Have you read The Goodbye Gift by Amanda Brooke? Post your feedback by 18 November for a chance to win a £100 Love2Shop voucher

[SorchaMumsnet]

This month we'd like to introduce you to Amanda Brooke - Richard and Judy bestseller and author of novels that pack an emotional punch. We've got 50 copies of The Goodbye Gift up for grabs so head to the giveaway page to apply for yours and find out more about the author.

Lucy has been desperate for a new heart for as long as she can remember - but getting the call to say a donor has been found will be a bittersweet relief: because for her to live, someone else must die.

We ask all winners to share their thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. However, you don't have to win a free copy to take part in the discussion - anyone who has read The Goodbye Gift can post their feedback here (and you can buy the book now).

Everyone who posts on this thread before 18 November will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

This giveaway is sponsored by HarperCollins

I really enjoyed "The Missing Husband' by the same author - I hope I get to read this one too.

I'd love to read this. I've always thought that we don't focus on that issue enough - to receive a donor organ, someone else has to die.

Hi I received an email saying I'd won but haven't received the book yet? Thanks.

Hi Unicorn1981 thanks for letting us know - we're just chasing the publisher to see when these books will be with you x

Oh thank you. I just wanted to let you know because I recently moved house. Thanks.

Hi has there been any update regarding the book please? Thanks

Looking forward to reading this book. Lucky enough to have a free copy to review shortly.

Me to. I'm also looking forward to it. Thanks for it.

My copy has just arrived. Thank you so much!

My copy has just arrived in the post.

I got home today to find my copy. Thanks so much!

received my copy today many thanks, looking forward to reading it and leaving my review

Have had a bit of time to get into this now. I am enjoying it but I do not think it is the best book by Amanda Brooke. It is a nice story but is pretty obvious where it is headed. Interesting idea for a story as well - not something I had ever really thought about the practicalities of.

Thanks for the free copy.

This was quite an emotional story, it's a difficult topic to write about and I thought the writing was very sensitive. I thought the character relationships were strong and kept the narrative flowing. I found it hard to put down and I did not expect the twist at the end.

Thank you for my copy. The author is admirably keen to make people aware of the need for donor registration for transplants and the feelings and emotions of the characters involved are obviously drawn from a well of personal pain. However, if I hadn't been given the book to review, I would have given up on it quite soon, as I found it repetitive and depressing.

I don't know if it it a proof copy that can still be corrected, but there were some glaring spelling mistakes:
P. 145 'balling his eyes out'
P. 147 'held her body taught'
P. 248 'peaked beneath the bedclothes' ( Could be correct under different circumstances!)

This makes you really think about a subject in a different way - and that subject is organ donation and how a group of three friends are personally affected. These friends think that they know each other so well, when in fact they all have secrets they are hiding from each other. It is well written in the fact that you really feel that you are getting to know the characters, but they all have very different views about organ donation and you find yourself feeling empathy and anger all at the same time. Its a powerful and moving story with a real twist at the end that I certainly wasn't expecting. I have to admit that I have not read any books by this author previously so didn't know what to expect. I found it touching to read that the authors son needed a bone marrow transplant himself, and that he received it through an unrelated donor who they never met. It made this feel so much more real. A real page turner.

I absolutely loved this book and read it in a couple of days. It really got me hooked. I loved the fact that I thought I knew from early on where the story was going, but the twist when it came was unexpected.
I liked the way the author let you see things from the points of view of the different characters, and that they were all likeable but flawed.

The subject of organ donation is a difficult one, but certainly made for interesting reading. It was very touching to learn that the author's son had had a bone marrow transplant, so I imagine that helped her convey Lucy's feelings so well.

I had never read anything by Amanda Brooke before, but I certainly shall now try to read her other books, as I loved this one.

Thanks
for my free copy.

I loved this book. I would have picked it up off the shelf from the description on the back cover alone. I could relate to all but one of the characters and each one was believable! I didnt guess the ending which held my interest right through to the end.I liked the fact that the story line was broken up by flasing forwaard to the accident. A well written book, well done Amanda

Thank you for my copy of this book.
This is a story of in two parts, firstly a sick woman who is desperately waiting for a donor heart. Secondly, we have the very tangled web around the problems, secrets and lives of three close friends. Interwoven into this is the fact that there has been a big accident with multiple casualties.
It is quite obvious where this story is leading but it weaves forwards and back between the three narratives to its conclusion. This is a thought provoking book but possibly not the best written by this author.

This is the first book I have read by Amanda Brooke and I did find it gripping, in that I really wanted to know how the story ended.

It is rare I have to fight the urge to read the last page early, but actually it wouldn't have helped had I done so, and I was surprised by the double twist.
I am also surprised that despite the difficult topics covered, e.g. organ donation, infertility and mental health including Alzheimer's disease, I have not found it a depressing experience.
However for balance, I should add that I did find the style and construction of the novel fairly annoying.

Thank you for my copy. This is the first Amanda Brooke novel I've read and I thought it was ok. I did find the relationships between the three friends and Paul a bit far fetched though, and couldn't really warm to any of them. I would have preferred to hear more of Lucy's story.
Despite this I did want to keep reading to find out how everything would be resolved in the end and I liked the fact that the ending had a little surprise.

I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to - I like a nice twisty character driven drama that deals with difficult issues. However I felt I didn't warm to any of the characters and some of how it was written was a bit clumsy - had to go back and re-read chunks of it to work out what exactly was going on.

Amanda Brookes is a clever talented writer who knows how to put the characters she invents through the emotional issues of are times, not a easy issue to talk about but one worth flagging up, it got me talking to my family and finding out there views on organ donation

I have never read any books by her before but it sounds like a good book.

I found this so sad - hope and sadness mixed - real gripping read