‘What an amazing unputdownable story! I started reading this book just before bed last night and the next thing I knew it was the early hours and I’d finished it. I couldn’t stop reading, I just had to know how it would end… My heart broke for Maddie and I was on the edge of my seat… one that will stick with me forever!’ Blogging for the Love of Authors and their Books, 5 starsI sit here beside … stars
I sit here beside her stroking her tiny hands as she sleeps and she looks so perfect. It never crossed my mind that something would be wrong with my sweet girl and I’d be powerless to do anything to help her.
When Madeline’s six-year-old daughter Tilly collapses one Sunday night, Madeline’s world is turned upside down. Racing to the hospital, she imagines the worst scenarios in her mind, but when they arrive the doctors say that Tilly is fine.
Madeline’s ex-husband Adam and her best friend Laura think Madeline is being overprotective, that Tilly fainted because of her fussy eating. But Madeline is sure something is seriously wrong with Tilly. She can feel it. And she believes that a mother’s instinct is never wrong.
Adam and Laura begin to believe that Tilly would be safer in their care, but Adam has no idea about the secret Laura has been hiding. And then Tilly’s symptoms worsen, and Madeline realises that she may have to risk losing custody of Tilly to have any chance of saving her life…
One Last Second is an emotional reminder of just how far a mother will go to protect her child. Readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Kate Hewitt will never be able to forget this heartbreaking and beautiful story.
What readers are saying about One Last Second:
‘Wow! This book blew me away… Will make you think and break your heart in equal measure and is a breathtakingly beautifully written story of a mother’s love. I will be looking out for more from this author.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘This one pulls you in and tugs at your heart. Make sure you have plenty of tissues on hand. A tear-jerker for sure.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Wow! Such a brilliant read! A devastatingly frank, honest depiction of the power and intensity of a mothers love and belief and the lengths she will go to to protect her child!… I really didn’t want to put it down and read it in one glorious sitting!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘This book is so heart-rending!!… Beautifully written… It draws you in right from the first page and I couldn’t stop myself from turning the pages to reach the end.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘A stunningly heartfelt novel, written so beautifully. I read it in one go and felt a whole rollercoaster of emotions.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars
‘A wonderful powerful novel about parenthood and the love of your child… Fast-paced, packed full of emotion and will keep you turning the pages into the night. Utterly unputdownable.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Gripped me from the word go and took me on an emotional journey of the sheer strength of a mother’s love… Absolutely heartbreaking and heart-warming. A must read for sure.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘I read this book in four hours drinking in each scene wanting Tilly to be okay… Sam Vickery is hot on the heels of Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain in how she portrays all sides of the issue to get the full picture but most importantly with emotion and sensitivity at the heart.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 starsmore
First, I want to thank Sam Vickery, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
WOW!!! Sam Vickery you sure know how to pull on my heart strings in your latest book One Last Second! However, I fell in love with this book way before the last second-you had me from the beginning. This is a must read book that will touch your heart and want to hold your little ones a little tighter.
Not only did the story melt my heart but the cover graphics did too. Kudos to the graphic designer who so perfectly placed a sweet innocent and beautiful little girl on the cover that represented Tilly.
I am not a parent but a very proud Auntie and I can’t imagine what it would be like for anyone to witness their little one going through all that Tilly had. Sam did an amazing job bringing out the mental, emotional, and physical aspects in the parents and Tilly herself with the medical issues she was having.
I am the type of person where I have a huge heart of gold. Many times I wanted to reach into the book and give Tilly a hug. Other times I wanted to scream and yell at the medical professionals who wouldn’t open up their eyes to what was really going on.
One Last Second brings awareness to ‘Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It is a syndrome I have never heard of before and was very interested in learning more about. Sam does an incredible job educating his readers about what it is, how it is treated and managed. I am hoping with this part of the storyline it will help others that might be dealing with similar situations or know someone who has this.
They always say write what you know and are passionate about. One Last Second was very personal to the author Sam Vickery. Sam has a daughter with a chronic medical condition so she knows all about what it is like to deal with medical professionals and the day to day dealings of having a sick child. Based on her daughter and her experiences she wanted to write a hospital based story. Which is where the inspiration for this book came from.
One Last Second was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. One minute the book has you feeling curious and anticipating what may happen next, followed by feelings of frustration, with perhaps some grief and happiness mixed in as well. The book gives you great insight into each of the main character’s feelings, allowing you to access their thought processes.
This book follows the story of a recently divorced couple named Adam and Madeline and their daughter Tilly. Another important role goes to the best friend and practically family member, Laura. When Tilly begins showing symptoms that deem worrisome to Madeline, Madeline immediately begins to do her best in finding out what is happening to her little girl. On the other hand, she does not seem to have a plethora of support, as many, including Adam and Laura, are skeptical fo this newly-formed illness. Whether Madeline’s suspicions are valid, you will have to read to find out.
This book is an emotional tale. It is about relationships: mothers, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. And it is about mothering.
It was easy to get into, I was attached to the story from the very beginning. As in so many good books, secrets play a major role. The secrets are not kept from the reader but the characters keep secrets from each other.
I found the ending a little too neat and tidy. The relationships and angst were very realistic throughout the book but the conclusion was too hurried, making it not as realistic.
Wow! What a heartbreaking and thoughtful book. Imagine you know your child is ill and no one seems to take you seriously. This is the problem faced by now single mum Madeline over her daughter Tilly. Her ex thinks she is projecting and overreacting, while her best friend, a doctor, sides against her. How do you save your child when no one will listen?
This book is hard to read, it will reach for your heart and squeeze it and then tear it out and then put it back in like nothing happened. Man, was it painful to read it, I was in the edge of my seat reading this, I wanted to cry so hard and at the same time I didn’t know who to believe and then I wanted to go and smack those doctors so hard it’s not even funny. Man, this book messed with my feelings so much, not cool, not cool at all.
Well, after all that ranting, let me tell you a little what the book is all about it. We follow Maddie and Tilly, her six year old daughter. Maddie is recently divorced and Tilly and her tiny little six year old who has always had a hard time with food and for the last year she has gotten worse. She eats less and less, she now is vomiting non stop when she eats and she has collapsed. She knows there is something medically wrong with her daughter and she will not stop at anything to get to the bottom of it.
But her ex husband and best friend Laura think that Maddie is being overprotective, and think that Tilly is just fussy about her eating. And because of both sides conflicting things go so wrongly wrong before they can go to the bottom of things. And both Maddie and Tilly have to suffer the consequences of everyone not believing them.
Bottom line, never underestimate a mother’s word…this story was so well written and it been a mother it touched me hard and I hope this really doesn’t happen that often in real life.
One Last Second by Sam Vickery is an emotionally charged read. It takes you on a journey of one mothers fight to find out what is wrong with her 6 year old daughter. A mother that ignored the child abuse accusations not only by the doctor, but her ex-husband and bestfriend, to find a diagnosis. An excellent read!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own.
Every Parent’s nightmare!
Nobody believes Madeline.
She knows that something is desperately wrong with her daughter, Tilly.
This little girl is behind on all of her growth and development.
She barely eats enough to sustain her tiny body and vomits almost daily.
The doctors including Maddie’s best friend Laura who is a GP cannot find a thing wrong with Tilly. Her father Adam, thinks Tilly has problems, but they are behavioral.
What is it?
Is it Maddie being a helicopter parent? Is it Tilly being manipulative?
Maddie is trying to advocate for her daughter and yet not one person thinks that she knows what is going on with her child! It is beyond frustrating!
This is an emotional, intense story that will hit home for any parent, grandparent or anyone who loves a “little” person!
Well done!
The tag line was what drew me to this book–What if your child was dying and no one believed you? It’s every parents nightmare! This book goes from present to past, which I love because it’s like getting a little piece of the puzzle at a time until the whole picture unfolds.
This story centers around three friends; Madeline (Maddie) and Laura, who’ve known one another since grade school, and Adam Parkes. Maddie is an extrovert and the life of the party. Laura is an introvert and shy. Adam was the much sought after school athletic hunk. The three are always doing things together. A tragedy happens in Maddie’s life that disrupts the friendship. It alters the three of them for varying reasons, including Laura, who has gone through her own heartbreak, which she has kept it secret from Maddie. Maddie goes on to marry Adam.
Madeline (Maddie) Parkes is a caring mother of a 6 year-old, and is hitting a stone wall with her ex-husband Adam. He doesn’t see what Maddie sees and experiences with their daughter Tilly.
Adam Parkes is a pilot, who never wanted the divorce, he still loves Maddie, but continues to butt heads with her regarding their daughter. He feels Maddie isn’t strict enough.
Laura Burts is a General Practitioner, and for a while was Tilly’s doctor. Tilly calls her Auntie Laura, and Laura is like a second mom to her. Despite the divorce, Laura continues to be friends with both Maddie & Adam while trying to remain neutral.
Tilly hasn’t been eating very well, complaining about an upset stomach and everything hurting. Since her stomach hurts after specific foods, Tilly only has a few choice items that she’ll eat. When it is Adam’s turn to have Tilly, he tries to force her to eat what he sets before her or she doesn’t eat. After Tilly returns from a weekend with her father, she collapses in front of Maddie, who rushes her to the hospital.
The hospital staff chalks Tilly’s symptoms up to dehydration and growing pains. When Tilly gets worse, and Maddie brings her back again, demanding more tests to be done. One physician starts to think Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and after speaking to Adam and Laura, who was talked into siding with Adam opens the door to removing Tilly from Maddie.
Maddie begins the battle of her life to convince those around her that she’s not making it up, that Tilly really is sick.
This book dealt with a real life issue. As a mother, whose child was diagnosed in the ER, with a condition from an unknown cause, where it didn’t go away and no one had heard of it, I know how hard it can be to get other adults including doctors to understand. It is an emotional & moving story!
I received an ARC from NetGalley via Bookouture and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.