows that innocence is not always the best defence to have, as if Jenna didn’t do it then who did?

As Jenna frantically tries to piece together who could have committed this heinous crime, her safety within the prison becomes more and more perilous. What lengths will she have to go to to protect herself and her unborn baby?

Intelligently plotted, unsettling and oh so vividly brought to life. On My Life is a blistering portrayal of a woman who will stop at nothing to save herself.

Was this review helpful?

This is my first Angela Clarke book. I liked it and had me gripped. I was trying to guess what the outcome would be but I was totally wrong. I prefer when I can't guess what the outcome will be. I felt there was a lot of build up and then rushed at the last 10% but over all it was an enjoyable read.

Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you for the opportunity to have read this amazing book. I have read all Angela's books, and just love the way she writes, getting the reader involved, and keeping me captivate from the beginning until the very very end.
Through Jenna Angela gives the reader a small look into the prison system, the hate and the deceit every day.
Highly recommended, and I honestly mean it.

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book by Angela Clarke I’ve read and most likely won’t be the last. Full of twists and suspense with an insight to prison life for pregnant women. When Jenna is placed under arrest for the murder of her 14 year old stepdaughter Emily, she fights to clear her name from behind bars - a task near impossible. Her partner Robert, Emily’s father, is missing and also presumed dead. Jenna soon finds out she is pregnant and finds herself making both friends and enemies in prison through her desperate attempts to find the real killer. Cracking read.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is the first book I have read by this author and cannot understand why. I thought this was a well written edge of the seat read.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to both NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for my digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

i very much enjoyed this book, twists and turns galore and an intresting read!

Was this review helpful?

Full of suspense- expect the unexpected with this read. A true thriller.
Great writing style and a good read.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Was this review helpful?

This was a good read.. I didn’t expect much but I was pleasantly surprised how enjoyable it actually was. I thought the whole book was good right from the very first page. There was a great twist at the end which I didn’t see coming. A great insight into prison life especially being pregnant. The characters were interesting and enjoyable to read, I will be on the lookout for other books by this author in future.
Thank you netgalley

Was this review helpful?

in the beginning things draged a bit but woahhh what a pace in the second half of the story!
i was clueless until the end, that's what a good read is made of for me!
thank you #netgalley for this arc

Was this review helpful?