Alluvia...what a great new author

Title: Alluvia
Author: J H Lewis
ISBN: 9781530691418
Rating: 8/10
Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, Thriller, Adult

"I head downstairs to pour a huge glass of wine. The kitchen is dark, illuminated only when I open the fridge. I listen to the soft ticking from the huge wall clock. It's a nice house, 'for a student'. I published a few short stories, wrote for a few national magazines to fund my way through university. Again. (Technically I am a fully educated and certified journalist, twice already and I may as well make use of my knowledge!) So I bought this townhouse, guilt free. I've done my time! Brand new cute estate, yes here I am disguised within roads littered with similar houses, seemingly normal. Then it occurs to me I have always seen my 'situation' as an advantage. Even at four years old when my memories developed, the awareness of different lives started to unfold. I discovered I was different. By eleven I knew I was. Three lives. All lived simultaneously and independently...I was alone in my experience. Until now. Now there was Mark, and for the first time my lives and their unpredictability are a burden."
By eleven I knew I was. Three lives. All lived simultaneously and independently...I was alone in my experience. Until now. Now there was Mark, and for the first time my lives and their unpredictability are a burden."

I am currently a member of the Poppy Loves Book Club. Which is an online book club where members read a new and upcoming authors books and discuss their thoughts with the author at the end of the month, over the internet. It was one day whilst I was browsing the page I came across a post from an author asking if the club would be interested in reading and reviewing her book. I absolutely jumped at the chance to read and review a new book. A book which was new to the market. I contacted JH Lewis and explained Three Minutes and Forty Five Seconds to her and how I would be very interested in reviewing her book should she like me too, and she did!

I am so glad she agreed to send me her book. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is a fictional story which I have not encountered before. The book starts in a school environment where Anna is talking to her nursery teacher about her previous lives and how she died in them. The story then continues to develop. It can be a little confusing at times about where Anna will next wake up, will she be at university? Will she be living in Wales? Or will she be a journalist in Manchester? All three different lives, with three different families, homes, careers but all lived by the same person. Anna. Anna has never previously had anyone cross paths into her lives. She does not have the same family or friends and as far as she is aware people do not exist in different lives. I felt sorry for Anna. She does not want this choice of life but she has no option but to wake up in a different environment each day. She doesn't ask to be given a different family and life but yet she has them and she continues like there's nothing wrong. That is until someone specific comes into her life and she doesn't know what will happen with her lives.

Anna has a life set up for herself in each of the universes she lives in. She is a successful businesswoman in two of them and an up and coming student journalist in the third. Anna is able to complete degree the third time with ease as she has vast experience in the job. This can be seen in the quote used above as Anna has been able to successfully buy her own house whilst still at university. Something which I have never known anyone to achieve at university and now know very few people who own their own homes, years after leaving university.

Upon the arrival of a new neighbour in Anna's life in Wales, she cannot believe her luck. He's attractive, tall, and funny and her family love him. Mark arrives at Anna's to ask to use her phone, "I know this is horror movie creepy, but I was wondering if I could use a phone?"She only hopes she will be able to spend more time with him in the life he has appeared in.

Through the three lives, there is something which will undoubtedly upset Anna and cause her distress in one of her lives. I was unsure of how Anna was going to deal with the turmoil which is thrown upon one of her lives. Will she be able to move on and develop her life? Anna decides to disclose her ability to one family and her older, hateful and spiteful sister, Maria, uses this opportunity to take Anna and give her the professional care and attention she needs. This is attention which Maria thinks Anna needs in order to make her sister disappear. It is while Anna is having this "care" from her sister that she finds her lives may be crossing over into one another. Could this be possible? Could what she thought was three distinctive, three different lives are beginning to mix together?

Anna then jumps back to her devastated life in Manchester and has a discussion with her dad. Her dad reveals that he can remember the stories and discussions Anna had with him as a child about her other lives and other families, he always thought this was due to an active imagination. Maybe he was wrong. Her dad encourages Anna to go and explore her other lives and find out what is happening? Maybe there are more people like her?

During this exploration, Anna finds someone who has the ability to answer a number of questions for Anna about her lives, but unfortunately, she does not get the answer she deserves. Will Anna ever find out why her life is this way? Will she ever stay in one life? Why does she have the ability to transport from one life to another? All of these questions were things which were not answered and left open, perfect for another book to continue the mystery. I do hope there will be another book.

I absolutely loved this book! I was looking forward to reading it and I am so glad I did. I have recommended it to loads of my friends and I have had family members asking me what has happened next when I was explaining the book to them. I have even bought a copy for a friend for Christmas. I would always recommend using your local book retailers to buy books. Order a copy in! But if you are unable to find a copy in store then absolutely download if to your Kindle like I did or buy a paper copy! There are a small number of grammatical and spelling errors but I didn't find that this impeded on the reading. It didn't change the story or the way in which I was able to read the book.

Overall, I can confidently say this is one of the better stories I have read in a long time1 I would absolutely recommend it and I hope my friends enjoy it also.
Rating 8/10
10-Word-Review: Great story from a new author, absolutely go buy it!

I am still listening to Crazy in Love by Chrissie Manby as an audiobook, but I only have 3 chapters left so keep an eye out for another review coming soon! I have started to read The Hunger Games but Suzanne Collins. I know a lot of people have read this before or seen the films, but I really do hope the books are as good as the reports. Stephen King is quoted as saying "Constant suspense...I couldn't stop reading."

I want to take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I am really looking forward to spending this Christmas with my family and friends and I can only hope that your Christmas is filled with happiness and new books...Steph xx