ARC Review: The Sight of You by Holly Miller

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I received an ARC of this book via Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Description

Would you choose love . . .

. . . If you knew how it would end?

Joel is afraid of the future.

Since he was a child he’s been haunted by dreams about the people he loves. Visions of what’s going to happen – the good and the bad. And the only way to prevent them is to never let anyone close to him again.

Callie can’t let go of the past.
Since her best friend died, Callie’s been lost. She knows she needs to be more spontaneous and live a bigger life. She just doesn’t know how to find a way back to the person who used to have those dreams.

Joel and Callie both need a reason to start living for today.
And though they’re not looking for each other, from the moment they meet it feels like the start of something life-changing.

Until Joel has a vision of how it’s going to end . . .

My thoughts

I love a good romance and, from the description, I knew there was something different about this one. There was romance, drama and the dilemma of knowing what the future holds – and what to do with this knowledge.

I was initially annoyed by how much of a slow burning romance this was. I really liked the way their ascent into more romantic feelings was messy, a bit awkward but – quite frankly – real. I couldn’t help but find myself shouting you guys should just kiss and get together already!? but that definitely didn’t stop me from falling head over heels in love with them.

I’m not a believer in fate but I definitely do find myself, especially in the worlds current state, questioning what will happen in the future. Sometimes I feel like I’d love to know how my future would play out but, through Joel’s narrative, Miller lets us see that this awareness isn’t always a good thing.

Both Joel and Callie were incredibly likeable. Funny, a bit awkward, and both dealing with their own troubles – difficult romantic relationships, family dramas, grief. These characters had heart and, possibly most importantly, I felt as if I could’ve easily passed either of them on the street in real life – it’s not often you get an authentic feel from characters but Miller definitely achieved it.

I’m learning as I’m getting older (she says at 22, though I alternate between feeling 18 and feeling 80 half the time!), that romance is difficult. It’s not all meet-cutes and loved up selfies, it’s taking the other person for what they are and helping each other through their troubles. Miller was brilliant at demonstrating the highs and lows of relationships, and it was even better that she did it from an age perspective I’m not used to reading (but I still felt like I could relate to them, and enjoyed reading it as if the protagonists were teens/young adults).

My only problem with this book was the fact it took a while to get to the good bit, the heart thumping romance I wanted.

Saying that, The Sight of You is a captivating, funny and heartbreaking love story – you might want the tissues for this one!

The Sight of You will be published on 11th July 2020