Book Review - New Year’s Eve

Sarah Todman’s, New Year’s Eve, will have you laughing, crying and everything in between.

New Year’s Eve is Sarah Todman’s debut novel, which in and of itself is hard to believe! I picked this up on a Sunday afternoon hoping the kids would leave me alone for an hour so I could have some alone time. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put in down thus ignoring the kids for hours! It kept me up until midnight for a couple of nights and I’m not even sorry about it. Here’s why…

New Year’s Eve follows the story of Eve, once a New Year’s Eve baby, now all grown up and flailing through a life riddled with missteps. After a workplace affair leaves her career in disarray she retreats home to outback Queensland under the guise of family emergency, but really, Eve loves escaping. She’s an expert at running from her feelings.

What follows is a family in turmoil due to circumstance and years of toxic behaviour from all of them. Eve and her mother have a particularly difficult relationship - which has defined much of Eve’s past - and begs the question, can she unravel it enough to free herself from all her negative behaviour?

Set in an outback pub, with a host of colourful characters and vivid imagery throughout, I loved basking in this story. I could see it all laid out before me and I was right there with Eve for every heartbreak and every victory.

No spoilers, but I will also say that a man who knows how to light a fire properly is always an excellent character trait to include.

New Year’s Eve is a stunning debut that I couldn’t put down. Five stars, definitely recommend!