I enjoyed this book

The opening and premise were excellent, but delivery fell through a bit.

(I feel like I spend half my time reviewing books on Goodreads explaining why I chose 3 vs. 4 stars - it's a funny line for me!)

In this case, I considered 4 because I wasn't sure until the end how certain things would go and I was invested enough to want to find out. I hovered over 3 for a while because the characters felt almost completely one-dimensional and while I had hopes a few times that things were going to move into a different unexpected direction, the author completely stayed the course with the predictable.

The required suspension of disbelief over why the main character kept making ridiculous decisions (even with her history as laid out as it was), the coincidences one had to believe to get everything resolved as it was, and the lack of ever really finding out anything about Charlotte as a person left me unsatisfied. I appreciated the final chapter in which the author pretty much repeated and summarized all of the information gleaned from those associated with Charlotte and put it back together in a narrative that made sense because even having just read it, it was too convoluted to have made sense without that, which is probably one of the more telling aspects of my response to the novel.

The book was neither exceptionally good nor exceptionally bad. It was absolutely readable but there’s not really much else I can say.

I couldn't put this down. C. L. Taylor has a knack for writing ordinary people into extraordinary situations, making characters easy to relate to while also endearing them to readers. This novel explores the theme of abusive relationships and the far-reaching effects they can have on a person's life and mental health. Add in the complex relationship between a mother and daughter and the secret life of a teen and you're in for a gripping read. This wasn't a difficult read and was very enjoyable!

The Accident by CJ Taylor
I struggled to put this book down, read it quickly. It starts with a married couple sitting at their daughter hospital bed who is in a coma, and the mother is convinced to find reason why her daughter is there now.
There are chapters from the past, these are necessary to the storyline (my problem with this is that they are written in italics and I don´t enjoy reading large amount of text in italics), but i enjoyed this part better than the present, but there were times when I thought Sue acted pretty stupidly during these past moments.
There are some great characters, each with their own secrets to hide.
There are plenty of twists and turns, truths and lies, a little creepy at times. This is a well written novel; I will be looking forward to more thriller novels by this author. This book might make you think about the relationship with your own teenagers and how to improve it.
There is a little confusion on my part about whether or not this is the author’s debut novel, ( I read a few reviews saying this is her debut novel) some say it is and there are others that say she has written under a different name, Cally Taylor, with books called Heaven Can Wait among others you can check out the links below for more information. Why the change in name, I don´t know.
http://www.callytaylor.co.uk/
This is called Before I wake for the US market.
https://www.facebook.com/CallyTaylorAuthor

Taylor writes some of the most authentic-feeling characters in the genre, and one must offer a great deal of respect towards the highly truthful and dexterous rendering of both abusers and victims. It's incredibly accurate. The Accident isn't at all bad, although there are few terrible passages that shouldn't have made it into print. It seems like she needs a better editor to weed these (infrequent) silly parts out; they steal brilliance from otherwise rather masterful thrillers.

A mother with a past. A botched suicide attempt. A lying father. A secret that kills. A question with no answer.

Charlotte is smart, beautiful and popular. So why did she step in front of a city bus? Her mother Susan knows it wasn't just a freak accident. Something compelled her daughter to attempt suicide and she is determined to find out why. Starting with her fifteen-year-old daughter's diary, Susan digs into her daughter's life and events leading up to the accident. It doesn't take long before Susan realizes events from her own past put Charlotte in danger.

The novel alternates between the main story line and Susan's diary entries from fifteen years ago. I'm glad the author chose this writing style so readers could draw their own conclusions and piece together clues. Both points of view reach a climax that kept me "all in" until the end.

Before I Wake includes a Reading Group Guide and Q&A with the author that makes it a great summer selection for book clubs. (Set for release in June) What's not to like about a novel of secrets and lies? It has my stamp of recommendation.

Literary Marie of Precision Reviews

Before I Wake is a book that I could not put down. I started it in the afternoon, stayed up late; reading until my eyes would not stay open, then took it to work with me the next days in hopes of a few quiet moments that I could keep reading. Now that I have finished it, it is still on my mind and I am not quite ready to let it go.

I related best with Charlotte’s mother, Susan. She could tell that something had caused her daughter to end up in the coma other than the accident that everyone else believed. Susan went against her own beliefs and her husband to find out the truth of what had caused Charlotte to step in front of that bus. She knew her daughter better than anyone else and knew that she had to protect her and make her want to return to her family. I absolutely love that she held her ground.

Many times I thought I had an idea what had happen to Charlotte, some of it I was close to, some of it I was so far off. I felt like I was on a ride a lot of the time. The thrills and twists and turns kept me so entertained, yet afraid to turn the page and learn the truth of the story. I knew once the truth was shared that the story would be coming to an end and I am not ready for Charlotte’s story to close. This would be a great book club read and I recommend it.

Stayed up until the early hours to finish this! Loved the suspense and the twists. There are 2 stories and these intertwine, both gripping to read.