Although I understand the message the author is trying to get across in this story, I found it a little dull and predictable.
The characters are fairly standard; a charming, good-looking male who all the ladies adore, a care-free, confident women who has no inhibitions and her meek, self-doubting best friend.
This story wasn't for me, but I am glad that Sam Vickery is promoting illness (and the taboo surrounding it) by including it in a fictional story.

One Last Second by Sam Vickery is an emotional read that will certainly pull at the heartstrings. This is a powerful story of a mother's love, and the lengths that she is willing to go for her child.

Madeline's six year old daughter Tilly is not well. Small for her age, Tilly refuses to eat, complains of joint pain, and has frequent bouts of nausea and vomiting on the rare occasions when she is persuaded to eat or drink. Having recently separated from her husband, Adam, Madeline is most often alone in dealing with Tilly's symptoms. Adam, for his part, believes that Tilly is simply fussy, and that all of this carry on is the result of Madeline's tendency to indulge the whims of their young daughter. Mysteriously, Tilly's symptoms worsen when she is in her mother's care, and suspicions are cast on to Madeline, who claims that she only wants relief for her young daughter. How does a mother who would do anything to help her child suddenly become cast as the villain of the piece?

This is a compelling read, both heart wrenching and frustrating in almost equal measure. I raced through the pages, almost as desperately as her parents, to determine what was really at the root of Tilly's illness. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Genre Domestic Fiction 
Rating: 5/5
What if your child was dying and no one believed you?
I never expected to be doubted, but if I can't make them believe me, what then? I sit here beside her stroking her tiny hands as she sleeps and she looks so perfect. It never crossed my mind that something would be wrong with my sweet girl and I’d be powerless to do anything to help her.
When Madeline's six-year-old daughter Tillycollapses one Sunday night, Madeline’s world is turned upside down. Racing to the hospital, she imagines the worst scenarios in her mind, but when they arrive the doctors say that Tilly is fine.
Madeline’s ex-husband Adam and her best friend Laura think Madeline is being overprotective, that Tilly fainted because of her fussy eating. But Madeline is sure something is seriously wrong with Tilly. She can feel it. And she believes that a mother’s instinct is never wrong.
As Madeline embarks on a desperate journey to have Tilly re-diagnosed, taking her in and out of hospital, Adam and Laura begin to wonder if Tilly would be safer in Adam’s care. Madeline just wants to keep her daughter safe, but the harder she pushes the closer she comes to losing her…
One Last Second is an emotional reminder of just how far a mother will go to protect her child. Readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Kate Hewitt will never be able to forget this heartbreaking and beautiful story.
My verdict: As someone who has a chronic illness and have had doctors say my pain isn’t real I couldn’t help but empathise with Maddie because I know how hard it is to get a diagnosis when you don’t when you don’t necessarily fit all the boxes for one thing. They make you feel like your crazy. I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read this prior to its release and the author Sam who is doing a tremendous effort to raise the awareness of invisible illness with this beautiful novel - It made me laugh, cry and seethe with anger particularly with the prejudices Maddie faced because of her own mental health issues. I loved seeing the dynamic between the three adults and their close bond and ultimately how they want the best for Tilly. Not only does this book deal with Chronic illnesses and the prejudice that people diagnosed with constantly face it deals with SIDS, eating disorders, miscarriages and briefly Munchausen byproxy. I read this book in four hours drinking in each seen wanting Tilly to be okay. The main thing I hope people take from this book is to listen to your instincts when people brush aside your concerns. I have to say, Sam Vickery is hot on the heels of Jodi Picoult and Diane chamberlain in how she portrays all sides of the issue to get the full picture but most importantly with emotion and sensitivity at the heart of the issues. Sometimes mother does know best

This was a book, I found very easy to relate to, being a parent myself. I felt for Maddie and I could feel the way the book was leading but wasn't entirely sure if that was the right path or not.
I found Laura mildy irritating and even started to question her involvement in Tillys illness. As the book moved on I found a better understanding of Laura and actually felt sorry for her too.
I was indifferent about Adam but I could see how much he loved Tilly and Maddie.
This book flowed really well and I loved the flash backs, which were perfectly positioned in the book.
This was another exceptional book by Sam Vickery and I eagerly await her next one.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into crime/thriller books and even psychological thrillers too so I am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

ARC received from Netgalley.

What an amazing unputdownable story! I started reading this book just before bed last night and the next thing I knew it was the early hours and I’d finished it. I couldn’t stop reading, I just had to know how it would end.

Madeline’s little girl Tilly has always been sick and at a young age this was put down to reflux and brushed under the rug. But as a mother myself when you know there’s something more wrong with your child, you just know. I identified with Madeline so much. Tilly seems to be getting worse and add that to an ex husband who thinks little Tilly is just being fussy, and a third wheel best friend who I wasn’t quite sure where her story fit into all this at first, and you have quite the story.

The book goes back to the past when the three friends were kids themselves and still at school. Slowly painting a picture of the trios dynamic, and then back to the present and to how they are now.

I actually had so many theories as the story progressed I didn’t have a clue where the story was taking me. All the while Madeline was 100% positive something was wrong with her little girl and nobody, not one person who should have been backing her up actually did. My heart broke for Maddie and I was on the edge of my seat hoping that someone would finally see what she saw and take her seriously, and find out just what was wrong with Tilly.

Maddie never gave up and she showed just how strong a Mum can be when tested. This story is a powerful one and one that will stick with me forever!
Five stars!

What an amazing book by Sam Vickery, I absolutely loved it! I can't imagine what poor Madeline went through, this book had me so gripped as all of Sam's book do!

What does a mother do when she is convinced that her six year old daughter is terribly ill but no one believes her. No one....not her ex-husband, not the doctors, not her best friend.

Lots of struggles passed on to the reader. Is Tilly really sick? Is her mother convincing her she is sick? Does Tilly have psychiatric issues making her sick?

While this book would not be categorized as a mystery in the true sense, it certainly kept me guessing.

It was an emotional and at times a frustrating read. Very compelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the Arc of this book! And to Sam Vickery❤️

What an amazing rollercoaster of a book!😱

When Tilly, Maddie's and her ex husband's daughter collapses on a Sunday night she is rushed to the hospital to be told by the doctors that she is fine... Her mum instincts kick in as she know she isn't fine she feels it!! After all the doctors saying its nothing and everything is fine they finally figure out at the end what it could be!

A heart pulling story of a mother's love and courage for her daughter and how far she will actually go to protect her and make sure she is treated in the right way!! Even when she is accused of child abuse she don't give up!

I highly recommend you read this book! Such a page turner and I loved it so much thank you Sam Vickery and Bookouture and NetGalley will reviewed on Amazon once it's been released🥰❤️

What an emotional rollercoaster of a book, i cannot imagine going through anything like Maddie went through in this book. This story highlights the power of a mothers love and passion to fight for her child no matter what. Would highly recommend this book to everyone.

When Madeline's six-year-old daughter Tilly collapses one Sunday night, Madeline’s world is turned upside down. Racing to the hospital, she imagines the worst scenarios in her mind, but when they arrive the doctors say that Tilly is fine.

Madeline’s ex-husband Adam and her best friend Laura think Madeline is being overprotective, that Tilly fainted because of her fussy eating. But Madeline is sure something is seriously wrong with Tilly. She can feel it. And she believes that a mother’s instinct is never wrong.

This book is so heart rendering!!
Its a beautifully written book about a mother's love for her child and the extent a mother will go to make sure her child is treated in the best way. Its amazing to see that even when no one believes Madeline and when she is accused of child abuse, she doesn't give up.

It draws you in write from the first page and I couldn't stop myself from turning the pages to reach the end. It reinforces the fact that "A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world".

Highly Recommended!!

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!!

A wonderful powerful novel about parenthood and the love of your child. When 6 year old Tilly falls repeatedly ill and is admitted to hospital alarm bells are raised. Could she be a victim of maternal abuse. Her mother, Madeline is appalled at the suggestion, utterly devoted to Tilly since her divorce from pilot husband Adam Tilly is her world. In the hunt to find a physical diagnosis to what is causing Tillys symptoms before the authorities take her child. The book is fast paced, packed full of emotion and will keep you turning the pages into the night. Utterly unputdownable.

Omg i struggled with this book not because it was rubbish but because of what the storyline was. I have watched a film and read another book similar and it is just heartbreaking to see what a parient will put their child through

I think Sam Vickery did a good job attempting to write about a topic that many people do not fully understand. We live in a world where people are either too eager to accuse someone of abuse, or completely ignore abuse altogether. I think she did great addressing what it would be like to be the parents under suspicion of a child who was frequently ill.. More specifically, what it would be like to be under suspicion of abuse when the parents are divorced and do not agree on parenting methods. I liked how she used the different points of view to explain everything. It helped to further understand how each character felt, and why they acted and reacted in the ways they did. The part that stood out the most to me was how quickly the doctors assumed it was psychological since they were not able to find a physical diagnosis. I think this seems to happen way too frequently in society, and people with physical health issues are often written off as needing psychological help simply because doctors cannot find a diagnosis. While I certainly feel that psychological health is important, justifying the need for it based on the lack of a physical diagnosis is a dangerous approach to medicine that is happening too much.

I think other readers will enjoy this book because the ideas presented in this book go beyond did the mother make her child sick or not, and I liked how the storyline went above and beyond that. Did the mother suffer from Munchausen and cause her child to be ill? Did she suffer from Munchausen by Proxy and allow her daughter to become ill by not protecting her as much as she should’ve? Is it possible that the child really was ill from a physical diagnosis that doctors had overlooked her entire life? Was she ill because her mother had suffered from mental health issues, therefore making her daughter more likely to struggle? Was she reacting to her parents somewhat recent divorce since the symptoms had worsened during that time? Were her reactions based on the conflicting parenting methods since her mother seemed to be most likely to give in while her father had a more firm approach? Is there really any truth to mothers intuition, and how much should you trust it? Is it possible that a childhood tragedy impact how you raise your own child? How much can you trust your best friend? Are there any limits to what a man or woman would do if they are desperately trying to avoid divorce? These are only a few of the complex questions that will come to mind while reading this book, so it is very realistically thought provoking.

Plot: Laura and Madeline were best friends for many years. They met in school and became so close that they were like sisters. On a dare, Madeline asks Adam out when they were teenagers. From then on, they were like the three musketeers. Madeline and Laura both had challenging problems to overcome during their teenage years, and Adam had faced harsh realities when he was younger, so none of them were strangers when it came to obstacles in life. Although Laura secretly had a crush on Adam, she kept that that hidden once Adam and Madeline started dating and eventually married. Under the surface though, Laura had always been jealous of Madeline, Madeline and Adam seemed like the golden couple who had it all. Adam had a well respected job as a pilot, and Laura just barely fell short of her dreams of being a surgeon by becoming a general practitioner instead. Madeline did odd jobs from time to time, but found that she needed to do more in order to support herself and her daughter, Tilly (6 years old) once she made the decision that she wanted a divorce. An anxious person by nature, Madeline was overly concerned every time their daughter, Tilly, even mentioned anything questionable. Based on Madeline’s version of the truth, Tilly could only eat a limited variety of foods otherwise she would be critically ill and in horrific pain. She maintained that Tilly had been like that since birth. Adam felt that Madeline was only contributing to the problem because she gave in to everything Tilly wanted. On top of that, she overreacted when Tilly was sick by taking her to the emergency room, only for doctors to tell her that she was fine. Prior to the extreme seriousness of Tilly’s problems coming up, Laura told Madeline that she couldn’t be Tilly’s GP anymore because it blurred the lines of professionalism since they were best friends,

Altogether I can appreciate Sam Vickery’s approach to writing about a fresh new topic from a different perspective than what I’ve seen in other books. I know she spent a lot of time writing the book, and it is obvious that she dedicated a lot of time to research too. She did a fantastic job with the ending too, so I loved the way it all came together! I couldn’t quite relate to the characters, and wish I had the feeling of knowing them more closely than what I got from the book, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you Sam Vickery, Bookouture, and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this book. My review is voluntary, and expresses my honest opinions.

A beautiful and inspiring story bringing this tale to life. The characters are insightful and believable, and you can’t but cheer them on along their way.

A stunningly heartfelt novel, written so beautifully. I read it in one go and felt a whole rollercoaster of emotions. A situation no one would want to find themselves in.

Wow! Such a brilliant read! A devastatingly frank, honest depiction of the power and intensity of a mothers love and belief and the lengths she will go to to protect her child! such an insight into the sometimes lengthy and protracted battle you have to fight for a loved child when all around you are doubting you, the medical profession and your nearest and dearest, the nightmare of a journey to get answers and a diagnosis! This book engages you from the very start I really didn’t want to put it down and read it in one glorious sitting! Would highly recommend!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

Wow! This book blew me away. What would you do if you knew your daughter was seriously ill but no one even your best friend and ex husband will believe you. No matter how many times you try to explain that there is something wrong no matter what the tests show and then they start to suspect you are a danger to your own child. As Madeline fights to get people to listen to her about her daughter Tilly it is a battle not only to hold onto her daughter but also to ensure someone listens to her before it’s too late. This book will make you think and break your heart in equal measure and is a breathtakingly beautifully written story of a mother’s love. I will be looking out for more from this author.