In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings *** BLOG TOUR ***.The Song Collector by Natasha Solomons *** BLOG.My Life In Books ~ talking to author Tammy Cohen.In Place of Death by Craig Robertson *** GUEST R.My Life In Books ~ talking to author Dani Atkins.The Long Count by JM Gulvin ** GUEST REVIEW FROM.The Night That Changed Everything by Laura Tait &.My thanks to the publisher, Legend Press who sent my review copy as part of the Legend 100 Club. I will be very interested to read her next book. Her words are rich and poetic and the novel is structured very well. This is a strong and admirable debut novel from a young author who obviously has great talent. There is also a sparkle of wit interspersed which brings a welcome lightness to what could quite possibly be an overwhelming read. I've heard that CJ Fisher has drawn upon her own experiences when writing this book, and there is a haunting quality to the words and the story, with sadness, loss and longing lingering between each character.

Despite this, I hugely admire the skill of this debut author, she's incredibly perceptive about relationship and the impact that actions can have on others, and how generations can be affected by things that have been done in the past. She does, however, tend to drift off into overly-wordy and descriptive passages which for me, were both distracting and unnecessary. Myles is the only modern-day character and we learn about him and his life through the letters that he writes to his mother, and then there is William an alcoholic, his story takes place in the 1970s.ĬJ Fisher has an astute mind, and her writing is poetic and flows beautifully.

Twelve-year-old Bobby is entranced by everything to do with magic, his story is set in the 1930s. The author has chosen to tell their stories using a mixture of the first and third person, and this is a clever way to help the reader to distinguish between the voices.

This is a slim novel, telling the story of three male characters, three very different characters from very different times. When We Were Alive by C J Fisher was published in paperback by Legend Presson 1 March 2016, and is the author's debut novel. Three different people from three different times each explore the dark side of relationships, search for beauty in sadness and try to bear the burden of guilt from living in a world we are powerless to fix. Myles is writing letters to a mother he has never met. William is consumed with self-hate and drinks to escape the memories of his father's sadness and his mother's death.

When we first meet Bobby, he is a shy, 12-year-old magician who falls in love with his best friend.

When We Were Alive by C.J. Fisher