Book Giveaway: The Turning Point by Freya North

[TinaMumsnet]

This week we're giving away 50 copies of The Turning Point, the moving new novel by Freya North.

Against all advice Canadian born musician and British children's writer attempt a long distance relationship, all seems well until fate deals a tragic card. Click here to found out more and apply for a free copy.

Don't forget, if you're lucky enough to receive a free copy of this book we do ask that you tell us what you thought about it on the thread below, or in our Book Reviews section.

A few words from the author...

The Turning Point is your 14th novel. What inspired it?
How I loved writing this novel. I was drawn to the central theme of love finding a way - and of the strength of the human spirit when fate deals you a tough hand. Scott is a Canadian musician, Frankie is a British author - they meet by chance and experience such a profound connection that not even oceans, time-zones or cynical friends can stand in their way. My characters are single parents, in their early 40s, negotiating the demands of family life against their own desires. Love shines through - until a tragic twist threatens to unravel all that was hoped for. You'll need a box of tissues to hand!

Why is this book so important to you?
Research is fundamentally important to me – truth to detail is crucial if the reader is to believe fiction. Scott was Canadian from the start – I don't know why! I’d never been to Canada – but no way was I going to learn about his homeland from a pile of guide books and Google images! I had to see for myself - but I'm a single parent so it took a lot of organising. It was the furthest I've been from my children and the longest time I've been away from them. I sobbed nearly the whole flight! It was an extraordinary experience – finding my way into the mountains, shadowing my characters, coming face to face with a bear, hiking on my own. For the first time in 14 years I had myself to myself – it was brilliant for my self-belief and actually, my kids didn't miss me a jot!

What's next?
I'm organising the Hertford Children's Book Festival which I run every October. And I'm already working on novel no.15!

This giveaway is sponsored by Harper Collins.

If you can forgive the cheesy romantic phrasing and laboured imagery, this makes for a page-turning, low brain power read.

Good for holiday/pregnancy reading. There is enough in the characterisation and themes to keep you interested and the ending is unexpected.

Definitely chick lit but it does address some more universal themes such as epilepsy.

6/10

I felt this started off very well. However, for me it didn't keep up the momentum and I lost interest in the characters although I did read on to the end. I am not quite sure why but think perhaps some aspects were a bit twee and the main protagonists a bit one-dimensional and "naice". Fine for an easy read but not the best example of its genre in my view.

I was picked my MNHQ to review this book, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.

Reading previous comments it just goes to show how peoples tastes differ as I really loved this book.

It is a story filled with so many emotions and it manages to draw you in from the moment you open it.

The chance meeting of Scott and Frankie must have been fate. Scott who lives in Canada and Frankie who lives in Norfolk both find themselves in London, staying at the same hotel. Two people destined to be in each others lives, to draw strength from one another and learn so many things about themselves in the process. A long distance relationship that could work?

I had tingles as their relationship progressed slowly, a steady love blossoming. This novel has plenty of what I like to call 'the feels', it is written in such a way that you can't help but become drawn into their world. There is such a wonderful connection between all of the characters and it was a pleasure to see them grow as the story continued.

Beautiful words flow from the pages, sometimes seeming somewhat poetic. I was left in tears for the last third of the book, I just couldn't stop them from flowing.

I found this book poignant and ended up in tears too. Extra emotional to finish reading it this week with people recounting their experiences of the London bombings 10 years on. Ofcourse this book was fictional and the characters for the most part too good to be true - can you really sustain a relationship of any depth when you live so far apart - can the resistance of children to a new partner for their parent really be that easy to overcome?
Reading books of fiction is to enter that fantasy world - dont lets knock it! Carry on writing more books Freya I love escapism

A Good summer read, although I did find it a little cliche. The story revolves around Frankie and a chance meeting in a hotel with a Canadian musician,Scott. Lots of things seem to stand in the way of true love, not least living in different countries. The writing describing the settings was lovely and I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the book.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book as a Mumsnet giveaway, and this review is purely my own personal opinion. Thanks Mumsnet.

A slow moving story with an unexpected twist and very emotional depth. A romantic story and in some parts a bit cheesy and predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. A great summer or holiday read.

For fans of Freya North's previous work and Chick Lit enthusiasts. I received this book to review from MNHQ.

Only up to page 70 but I am really enjoying it so far. Easy reading but enjoyable. I will update when I have read more. Thanks for the book MN :)

Thanks Mumsnet for this free giveaway. A lovely surprise, arriving just in time for my holiday. True escapism and perfect when lounging in the sun. Some useful messages, eg live for the moment, love where you are! Cried at the end, much to my husband's amusement!

I was picked by MNHQ to review this book, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.

I haven't read Freya North for a while but this was a lovely, easy read. A single British Mum author meets a single Dad musician from Canada quite by chance, and a deep romance ensues. The normal trials and tribulations of raising a family single-handedly combine with trying to keep a long-distance romance going. The characters are well drawn and family dynamics recognisable - as a single Mum myself I found myself identifying with Frankie on many levels. Freya's descriptions of Norfolk and British Columbia were spot on and really set the scene.

A simple plot with a few twists and turns and a poignant ending - perfect for a holiday read.

I did promise to come back to this once I had finished reading it so here I am. I enjoyed it. It was light reading in some ways but the ending was tough! I won't say any more but personally relevant so even harder to read. It was well written and I did find it hard to put it down once I started reading again. That's always a good sign to me. I do also have a special love of Cananda and BC in particular which helped further.

"I was picked by MNHQ to review this book, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion."

The timing of receiving this book was amazing as i had just returned from a week's holiday in North Norfolk so i could totally set the scene in my head! I loved the book and found it very hard to put down. When i arrived at a fatal twist to the plot i was devastated, but carried on to the end as was pleased i did. This is the first book of Freya North's that i have read and would definitely read her other work.

I'm sorry to say I really didn't enjoy this book. The writing style is trite and amateurish and the story is really self-indulgent - they way the main character talks about (and to!) her own novel's main character; the adoration she gets from fans; the descriptions of a small area of Canada which is clearly a result of Freya North having been on holiday to that same place; the descriptions of epilepsy thrown in because she'd done the research and didn't want it to go to waste. Also, the characters were mostly too good to be true and acted unrealistically, with the exception of the main character's nephews, who were one-dimensionally awful.

Then, when the twist happened, the sugary romance turned into something seriously depressing, only for the tragedy to turn out to be exactly what was needed to make a convenient happy ending. The book was like a very poor attempt at Jilly Cooper without the humour. I was not impressed and definitely won't be reading anything else by this author.

Well clearly some mixed views on this book already. For my part I thought it was really good. Yes it had some predictability regards the romance and hard to say whether a relationship could reach the depth this one did given the distance. However, that didn't take away any of the enjoyment for me. I like some escapism in my reading, and this book provided just that. It was a really lovely story for the most part, the characters seemed real and fully rounded and I loved the two settings. Although I was anticipating a dramatic event of some sort to take place, I didn't see exactly what happened coming. It was a shock and I felt the event itself was written beautifully. I had to re-read it to take it all in and returned to that scene again to re-read once more when I finished the book. I've read all of the author's other books which I have loved and this stood up to those. Overall I enjoyed the book as a good story with a not entirely predictable twist. I will definitely continue to read Freya North in the future. Thank-you for my free copy.

Still not quite finished as the book was too big to take on the train! Will be back very soon with my thoughts :)

I enjoyed this book. It did seem a book of two halves light and dreamy at the beginning then more dark in the second half. That said it was a great easy read perfect for the beach or train. I liked the way the death of Scott and Aaron was dealt with not too in depth but enough to bring a tear to the eye. Although maybe not totally believable I liked the long distance love affair as it gave a chance to write about two entirely different places, which I enjoyed and I found it added a little extra to the basic love story.
All in all an enjoyable easy read.

An enjoyable story, I liked the twists and turns. Just right for taking on holiday.

Many thanks to Mumsnet / HarperCollins for a copy of 'The Turning Point' by Freya North. I should have finished the book and be writing a review by now, but still haven't quite managed it (it is a looonng book). But that is not meant to be a criticism. The author does takes her time with a slow opening, with no rush in developing her characters and story build-up. But the narrative eventually progresses in an intricately woven romantic drama, with seamlessly flowing descriptive text.
Looking forward to 'the turning point' in the tale, and seeing how the author resolves the various threads.

--> Review to follow.

I really enjoyed this book and found myself thinking about it at random parts of the day. I didn't see the twist coming so it was a surprise. I thought the descriptions of Canada were very good. Will look out for more novels by Freya North.

Feel a bit guilty as I received my free copy ages ago and have only just got round to reading the first couple of pages.
Freya North is one of my favourite authors so before finding out I had been given a free copy I was already planning on getting it to add to my collection.
As far as my thoughts on The Turning Point....I am hooked already! I knew I would be each book of Freya's I have read has had the same affect. From the first time I'd heard of her when I got Pip free with More magazine many years ago!

I have never read any books of Freya North. It isn't the usual type of book I would buy. I did enjoy it and found it a light easy read to follow. I liked how Scott got the kids to like him. Not only did Frankie and Scott have to make a long distance relationship work, they also had to deal with forging a relationship with each others children, whilst at the same time worrying about his daughter leaving home with epilepsy. I didn't expect the shocking twist near the end. Thank you for my winning copy of The Turning Point.