I was drawn in from the very beginning and could't put it down until I got to the end. Two women who are linked together although living miles apart. It was a beautifully constructed book and compelling. I loved how the story unfolded. I certainly wasn't disappointed.

This was a great read! I loved learning about the lives of Connie and Stella, and how their very different lives actually brought them together.
It was also fascinating to learn about the plight of domestic workers in the Middle East, as this was a topic I knew nothing about.
I felt a great deal of empathy towards Stella, her isolation due to her accident and having to be a carer to her mother who suffered from dementia was a tough read.
Overall this novel was suspenseful, intriguing and left me wanting more.

This book had me hooked in the first few pages! The story is split between two main characters and their very different lives. You knew early on that there was some kind of connection but you were only allowed sneaky peeks every so often; this is how the author makes you keep on reading to the very end!
I loved reading this book. I'm going to explore other books by Sonia Velton.

This book follows the story of two very different women who never met, and not only covers the way they became connected, it also explores other subjects around them too. We know Stella lives in England and has had the struggle of coping with her narcissist mother all of her life and we know Connie has emigrated to Dubai, but what we don’t know is what connects them and how they got to that point. I found the outcome quite moving and it’s something I knew little about. Dementia and the plight of immigrant workers in the UAE are also sensitively covered in this novel. This is a new author for me and it’s her second novel. I will certainly be hunting out her first now. Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for letting me read and review this book.

A truly thought-provoking book, in which two women Stella and Connie are connected to each other. Stella and Connie are total strangers brought together by unexpected events. The stories of both Stella and Connie have a parallel in their lives, while Stella having given up much in her life in caring for her mother and Connie sacrificed her career to support her husband and kids.

Sonia is a highly talented author who has written a gripping page-turner that kept me easily drawn into the lives of the characters. The main characters are well depicted and easily relatable.

Highly recommended if you enjoy a fast-paced story with a highly thrilling plot

I would like to thank NetGalley for this opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Really enjoyable read. Following the stories of 2 women. One in England, one in Dubai. For much of the book you have no idea what the link between the two is. All becomes clear at the very end.
I really wanted to know what would happen next and how these women were linked throughout the story. It is engaging and very well written. Recommended.

This is such an unusual story; dual narrative which switches between the two central characters and as the reader, you go in blind having no sense of how they are linked. They are very different people, thousands of miles apart; one is a recluse and one lives a life of privilege and wealth.

Sonia Velton’s writing is wonderful. She’s lyrical and it’s the quality of her style that makes reading this effortless and a great pleasure. She’s so good at nailing people; they seem real and it’s a puzzle that comes together piece by piece as the story unfolds. It’s understated, but so intense and I really can’t wait for more from this author. Simply brilliant storytelling.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

New author for me and I must say it’s not what I expected. It took me a while to get into it but when I did I enjoyed it with its twist and turns, didn’t want to put it down until it was finished.
Enjoyed it very much.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercia for the early read.

I am most definitely a fan of the well done dual narrative and Velton manages it effortlessly. This is the story of two women living thousands of miles apart, who never meet and yet share a connection. There are definite parallels to their lives and as narrative unfolds, it’s impossible not to become equally invested in both. And the build up is paid off exceptionally well. Excellent book.

I really enjoyed this, so well-written with great characterisation and what a plot! These two women's lives connect, but how? I had only read the blurb before starting this and that is definitely the best way I think, no spoliers at all, let it unfold. I loved the details of their lives, the relationships and the topics which I felt were sensitively handled. I learned a lot about modern day expat life in Dubai, and the trials of living with a difficult and controlling mother, who then goes on to develop dementia. Just brilliant, definitely recommend!

I’m so glad I didn’t read any reviews- or the acknowledgements at the back - before reading this enthralling book. I love a psychological thriller that keeps me guessing.

What exactly is the link between the two main characters, Stella and Connie? Stella addresses her story to Connie throughout the novel, confiding in her, and eventually confessing to her. We learn that a terrible tragedy links the women, but we aren’t told what it is.

Stella is a recluse, imprisoned in her own home. She has thought about Connie every day for a year and finally finds the courage to open a letter revealing Connie’s name so she can search for her on Facebook. Why does Stella know that she has found Connie when she sees that Connie’s posts ceased 51 weeks ago? And why does Stella feel so guilty when she looks at Connie’s photos? Stella tells us that she has taken something precious from Connie, but what?

The stories of Stella and Connie are told in alternate chapters. Both women’s stories are fascinating, with plenty of authentic detail that makes them seem real. Connie has suffered from a suffocating relationship with her narcissistic mother, eventually becoming her carer when her mother gets dementia. I feel sure that the author must have had experience of dementia. As a carer myself for a mother with dementia, the scenes were so familiar that they brought tears to my eyes. I could identify with Stella’s heartbreak when her mother keeps asking for her estranged husband; I could also recognise the ‘fatigue, frustration and fury’, and the ‘lack of sleep that ‘turned the world into a sludge I had to wade through’.

Equally, Sonia Velton’s description of Connie’s life in Dubai is so convincing. Connie finds the ex-pat life is a recreation of the 1950s, with women expected to be home-makers and men becoming chauvinist businessmen who have nothing to do with childcare. Her relationship with her selfish husband Mark deteriorates as he puts pressure on her to get a servant so they can socialise with the other ex-pats. Connie feels like a fish out of water as she concedes reluctantly to hand her children over to a servant who has left her own children behind and lives in a tiny room in their house. Connie struggles to participate in the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers and takes courageous steps to help these desperate women.

This is definitely a cut above your average suspense novel, as it deals with issues of self-esteem, dementia, gender roles, the exploitation of migrant labour, infidelity and social isolation. In the stories of both women, the author explores the conflict between caring for children or an elderly relative and acceding to men’s demands for attention.

Sonia Velton very cleverly plants clues to lead us astray. When Stella says that Connie’s husband Mark has kissed her lips, and that a photo of Connie with her trusting face and vulnerability makes her feel disgusted with herself, the reader feels certain that the two women are linked because Stella has had an affair with Mark. But the link between the women is so much more interesting than that, and it is very moving at the end when we find out how the two women are connected. I love the sense of solidarity between two unhappy women which gives the reader hope at the end.

I didn't really get on well with this book it took too long to find the connection between Stella and Connie. Stella's life was miserable living with her mother who was always horrible to her and even worse since she had dementia.

Connie's life was very different . Living the life of the well to do in a foreign country where her husband works. But Connie wasn't happy either.

Nothing uplifting about this book all pretty miserable . I think too many subjects were tackled in the one story . If I said what they were it would be too revealing .
Lots of great reviews of people loving this book,I guess it just wasn't for me.

Firstly, I must say a huge thank you to Quercia and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this books to review. #gifted

It’s no secret that I’m often guilty of judging a book by its cover. That is the first thing that drew me to this book. The cover is stunning! I then read the description, which sounded great. So I requested it, and was very pleased when that request was successful.

This book had me gripped from the beginning. Who are these two women? How could they possibly be linked? To be honest, I guessed their early on in the book, but I still wanted to continue reading and find out their stories.

Some important issues were covered throughout the book and I found in particularly interesting to read about traditions and customs in Dubai. I especial liked learning the odd word of Tagalog.

I love the characters. I was fascinated by Stella’s relationship with her delivery driver and also by Connie’s relationship with her nanny.

I really enjoyed this book. I won’t say more about the story, as I don’t want to give any spoilers. This book is definitely worth a read.

I really enjoyed this well written, twisting, slightly dark and rather unexpected story.. the way the story unfolds through the two main characters kept the intrigue high and I was surprised the by turn in the tale. A really gripping read.

Really enjoyed this, at the beginning you thought the story was going on another way and was about something totally different. I thought to begin with it was a typical story about adultery. However about a third of the way in, it became obvious what it was really about so we didn’t really take me by surprise. However it was a really interesting story, unusual, and kept me interested back to the end.

Interesting storyline of two women, who don't appear to be connected, which follows their stories until the final couple of chapters where it is revealed how they are linked. Found the writing style very easy to race through and wanted to carry on reading longer than I had available to find out what happened next. Have purchased her previous book based on how I enjoyed this one.

Two women, one in UK and one in Dubai, living very different lives. What could possibly connect them, why do their paths cross. Slowly the back stories of Stella and Connie are revealed. A good insight into what life could be like when a relative has dementia and how the expat life isn’t all a bed of roses.
An interesting and thought provoking read.

The Image of Her by Sonia Velton
I give this book 4.5 stars

Stella lives with her mother, a smothering narcissist. When she succumbs to dementia, the pressures on Stella's world intensify, culminating in tragedy.
Connie is an expat living in Dubai with her partner, Mark, and their two children. On the face of it she wants for nothing and yet ... something about life in this glittering city does not sit well with her.
Two women set on a collision course. When they finally link up, it will not be in a way that you, or I, or anyone would ever have expected.

This is going to be one of my highly recommended reads for 2021! I went into this book thinking l was going to enjoy my next thriller but this unexpected page turner made me feel so many emotions l wasn’t prepared for..A poignant and thought provoking storyline with 2 totally compelling characters, made this book easy to read and difficult to forget.
With thanks to Netgalley,Sonia Velton and Quercus Books for my chance to read and review this book.

Unlike other reviewers, I found The Image of You by Sonia Velton a hard book to get into. Partly, I think, because it was hard to invest in Stella. The premise of the book was an interesting one but Sonia does use a slow burn for this one, misleading us along the way down a couple of blind alleys. The back stories of the two main characters are indeed tragic in different ways. Stella is clearly isolated due to her mother’s emotional cruelty and toxic control. I do agree, as highlighted by other readers, that this element of the storyline gives a very good insight into the very real issues faced by many carers, especially when caring for a family member suffering from dementia. In Stella’s case this is heightened by her deep need to be loved and appreciated by her mother.
Connie’s life in Dubai, in the other hand, looks charmed. Stella sees Connie’s life through the lens of social media and this is another strength of the book. The perception of the perfect life through Facebook or Instagram posts of delicious brunches, days on the beach with friends, beautiful children and glamorous evenings out doesn’t allow for any glimpses into the myriad lonely times, the relationship tensions, the betrayals of friends and the dark underbelly of the repressive and exploitative side of Dubai society. To be fair, Sonia unwraps this quite well through Connie’s involvement with her housemaid’s friend. Overall there is a lack of joie de vivre about the storyline which definitely scratches below the surface of real life struggles. In an age of online living and shopping it was a nice touch to see the delivery driver as the only link to the outside world and a nice touch to use this to reengage Stella.
A clever book then, dealing with a number of current challenges as we live in this digital and often socially distanced age. Food for thought and a challenge to remain engaged and alert to those who need us to look below the surface and be ready to offer human support and make a difference. Three and a half stars rounded to four

Stella lives with her mother, a smothering narcissist. When she succumbs to dementia, the pressures on Stella's world intensify, culminating in tragedy. As Stella recovers from a near fatal accident, she feels compelled to share her trauma but she finds talking difficult. In her head she confides in Connie because there's no human being in the world that she feels closer to.

Connie is an expat living in Dubai with her partner, Mark, and their two children. On the face of it she wants for nothing and yet .something about life in this glittering city does not sit well with her. Used to working full time in a career she loves back in England, she struggles to find meaning in the expat life of play-dates and pedicures.

This is a great story of 2 women although thousand of miles apart share a bond. A gripping original story kept me hooked from the beginning,