In a Nutshell: A dramatic story about a woman who wakes up from a coma and realises that some of her memories aren’t exactly accurate. A great option if you know what to expect from this genre. Trigger warning for domestic abuse, though the writing handles it sensitively.

Plot Preview:
As soon as thirty-year-old Shelley wakes up from a coma, she insists that the police arrest her husband David as he was the reason she ended up in hospital. The medical staff advise her to calm down while the necessary is being done, but somehow, Shelley gets the feeling that she’s not being told something. As Shelley lies in bed, her mind goes wandering through the memories of her childhood, and through that exploration, she realises that her current memory is not exactly accurate. But what’s the truth? Why isn’t anyone telling her anything definite about her situation?
The story comes to us in Shelley’s first-person perspective, in alternating timelines of Then and Now.

I had first read this author in last year’s popular title, “The Last List of Mabel Beaumont”. While the book was pretty good, I couldn’t find anything that elevated it to a memorable level. It did all the right things, but didn’t push the bar in any way. This book follows a slightly different route, with a younger lead character, some twisty turns, and an ending built on hope than perfection. Regardless, it is still predictable and the ending is still too good to be true – both of which bring down the overall impact.

The cover might fool you into thinking that this is a light read. But it is very heavy on domestic abuse and gaslighting. This kind of content is not part of just one scene but a steady occurrence in the story, partly because of how it shows the cycle of violence in families and the generational impact of living in such conditions. If domestic abuse is a triggering factor for you as a reader, better to stay away from the book. But I appreciated the way it was utilised by the narrative, showing not just the physical impact but also the long-term mental trauma of living with such a partner. The stats about domestic violence mentioned in the course of the story are sobering.

Shelley Woodhouse can be called an unreliable narrator, but not the way modern thrillers use this trope. Her memory is genuinely affected because of her coma, and as we hear the story in her first person, we see only what she sees. However, the writing offers ample clues to help us figure out that there are chunks of missing information in Shelley’s memory. This makes many reveals guessable.

I liked the use of the dual timelines in the plot. Though a bit convenient as a plot device, these two perspectives help us understand what in Shelley’s past might have led to her present. And the perspectives aren’t as straightforward as you’d imagine. Shelley’s past and present have enough thought-provoking scenes might make you wonder what you’d do in her place.

As common in the women’s fiction genre, the male characters had no depth. They are either good or bad, with no in-between. I wish this genre had believable men; it is not just women who are complex characters. However, the key women in the book are well-defined, be it the struggling eponymous lead who is trying to figure out what’s happening, or her best friend Dee who is her rock in every moment of trial, or even Shelley’s mother who is torn over her own tricky feelings. I liked the decision of making Shelley the landlady of a pub – an unusual career to read about in fiction.

The ending was as expected, and yet it offered some minor novelties. I liked how it combined despair and hope, and didn’t forcefully fit everything into a neat HEA. However, there’s one key reveal made towards the end, which I simply couldn’t accept; it was so farfetched!

Again, this is not a bad book at all, but it sticks to the formula pretty closely. Women’s fiction readers are anyway used to the stories being predictable, so this can’t be considered a negative trait of the book. However, this approach also means that the story isn’t going to stick around in my head for long.

Recommended to those who enjoy women’s fiction. This is a good-enough one-time read. Watch out for the trigger though. The ending might make it feel-good fiction, but the journey has some painful moments.

3.5 stars, rounding up because I know it will work better for the right reader.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Note: If you are a fan of this author and liked this book as well as ‘The Last List of Mabel Beaumont’, you can subscribe to her newsletter and get a free short story titled ‘A Chance Encounter’. This story blends the world between the two books, and is set after the events of Mabel Beaumont. It’s a sweet enough story, but not a must-read.

Oh I love this book! I cannot express how perfect it is. Such an awful topic but much needed. The story follows Shelley Woodhouse who has woken from a coma to memories of her husband pushing her down the stairs.

Shelley is wonderful and learning her story as she pieces together her past and her present is perfectly done. The characters are all brilliantly written, from the supportive friends to the predatory men.

A wonderful story that shows the reality of domestic abuse, the lengths people go to hide it, and the struggles to free yourself.

Absolutely wonderfully written.

4 stars
This was such an intriguing story and I loved it all the up to the last page. The ending was not believable so I had to knock off a half star. This would have been a 4.5 star for me. I could not stop reading this story. The cover is a little misleading however. This was a book about domestic abuse and was actually pretty deep. The cover is cutesy and seems like it would be lighthearted. With all of that being said I still loved this book. I couldn’t wait for her memories to come back and for the story to unfold. Really good and I recommend reading it. Just know the ending would never be real life but it is fiction after all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Laura Pearson for the opportunity to read, "The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up." It was such a well written story about domestic violence and the strength it takes for a person to overcome it.

It was written going back and forth between two time periods in Shelley Woodhouse's life. She woke up in the hospital with no memory of her present day circumstances. She soon realized in order to retrieve her lost memories she needed time and a whole lot of patience in order to do so. She also realized she needed to slowly revisit her difficult past in order to remember her present.

Laura Pearson, the author, did an amazing job of showing how there is often a pattern of abuse in families. In Shelley Woodhouse's case she grew up in a home where her mother's boyfriend not only hurt her mother repeatedly, but she was also a victim of his abuse. She also struggled with a toxic friendship with one of her female classmates. Pearson was able to show the reader that abuse isn't always just physical and can come in many different forms. Later when Shelley married, she found herself in yet another abusive relationship. Unfortunately like so many women do, she stayed in the relationship, because she wrongly believed she must have done something to deserve her husband's abuse.

Pearson also did a fantastic job of showing how difficult it is for some women in abusive relationships to get out. She also showed how when they do decide to leave it takes not only a lot of courage, but also the love and support from those people who truly love them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about domestic abuse and/or knows someone who needs the support to leave an abusive relationship. It might be a hard book to read if you've been abused yourself, but I think it could also help to give someone the courage to seek the help they so desperately need. #NetGalley #TheDayShelleyWoodhouseWokeUp

This has just become one of my favourite reads this year! So many ups and downs, I was completely invested emotionally.

Shelley wakes up from a coma in the hospital and thinks it is still 2017 and her husband just tried to kill her. Slowly, she starts remembering pieces of her childhood and recent past; how her mother’s boyfriend started a vicious cycle of abuse and how she ended up in an abusive marriage herself.

This story is such an important one and I can only recommend it to every single person who likes to delve into some more serious topics and discussions of how to go about them. Domestic abuse is an insanely tragic but real issue and this book has opened my eyes about just how common and awfullly unavoidable it is. The author handled the topic with a lot of care and you can tell that she’s done her research and really wanted to not just tell a story but also many real women’s realities.

Fortunately, this is not just a tragedy but we also get to see Shelley’s resilience in trying to build a new life and helping other women get out of their own vicious cycle. This story shows the literal breaking point of this woman’s life but also how she lifts herself up and turns everything around. I felt beyond sad during Shelley’s lowest and then it was just pure comfort and happiness!

This was an emotional-read about healing from a brain injury and domestic abuse. I found following Shelley on her journey of recovering from memory loss after suffering a brain injury caused by an accident to be intriguing. The alternating timeline between the present and past really worked with this story. The reader was able to get the backstory and figure out the present along with Shelley. I also loved that Dee was always there to be the support Shelley needed at the time. It showed the importance of friendship. Matt was also a godsend. I loved how patient, helpful, and understanding he was. He was a perfect match for Shelley. The total opposite of David. I especially enjoyed the happy ending to the story. It made it worth reading to the end of the book despite the heavy subject of abuse!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Domestic violence certainly is a serious problem and books like this bring it to the attention of many. This topic has gained momentum for many authors and many current novels are about it . This book is one of many that shows how domestic violence can be deadly and justice for victims is a must. The book was just okay for me . The characters just seemed to be superficial and had no depth . The beginning started off great but the middle became bogged down with non events . The ending was great for this victim but this is always the case.

This authors books are always such brilliant reads and take the reader on an emotional roller coaster. This story tackles the issue of domestic abuse in a very sensitive way and also helps to bring this often hidden topic out into the open. It is hard to review this book without giving spoilers but it is a story that will stay with me a long time after reading.

The story was written over the dual timelines of then and now and how the events of the past link with present day. This was an emotional and compelling read that once I had started I couldn’t put down and read in one sitting with a box of tissues by my side

Look forward to seeing what this author writes next

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imagine waking up one day with no recollection of Covid, or the Queen dying, or the last 7 Christmases.

5 stars is just not enough for this book. Holy moly I inhaled this story! This is so well written and the topic of DV is so well handled. I laughed and cried, and felt almost every emotion under the sun. I’ve already recommended this to everyone in the staff room and will continue to recommend it until I’m blue in the face.

Thank you @laurapauthor for a fantastic book (and for the ARC, sorry I’m late to the review party!).

Laura Pearson is fast becoming an auto-read author for me.
With this book, she has tackled another sensitive subject, that of domestic violence. Pearson has done a wonderful job of encompassing the trauma and pain that happens. This is an emotional and at times heart breaking read, as our protaganist Shelley Woodhouse wakes up in hospital and has to remember what happened. The book takes you through her memories and you learn how it has come to this point.
I know several people who have been trapped in the cycle of abuse, and this understanding made the book all the more harrowing for me. It's not an easy read, but a hugely important one.

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up is a story about domestic violence and how to recover from it, build resilience and create a new happy life.

Shelley wakes up from a coma thinking it is 2017 and her husband David just tried to kill her. She has amnesia and bit by bit, very slowly, she gets her memories back and the story unfolds. Shelley finds out the truth about David. She finds out what happened before the coma and she also meets other survivors of domestic abuse/violence who managed to regain control of their lives and happiness.

I’ve read and enjoyed all the author’s books and couldn’t wait to read The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up too!

When Shelley Woodhouse comes round, she’s shocked to discover that she’s in the intensive care unit at her local hospital. She’s been injured in some kind of incident but she’s not sure what happened and everyone seems to be reluctant to tell her the truth.

Shelley believes that her husband has attacked her and caused the injuries but no one is forthcoming about what happened and her requests to see a police officer fall on deaf ears. We later discover that Shelley became distressed when friends and hospital staff tried to tell her what had happened and she asked that she be allowed to regain her memories by herself.

While recovering, Shelley tries to figure out why she’s in the hospital and the story is told in the then and now as she thinks back to her childhood with her mum, Tina, her Granny Rose, her mum’s boyfriend, Mick, and various schoolfriends.

Shelley has a dedicated nurse, Angela, who looks after her, a physiotherapist called Fern, and also has visits from her friend, Dee, and a lovely volunteer called Matt, who runs the restaurant in the hospital. All the characters were well written and I could really imagine them all so clearly.

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up is a gripping and intense read and I was fascinated by Shelley’s rather sad past as well as her present life. The book was so emotional and heart-wrenching in places and I was angry with how Shelley and her mum had been treated by certain people over the years and keen to work out how and why she’d ended up in hospital.

The book was cleverly written, with lots of little hints and clues about the past, but I really wasn’t sure where things were going as I read and the mystery of the story was definitely intriguing!

I love the style of covers for the author’s books too – they’re very recognisable and go well together.

This was another excellent read from Laura Pearson – very poignant and beautifully written – and I raced through it, eagerly turning the pages. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Did not finish (after 10 chapters).

This memory loss thing is so common that it's cliched, and yet there's something about this theme. And that's why I requested this book. It started well. I felt intrigued about her past and future. I liked the chapters where Shelley thinks about her childhood. But then after 3-4 chapters, it gets very slow. I mean it just goes on and on and yet going nowhere. Sadly, I lost interest. However, I musr admit that I'm an impatient reader. So if you are patient, you may like it.

Thank you for the copy. Sorry it didn't work for me.

This story had me riveted from the very beginning despite the very difficult subject matter. The author has written a story that reflects the many different nuances of domestic abuse and how women feel stuck, and on this rollercoaster of emotions-blaming ourselves and being gaslit into believing we deserve what happens. The emotional abuse which is never seen as serious until something physical happens and the little red flags that we all tend to put aside such as "he's just passionate or he'd been drinking and he didn't mean it. I could not put this down no matter that I saw myself and my mom in every word.

Shelley Woodhouse wakes up in the intensive care unit and has to piece together her memories. The whole premise of this book was so compelling, I didn't want to stop reading (that's a big criteria for me in giving 5 stars). The characters were artfully developed and add to the emotion of the story. There is some domestic violence, so if that is a trigger for you, be aware. I can't wait to read whatever Laura Pearson delivers next.

Laura what a wonderful book you have written. I enjoyed Shelley story. The way the story unfolded was very easy to read. I liked the two aspects of the memory loss, the then and now parts. Shelley is a true heroine in a very well written book. Laura I cant wait to read your next book!

A moving exploration of a life beautifully capturing the dichotomies that people can experience: from abuse to beautiful friendships.

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up sings due to Laura Pearson’s ability to explore and convey the nuances of character. Pearson creates believable characters that the reader can root for without them being all good or all bad.

This novel was a difficult read at times due to some of the content - domestic violence is portrayed - but I never once felt able to stop reading as I was too invested in Shelley. In my opinion, it’s a tough read because Laura Pearson demonstrates the horrible realities of DV and coercive control realistically - and it’s happening to characters the reader cares about.

Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes.

This is my second book by this author and another solid four stars. The now and then alternating chapters worked well but because I much preferred the now chapters it almost worked too well and I did skim a bit through the others. It’s a very clever tale though and was brutally Frank about the effect of domestic violence on the whole family.

This is a cleverly written book dealing a difficult subject in a sensitive way.. This author has such a wonderful way with words. I loved how it ended.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

My first book ive read by Laura Pearson. Even though it really tugged at my heartstrings, i love the way Laura tackles important, tough topics in a realistic and sensitive manner. This one is about a woman named Shelley Woodhouse who wakes from a coma believing her husband has tried to kill her by pushing her down the stairs. What follows is a dual timeline of Shelley’s life from childhood to the event that landed her in the hospital.