One Last Second is about every mother's worst nightmare. Imagine knowing that something is killing your child and nobody, not even her father, is willing to believe you. Madeline's six year old daughter, Tilly, gets sick every time she eats. Tilly's father and Madeline's ex-husband, Adam thinks Madeline is being overprotective of Tilly's fussy eating. Even their best friend, Laura, takes Adam's side in this matter. But then one day, Tilly faints and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors however insist that she is fine with Adam and Laura agreeing with their diagnosis. Then another night, Tilly ends up vomiting so much that she is severely dehydrated and is again taken to hospital. Everything starts going downhill from there. The more Madeline insists that something is wrong, the higher the risk that Tilly will be taken from her. But Madeline knows in her heart that something is terribly wrong. After a while, Adam and Laura start thinking that things will be better if Tilly stays with Adam instead.

This book was intense for me to read as a mother. I honestly don't know how I would survive it if I was in Madeline's place. At six years old, you want your child to be happy and without a care in the world, not in pain every single time he/she tries to eat.

Tilly was beautiful though. She was just as fiercely devoted to her mother as Madeline was to her. Their relationship was lovely to read about. She loved Adam as well but due to his insistence that she was making up her issues, their relationship was very strained throughout the book. I did not understand Laura though. From the time she was introduced, I found myself wondering how Madeline could not have known how she felt. It was so obvious.

The story happened in two perspectives. The present and some recollections of the past at the beginning of Madeline & Adam's romance. The plot moved at a good pace and the character development was well done. I closed the book feeling quite satisfied by what I had just read.

Suitable audience: Older teenagers and adults who enjoy women's fiction

Recurrent themes: Motherhood. Fear. Sickness. Unrequited love

Violence: None. A character was escorted out of a hospital by police officers which may have been disturbing for some readers
Sexual Content: There was one scene of sex which may make some readers uncomfortable
Profanity: Instances of obscene language
Religious Themes: None
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: Some of all three was done by different characters in some of the scenes in the past

I have thought long and hard before giving this book 3 stars. I think parts of this book are really well written and I can empathise totally with a mother’s fight to be believed when she knows that her child is ill. I liked knowing the history of Adam, Maddy and Laura’s relationship.
I think though that Ehlers Danlos Syndrome could have been talked about and explained more. It is not as rare as the story says it is. Hyper mobile EDS has many different forms and severities. There is a lot of online information and support. I have EDS and whilst I am glad that it is being talked about more I feel that there should have been more information about the condition itself.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I loved this book. It is about a mother’s struggle to fight for her daughter when no one else believes her, even her ex-husband. As a mother I can fully relate to the story. The writing portrays the story perfectly. I would highly recommend this book!

Maddie, Aiden & Laura have been friends since school days. Maddie was the extrovert, the one to be found at the centre of things. Laura was quieter & tended to hang back, which was why she didn't go to speak to Aiden all those years ago & became the bridesmaid instead of the bride. She is now a G.P. never having the confidence to become the surgeon her father hoped she would be. Maddie & Aiden married & had a daughter, Tilly, who is now six. Much to everyone's surprise Maddie had decided their marriage was over & now Aiden just sees Tilly at weekends. One evening when she returns home she is violently sick & passes out. Maddie calls an ambulance. This is not the first time she has taken her to hospital. Tilly has always struggled with food. Aiden (& Laura) think it is just picky eating but Maddie is convinced Tilly is really sick- but how can she get her voice heard?

This was a hard read at times. My heart went out to Tilly, but at times I found it difficult to accept Maddie's actions. Although she was desperate to do the best for her child I felt her reactions must have made it harder for poor Tilly. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this thought provoking book.

This is actually a difficult book to review. Not because I didn’t like it, quite the opposite. I loved it so much that it’s difficult to describe quite how wonderful this book is.

Straight away I was totally consumed by this book. I was totally absorbed into the world of the characters. I literally sat all evening reading this, because I couldn’t put it down.

It’s so well written. It’s told from both Madeleine and Laura’s points of view. They’ve been friends for most of their lives, and the lives of them all, including Adam, are very intertwined. There are chapters which delve into the past, which give us a real insight into their relationships.

I couldn’t tell if Madeleine was a very over protective mother, or if her instinct was right. Poor Tilly certainly seemed very ill, but when we get Laura’s perspective on things, it casts a little bit of doubt. Either way, I really felt for Madeleine, you could feel her urgency and fear.

I won’t say too much about the plot, for fear of spoiling it, but it’s totally compelling and complex.

This is a book that will totally consume you and that won’t let you go. It’s one that will stay with me for a long time. Heart-rending and beautiful.

One Last Second by Sam Vickery is a heartbreaking, emotional story of a mothers love. This is the first time I have read anything from this author and after reading this book, it won't be the last!
Madeline's daughter Tilly collapses and is rushed into hospital and although she recovers Madeline is convinced something serious is wrong, although professionals can find nothing.
It is told from the viewpoint of Madeline qnd her friend Laura, mainly set in the present day but we do get flashbacks of their teenage years throughout the story. This sets us up because we get to see how Madeline's relationship with her Ex-Adam began. Adam is Tilly's father and we learn an awful lot from the past about the present. The crux of the matter is, Who is actually ill in this scenario? The child or the mother?
I really felt for Madeline as I am a mother and I have been there, when you are sure there HAS to be something wrong but you are told there is nothing! I felt quite connected to her even though I also wondered if it was in her head then swang back to thinking it could be something with Tilly as I have an invisible illness and just know how hard it was for me to be diagnosed, never mind a child.
One Last Second is a thought provoking and powerful read about how far a mother would go to protect her child. Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the copy of the book and my blog spot on this emotional books Blog Tour today.

This is very much a tale of two different sides of a coin. On the one side is Madeline who swears there is something wrong with her daughter Tilly. On the opposite side is her ex husband who thinks she is just a fussy eater and that Madeline has pandered to her and their joint friend Laura who is also a doctor and has stopped being Tilly’s doctor as she felt it would affect their friendship. However she has remained friends with both Madeline and Adam even after the split choosing not to take a side.

The author has cleverly used all the narratives to show different perspectives so you do question which side is right. As a mum but also as someone who has seen first hand how doctors can be wrong and the fight you have on your hands when questioning them I was really hoping it would be Madeline. It’s common knowledge that physicians are told when you hear hoofbeats think horse not zebra. Well occasionally some of us are zebras. But then on the flip side there is also the mental health disorder of Munchausen by proxy where someone can force someone else into the role of patient.

I found all the characters plausible and the author has cleverly used a dual time line to show you how their relationships have evolved over time. This gives both the characters and story real depth.

Being both a family drama and mystery this ticked a lot of boxes for me and I look forward to reading more from this author.

OMG. The book made me cry and some. A mother’s love and her helplessness at knowing that something was wrong with her child when no one, not even the treating doctors, believed her. Author Sam Vickery devastated my heart with the emotions she managed to invoke. Every molecule of a mother’s desperation struck a chord in me.

Madeleine’s six year old daughter Tilly was always a fussy eater. And one day she collapsed. Madeleine insisted that Tilly was dreadfully ill and had to battle her best friend Laura and ex-husband to make her voice heard.

My first book by this author, I was pulled in from the first page with the dichord between the husband and wife and Tilly becoming unconscious. Then came Madeleine’s long battle with the doctors. The author raised the pitch of the narration when Tilly was sent back home and she became serious.

Madeleine was excellent, etched with the true heart of a mother, fierce in her protective nature like a lioness, wanting the best care for her daughter. I cheered her on in every battle that she had to fight. Accusations ran wild, but she held fast with her belief that her daughter needed help. Anxiety clawed my heart too seeing her circumstances.

Scenes from the past and present showed me how the characters grew together then apart. Each chapter was an emotional read. This was one book which had to be read to experience its true emotions.

A powerful story about the purity and strength of a mother’s love.

Madeline knew something was not quite right with Tilly when she was a young baby, taking her to the doctors frequently but always the tests came back that there was nothing wrong. This continued as she got older. Now split from her husband Adam a year ago things seem to have ramped up, sickness, fainting, bruising easily and wetting the bed, everyone points it to Madeline being soft on Tilly, or that it is psychological. But a mother almost always knows when something is not right with their child.
This is a heartbreaking and sometimes frustrating story of Madeline’s turbulent journey trying to do the best for her six year old daughter when all odds and people seem against her trying to get a diagnosis and get Tilly well again.
I wanted to shout to Adam, Laura and even the doctors, telling them to listen to the concerns, stop brushing Madeline’s concerns off so easily.
I was hooked from the beginning, it was emotional in so many ways, having children and reading about poorly children always strikes a chord with me.
Sam Vickery penned a fantastic and true to life read and I will definitely be looking out for more from her in the future.

I am a first time reader of this author. I read the blurb and decided to see if the story was as good as the prepublication advertising and goodness me, it was so much better. I was totally absorbed by the story within seconds of picking it up that I finished it really quickly. I literally resented the thought of leaving the story behind and getting on with everyday living.
Sam Vickery is a real wordsmith, a beautiful and talented storyteller and a mistress of the storyboard. This is a novel that you simply must buy if, like me, you love this genre, are a parent or you love children and medical mysteries. The writing is so authentic and I found out why when I read the Authors Letter at the very end. Sam has been in this situation with her own family, and whilst going through the drama of advocating for her sick daughter, she pondered over the notion of a mother not being believed, an ex-husband disagreeing with a mother’s intuition and overall strategy for managing their daughter’s mystery illness, and fighting to handle it his way. Sam even thought about what it would be like if she became alienated from the medical practitioners to such an extent that she actually had nowhere left to go for help. Some of these thoughts became engrained in her creativity and love of writing and eventually those original ponderings became the embryo of this published novel.
In the story Adam and Madeline’s six-year-old daughter Tilly has always been a fussy eater, even from birth, but when she becomes ill and cannot tolerate food, so begins Madeline’s desperate search for a diagnosis and treatment that will cure her. However, after all the hospitalisations and tests come back negative, the family become estranged in their beliefs, with Madeline left to fight to save fragile Tilly’s life as she slips deeply into her illness and the pain becomes intolerable. This is the story of what happens next. Can Madeline save her daughter from even more deterioration in her health issues? Will they ever get a diagnosis?
So begins a corker of a novel. It is a beguiling, engrossing, bag full to the brim of emotion, angst, tension and a real runaway train of a journey for her family as Tilly not only slips into a more dangerous condition than her mother could have dreamt in her wildest of nightmares. It is told with compassion, empathy and insight, all due to the author’s meticulous research which makes the story both authentic and tear-jerking. I loved the characters both those that were invested in helping Tilly get better but even the haughty ‘relief’ doctor, they were so true to life. My favourite character of course was Madeline a doting Tiger Mum, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. I loved every minute of my reading experience, thoroughly lapping up twists and turns with gusto.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Bookouture through my membership of NetGalley. These are my own honest opinions without any outside influences. I am definitely a new fan of Sam Vickery. I was so pleased I choose this novel and was granted my wish to write a review. Another reason for me feeling so euphoric is that Sam has a bulging back catalogue of novels that I can investigate and you can be sure I’ll be watching out for her next book. It a very well deserved all round 5* review from me and I predict that this novel will be well received and a huge hit.

Wow what a read! I literally finished it in 24 hours, I had to know what was really going on.

Madeleine knows there is something really wrong with her daughter but both her husband and her best friend believe she is in some way the cause of it. The story is told mainly from Madeleine's perspective with some flash backs, and some chapters from Laura, long time friend of both Madeleine and Adam.

The story is truly heart wrenching and I could relate to a lot of the hospital scenes and having to fight for what you know is wrong and not being believed.

I thought I knew where the story was going but thankfully I was wrong! This is a beautiful story by Sam Vickery, about a mother's love and instinct above all else.

This book was incredible. It kept my attention the entire time and I was just hoping so badly that Madeline would win in the end. The characters are nicely drawn out in the story, and I found myself compelled to like them, even Adam, who at times could be kind of a jerk to his ex-wife. Tilly was a joyful child that I found myself loving. Overall a wonderful and compassionate story about a young girl, and her mother who is accused of making up her ailments. Haven't we all as parents been made to feel a little crazy or not good enough? Gosh, Madeline was resilient! Thank you to author Sam Vickery, publisher Bookouture, and netgalley.com for an ARC of this book in trade for my honest review. I've never read anything by Sam Vickery before this, but I am going to start looking for more books by this author!

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘One Last Second’ by Sam Vickery in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Six-year-old Tilly is unable to eat ordinary food without vomiting it all back, she suffers from pain in her stomach and joints and has recently started to faint. Her parents, Madeline and Adam, are divorced and live apart. Adam blames Madeline saying she’s made Tilly into a fussy eater and that she should eat what she’s given, whereas Madeline believes her daughter has an illness not yet diagnosed despite numerous visits to hospital. Their best friend Laura is a doctor and doesn’t want to take sides but finds it difficult not to get involved.

‘One Last Second’ is the moving account of a little girl who’s showing signs of illness, causing her parents to contradict each other and become embroiled in acrimony. The story is told from the perspectives of Madeline, Adam and Laura, and touches on what happened in the past that may have a bearing on Tilly’s illness before coming back to the present time. It’s a well-written and interesting story with a poignant plot and true-to-life characters, and handles the subject of childhood sickness with sensitivity. As the story evolves it makes me change my allegiances regularly between Adam, Madeline and also Laura, unable to decide on the truth of what’s happening to little Tilly. It’s an enjoyable story that I can recommend.

First, I want to thank Sam Vickery, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

WOW!!! Sam Vickery you sure know how to pull on my heart strings in your latest book One Last Second! However, I fell in love with this book way before the last second-you had me from the beginning. This is a must read book that will touch your heart and want to hold your little ones a little tighter.

Not only did the story melt my heart but the cover graphics did too. Kudos to the graphic designer who so perfectly placed a sweet innocent and beautiful little girl on the cover that represented Tilly.

I am not a parent but a very proud Auntie and I can’t imagine what it would be like for anyone to witness their little one going through all that Tilly had. Sam did an amazing job bringing out the mental, emotional, and physical aspects in the parents and Tilly herself with the medical issues she was having.

I am the type of person where I have a huge heart of gold. Many times I wanted to reach into the book and give Tilly a hug. Other times I wanted to scream and yell at the medical professionals who wouldn’t open up their eyes to what was really going on.

One Last Second brings awareness to ‘Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It is a syndrome I have never heard of before and was very interested in learning more about. Sam does an incredible job educating his readers about what it is, how it is treated and managed. I am hoping with this part of the storyline it will help others that might be dealing with similar situations or know someone who has this.

They always say write what you know and are passionate about. One Last Second was very personal to the author Sam Vickery. Sam has a daughter with a chronic medical condition so she knows all about what it is like to deal with medical professionals and the day to day dealings of having a sick child. Based on her daughter and her experiences she wanted to write a hospital based story. Which is where the inspiration for this book came from.

Madeline knows there is something seriously wrong with her little girl but getting anyone to listen is proving difficult, it has me in tears some out of anger,frustration and love. Would recommend and if your like me and get lost in a good book maybe some tissues

This is the story of a mother, divorced from her husband, who knows their is something seriously wrong with their child. Due to Maddie's history, no one actually believed anything was wrong with Tilly, but, of course, mothers always know best. A very good story which im sure will resonate with many people

What a great book. It’s a very emotional read with a situation that could happen in today’s society. It’s every parents worst nightmare knowing that something is wrong with your child but no one believes you, in fact they think you are abusing her and take her off you. This book follows the mother’s fight to be listened to and get a diagnosis for your precious child. A heartbreaking read but so very well written. I highly recommend this book

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'One Last Second' by Sam Vickery

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

This is the first book that I have read by this author. It most definitely will not be my last.

I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing cover and blurb. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 45 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are a nice length so that you can read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

The story is presented from the perspectives of Madeline and her best friend Laura. It has two time lapses of their school years and of the present. It is set in the UK which is always a bonus for me as I live in the UK.

I really loved the fact that the book went from past to present as it helps you discover more of the characters backgrounds it also reveals bits of the puzzle until the whole picture is revealed.

I also loved that the story is told from the perspectives of both Madeline and Laura as it shows you how each of the characters are feeling and what they are doing so you can see more of what is going on and don't miss anything. It also helps in this case for you to see both sides of the picture.

This book is beautifully written and is such a compelling read. The writing was nice and smooth so flowed nicely, especially so considering the past and present links. It was also heart wrenching and kept me turning the pages wanting to know what was going on with Tilly. It shows the love and courage of a mother and how far she would go to protect her child whilst going through every parents worse nightmare.

It is quite hard to mention what I thought of the ending without giving too much away and spoiling it for potential future readers so I will just leave a congratulations to the author and hopefully she will know what I mean by that!! I will also say that the story line is quite unique.

The characters were all well defined with their own flaws, strengths, secrets and backgrounds and I loved reading about the growing relationships of Madeline, Adam and Laura from childhood to adulthood. I also liked the strong characters of the 'background' families.

Overall a very well written, roller-coaster ride of emotions that will give every parent the need to cuddle their children while reading whilst also being on the edge of their seat plus filled with nail biting suspense!! A perfect book for fans of Jodi Picoult, who happens to be one of my favourite author!

Genres covered include domestic fiction, literary fiction and psychological fiction.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of the above genres, Jodi Picoult, suspense and anyone looking for a good read.

Sam Vickery you have made my favourite author list!! Congratulations!

328 pages

Free on Kindle Unlimited or 99p to purchase. I think this is an absolute bargain!!

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What would I do if my daughter was sick and no one believed me😩? I mean, honestly I would not stop until I got answers!!!!! That’s what moms do! We have this sixth sense and we must follow it. Of course it doesn’t help that no one believes you - ESPECIALLY your ex and best friend! This book was great and I read it in 1 day. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

This is heartbreaking and beautiful all rolled into one.
I haven’t been able to put this gorgeous book down. This book has captivated me and i have loved it.


Full review to follow on publication day!