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Everything is Beautiful: 'the most uplifting book of the year' Good Housekeeping

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Amy is left in limbo, and instead of looking for a therapist to help her deal with her feelings of abandonment and grief, Amy buys beautiful things that give her momentary pleasure. (No judgement here: many of us have been there, done that.) But Amy has gone to an extreme, and the neighbours and the neighbourhood council want Amy to reduce the massive clutter in her home - contractors can't even get in to repair the chimney, for goodness sake! I read Amy Ashton because I was told it was in the vein of Eleanor Oliphant and Evvie Drake, two books I absolutely adored. I liked Amy Ashton just as much till about the last 10% of it. The ending, to me, felt both rushed and unnecessary, a little bit like the last piece in a jigsaw puzzle that just doesn't fit right. But this isn’t what we see as readers in the beginning of the story. And that is what is so perplexing to us as readers. A gently absorbing entry into the mystery-uplit canon. -- Vaseem Khan, author of THE UNEXPECTED INHERITANCE OF INSPECTOR CHOPRA Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves – soon there’ll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she’d lost still be hers for the taking?

So much goes on, that it is critical as readers, that we wait for the amazing conclusion to tie it all together. Eleanor was inspired to write her debut novel by the objects her toddler collects and treasures – twigs, empty water bottles and wilting daisies. When Amy Ashton's world came crashing down eleven years ago, she started a collection. Just a little collection, just a few keepsakes of happier times. Things that others might throw away but to Amy, represent a life that could have been. MY THOUGHTS: Everything is Beautiful was a little more chic-lit than I was expecting... I liked the plot and thought it had a great deal of potential, but I found most of the characters, including Amy, quite stylized. I loved Richard and his boys. There’s an intriguing mystery at the heart of this emotional but uplifting debut novel’ SUNDAY EXPRESSYou will have to read this book to find out what Amy discovers about Tim and Chantal, and what the future holds in store for her. This story rambled a bit, and I was not happy that Amy didn't seek help or counseling for her prolonged feelings of grief and abandonment. And I really think it would have been a nice touch to get Marie Kondo in on the act - or a professional like Marie Kondo. I’m also more than happy to report that while I had assumed upon starting (and would have most likely been A-okay with it) that this was going to be a romance it ended up not being one at all. I definitely would have made a gripe about magic penises fixing broken women being a trope I don’t love, but again I usually get over that reaction because I like feel good crap as much as the next gal. But as I said yaaaaay for this not being a kissing book at all. This book is being marketed at fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I can see why. I actually had the same reading experience with both books, despite the many differences between the two main characters. I became heavily invested in the wellbeing of Amy (as I did Eleanor), and I wanted to see her character grow and heal from her trauma. Amy is slightly awkward and intensely vulnerable, but despite her extreme behaviour, there would be few who would not find her sympathetic. I found myself feeling strangely protective of her, perhaps in part because I’m a bit of a hoarder myself. There are also several delightful supporting characters in the book, including the two charming young sons of Amy’s new neighbour, and an elderly retired shopkeeper. It has its villains too, who are satisfyingly dealt with.

Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures Everything is Beautiful reads like a sentimental story. And although it contains emotional chapters of calamity and sorrow, its overall message is one of hope and acceptance. This is a sweet story, about how broken hearts can harm us forever, if we don't let go, but also about how broken hearts can be mended if we make room for love. Letting go can make room and this is a lesson that Amy needs to learn.There are a few parts of Everything is Beautiful that remind me of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. And I think fans of Gail Honeyman will also enjoy this novel. There’s a nice humour to the narrative that brings levity to its heart-breaking events. But while the non-linear narrative is done well, unfortunately this just wasn’t captivating enough for me to feel excited through to the end. Amy has found her best friend for life in Chantel and the love of her life in Tim. They even share a flat together which makes Amy feel warm and happy to have the two people she holds dearest with her always. Equal parts heart-warming and heart-breaking, Everything is Beautiful mesmerized me in the best way possible. The book comes out on the 4th of February, 2021. Please read it when it comes out, you’ll fall in love, I promise.

I loved every bit of it. I think the term in book reviewer lingo is “utterly captivated”– and I was, as it was not only so beautifully written but the story was brilliant, too’ FLISS CHESTER Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves - soon there'll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy's carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she'd lost still be hers for the taking? Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves - soon there'll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery long since buried and Amy's carefully curated life begins to unravel.” I didn't really like all of the stuff from the past. But the things that I did like a lot: 1) Richard and his kids (the new neighbors), and 2) the mystery (of what happened to her boyfriend and best friend). The narrator is Amy Ashton (3rd person POV). She is such an unusual heroine. She is quirky and kind. She had a trauma happen to her 11 years before. And now her house is completely full of "treasures".The Missing Treasures of Amy Aston (2021) written by Eleanor Ray, is an uplifting mystery centered around missing persons, the passage of time, and the crushing anxiety and grief of not knowing what might have happened. Ray studied at the University of Edinberg, where she earned a M.A. in English Literature, she lives in London with her husband and two children.

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