Losing You

by Susan Lewis

The powerful new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Missing.

Lauren Scott is bright, gifted and beautiful. At eighteen, she has her whole life ahead of her. And she is everything to her mother, Emma. Oliver Lomax is a young man full of promise, despite the shadow his own, deeply troubled, mother casts over him. Both their lives are filled with hopes and dreams; their days with a determination to make something of themselves.

Until one fateful night, when Oliver makes a decision that tears their worlds apart. Lauren and Oliver had never met, but now they become closely bound together in the most tragic of ways, their families forced to confront truths they hoped they'd never have to face, secrets they'd never even imagined. And for Emma it is like a living nightmare. One she is terrified she'll be trapped in for ever.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Romance

528 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.


Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.

Reviews

[BestChickLit.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although laying some essential groundwork, the book starts of fairly slow and boring. Initially consisting of Emma and Laura’s background and relationship, the focus also begins to intermittently shift to Oliver and his family. As one of the main characters, Emma is extremely plain to be honest – with her idea of girls’ night being gossips over the country’s finances. While Laura, Oliver and Oliver’s mother really stand out and hold your attention.

Once the action begins to unfold it is truly gripping, and the book’s core scene is extremely well written and emotive. From then on, you’ll find you’re constantly thinking about what’s going to happen next, and you may not be able to put the book down and until it’s finished. Don’t lose faith, keep going and you’ll reap the rewards.

[Chris Barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional wreck or what?? It took a few chapters for me to get into this book but once it got going...wowzers. Lauren seemed too wonderful to be true at first. I'm mum to 3 teens, two of them girls and found myself laughing at Lauren at first thinking "yeah right!" I did warm to her though. Emma's character was so real and I could relate to her. I kept finding myself wondering what I would do or say in all these terrible situations, I kept agreeing with Emma. I cried and laughed so much reading this book. Now I want to know what happens afterwards!

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, and honestly after the first part I didn't expect too. It was so incredibly slow,and absolutely nothing is revealed at all. I predicted what the life changing event was simply by reading the back, and went through expecting it. The tedium of getting to that point ended up being worth the wait,and the characters sneaked up on me. If you're reading this review and you've read the first few hundred pages and are about to give up- don't. It gets better!

[Caroline O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt this book was quite slow to get into but not slow enough that I put it down. I am so glad i held on as it was a beautiful story, a sad story, a heart wrenching story and one that had me in tears a good few times. I love this author and this was no exception, a nice easy read.

I gave it 4 stars as i thought the story line was fabulous as were the characters, i really enjoyed it.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first Susan Lewis book, and I'm afraid just did not do it for me.
It started off so slowly, and if it hadn't been for previous reviews mentioning the slow start I would have given up.
When the story eventually got going, it was better, but I just couldn't warm to any of the characters and found them all just a bit irritating.

[Christine Rennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this get better the more you read it, one of the better Susan Lewis ones I have read. Many of her books are very long and sometimes it isn't always necessary.
A good engrossing read, with a good twist in the tale.

[Basma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me forever to finish partially because It started with a slow start which made me leave it before deciding to continue reading it.
once the accident happened and the secret started to unfold, it became quite interesting and I loved how the story turned out in the end.

[BooksBooksandmoreBooks69 · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have a few main characters and their cast, most of them get a fair amount of book, so you have to assume they all play a part in this book.....
We have Emma and her ex Will and his new family (Emma has more of a major role and is mum to Lauren)
We have Lauren who is a music student, she has a large circle of friends, pretty and well liked, her grades are good, and Mum never has any problems with her daughter.
We have Sylvie and Graham, married to one another, but Sylvie has a problem, she’s an alcoholic, her family are at their wits end, and after she smashes up a love rival for her husband (it’s not like that, she’s Graham’s work colleague) car, Graham knows that it’s time to call it a day, his boys don’t need to be dragged into this mess on an almost daily basis (granted they are in their twenties) but who needs to see their mother like that? But Sylvie keeps telling everyone that Graham has a secret, and unless she’s allowed home, she’s going to tell the world.
He have Oliver (Graham’s second son) and he is also bright and popular having a large circle of mates. Oliver has always been closer to mother than dad, but he knows his dad loves him (but mum has slowly been poisoning her son, she tells Oliver, that Charlie is and will always be his favourite child!!) and Oliver doesn’t want his dad to help him get a job (Graham is a producer) he wants to gain respect through his own merit, not off his dad’s name.
And Oliver’s brother Charlie (he’s studying to be a lawyer.) pretty patient with both his parents. Charlie and Oliver have a great sibling relationship.
We then have a cast of friends and others, these are all slowly introduced and also have their own little stories (i don’t think it detracts from the main storyline)

The book then begins to weave the story, Emma is trying to find work, getting an interview, and maybe a new job. She’s also worrying about her debt (and lack of money) it’s her own fault really, she blames the fact she was pretty naive about the business world, and now after losing her little business and her home (to pay off the debtors) Emma has to start over again. Oh ... and is she reading too much into the cryptic clues her daughters English teacher keeps sending her? Does he like her? Will she have the nerve to chase him? The reason Emma is in debt.... her husband convinced her to let him manage her company, then fell in love with someone else, but that’s not all.... he didn’t really know what he was doing, and so bankrupted Emma’s little business, but he’s not worried, his new girlfriend (and eventually wife) is from money, but it doesn’t stop them from bleeding Emma dry!!!

The story then goes about putting these two young people together, not in the usual way, but in a way that will change these two families forever!!!

Oliver NEVER drinks and drives, he’s watched his mum for years battle with alcoholism, he’s seen what it can do, yes he gets drunk, but never gets behind a wheel. But all that changes in a split second .... His mum rings him and tells him goodbye, that it would be better if she wants here!!! In a panic Oliver believes she’s going to commit suicide!!! Racing to his car, his only thought is of his mum, and trying to get to her before anything happens, but something happens and it’s not what Oliver expects .......

Lauren is in the middle of nowhere!!! Having lied to her mum about where she is going, and who she’s going to be with, she’s now stuck with a broken down car!!! No signal from her phone, Lauren decides to walk and try to find help.

Thump!!!! Oh god no!!! Please don’t let it be anything major.... that’s Oliver’s first thought, getting out of the car, it’s worse than he first thought!!! It’s a girl!!! How the hell did he hit her? Where did she come from? (Yes he was speeding, and he wasn’t thinking clearly) all types of thoughts run through his head (does he run? Does he phone the ambulance? Where did she come from? And why didn’t he see her?)
Finding a weak signal he phones for an ambulance, praying that the girl lives, he waits with her till it arrives ......

We then see how the fight for Lauren’s life affects both the families (Lauren’s parents want their daughter to survive, then anger surfaces and then they want justice fir their daughter) the consequences of a drunken mother’s phone call to her son (prison probably) each set of parents blaming themselves and then each other.

And along the way, Oliver falling for Lauren (finding her on social media and following her life) realising that he has possibly killed the one person he could be with and be himself.

It’s very slow in the beginning.... do we need all that background? I think we do, we need to know where Lauren and Oliver come from. Oliver isn’t a bad lad, he just didn’t think. Lauren isn’t a bad person for lying to her mum, but if she’s been honest, then this probably won’t have happened.

A few surprises along the way (one I didn’t see coming) but well worth persevering with it.


🦋

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Losing You by Susan Lewis is another book I picked up at my local station's free book exchange, which has definitely introduced me to some authors I never would have read without it.

It's about 18-year-old Lauren and 21-year-old Oliver, whose lives collide on a fateful night that plunges both them and their families into a very different future to the one they had all previously expected.

And it's really good!

It engaged me immediately and kept me gripped pretty much throughout, despite being probably about 200 pages longer than it needed to be.

I really enjoyed the lengthy setup (200 pages of normal family life that was still very entertaining, even though there was almost no tension), though the middle section did drag a little bit as it became somewhat repetitive. It really picked up again in the last 300 pages, though.

The characters felt real, the inter-relationships were layered and interesting, the way things eventually played out was refreshingly realistic in unexpected ways, and the late-stage romance was surprising and also wonderful.

There were some aspects of the writing that annoyed me initially, but I found (in an extremely rare instance for me) that I just wanted to go along for the ride and not pick holes in this book - and I definitely enjoyed it a lot more for that.

I will certainly look out for more books by this author, if this one is a good indication of the kind of reading experience I can expect.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this will be the favourite so far of Susan Lewis’s novels. This novel reminded me if the time I got hit by cat, and I was so much more lucky in escaping with only concussion and a fractured jaw in 3 places unlike the character Lauren. Like Lauren I ended up having a friendship come out of the accident, my friend Lucy who was the daughter of the driver, we are still friends 32 years later .
What I liked was how the author didn’t overcrowd you on the medical jargon, but explained it well still . You could tell she had researched the medical side of it before writing the book.
I have enjoyed Susan Lewis’s storytelling with this book. She really got the characters emotions and personality shining through as she wrote. Emma , Lauren , russ and Oliver were such strong likable characters which made the book so good. There was such a feeling of love , bravery and honesty to characters that were all having difficulty in their life’s but all stayed true to themselves throughout the book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little put off by reading other reviews but I am glad I ignored them and read the book anyway. Yes, perhaps the story took a little long kicking off but the chapters leading up to it I felt were necessary to lay the groundwork and build the characters up.
I enjoyed this book and though I never write reviews and give the story away I think that is for the reader to discover - I will say I do like the way the story ended - there is enough teasing stray ends for a follow up story but enough to leave it at closure - and the only character I really didn't like was Lauren's Dad - I am so glad it didn't turn out that he was forgiven and turned a leaf, he kept to character the whole time.

[Lucy Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very slow burn of a read. I definitely think a good 20% of this could have been omitted without ruining the story. For example Polly and her financial problems, which takes up quite a lot of page space at the start and then is barely mentioned again.
This is about a young woman called Lauren who is knocked down by a young man called Oliver who was drink driving at the time. It takes about 170 pages to get to that point... It really is quite slow. There's a lot of character building. I won't spoil the book by revealing more for anyone interested but I will say the end is a bit nicey nice for me.
A very easy read that requires very little concentration. A good holiday read I think.

[Sam Iboo · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to read an overly emotional overly overly emotional book, you should go for it And they had to romantically why did why did they have to romantically link Oliver‘s father and I together that was very bad very slowed very annoying. I did not like it at all. Waste of time They gave Oliver his mother so much importance in whole hole the book and then they disappeared her that was a flock I personally think this book was very slow and half the book was about Emma‘s
poverty. It was very annoying.

[Sumayya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but that's not what I was looking for. I was looking for something that was captivating and sucked you in. I find that when something bad happens in Susan Lewis's novels, then that bad is so overpowering and lasts for so long, that you wish you could skip to the good part (I almost did that this time). Susan Lewis is a great writer, though I cant say I'd always pick up a book from the shelf if I see her name on it.

That's MY review on it though.... You just might enjoy it..

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For such a slow starting book, it developed into a great read. An emotional roller coaster ride, each and every character played an important part in this story. A tragic accident throws two families together, and how they dealt with the situation is handled beautifully. If you feel like giving up on the book within the first 100 pages, don't, it's well worth the wait.

[Amberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mix feeling about this book and it was hard to get in to it but it get better the more better the long I read it. I didn't really care about charachers or what happed them also it was too slow pace for me. I think it be better if it two hundred pages shorter and the cover of book was a big put off but I do think the twist was write well.

[Christina Rochester · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book for the last half. The first half is so slow that I really didn't like it. But omg once Lauren is in recovery I was totally invested.

Worth a read but The Choice is still my favourite Susan Lewis.

[Lynda Pengilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read

This was once again a brilliant book by Susan Lewis. Fast moving ,very emotional dealing with all sorts of twists and turns,family relationships, and a few tears shed at the end. I would really recommend this to anyone. Loved it!

[Brigitte Launay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most enjoyable book I have read. I found it overlong, padded out with unnecessary chit chat! What are meant to be terrible revelations about Lauren Scott are in fact very mild and predictable!

[Sharon Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fabulous , loved it the story is about Emma , Lauren , Phyliss, and how their lives unfold , its also about a wonderful person Oliver Lomax .if you havent read it yet do yourself a favour .

[alison morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Found first few chapters a bit slow but after that couldnt put it down!

[d m palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant really surprising ending

[Pam Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a long book that had lots of detail and conversations that could have been left out and as other readers have commented was slow to get going. In the end I really enjoyed it.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

How two families’ paths cross. Powerful storyline. Great reas

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, heartwarming, beautiful. All in one go! Once you start reading it, it’s hard to stop.

[Book_princess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book!

[Sarah M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing style is quite basic meaning it took a while to be drawn in but by the end I found I'd enjoyed the read more than expected.

[Ashley Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by my feelings towards characters in this book. A very good one for learning about forgiveness and what it takes to be a good human.

[Marian Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking story.

This story captures your interest from the very beginning and holds it to the very end. Kept me awake until 1 am.

[De Beresford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Losing you

Lovely novel. As always the Author takes you on a journey, both sad and funny. Not predictable but always interesting.