Review: The Sight of You

Title: The Sight of You

Author: Holly Miller

Publisher: 9th June 2020 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 344 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary fiction, romance

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Joel is afraid of the future.

Since he was a child he's been haunted by dreams about the people he loves. Visions of what's going to happen - the good and the bad. And the only way to prevent them is to never let anyone close to him again.

Callie can't let go of the past.

Since her best friend died, Callie's been lost. She knows she needs to be more spontaneous and live a bigger life. She just doesn't know how to find a way back to the person who used to have those dreams.

Joel and Callie both need a reason to start living for today.

And though they're not looking for each other, from the moment they meet it feels like the start of something life-changing.

Until Joel has a vision of how it's going to end . . .

My Thoughts

The Sight of You is a fabulous book, a slow burner yet leaving you almost breathless by the conclusion.  This is not your usual romance novel - yes, there is Joel and Callie meeting and falling in love - but the twist is really quite unique. His future visions bring this love story to a whole new level and one must really read it to fully appreciate it. With alternative viewpoints from both Callie and Joel, the story flows well and will keep you engaged right through to the climactic ending. 

‘There’s more than one way to be happy in this life.’

This is not only unique but a really clever premise for a book that is told astoundingly well for a debut author. Haunted by his visions, what does that leave Joel with? Isolation and distancing whilst simultaneously trying to remotely protect those you love or conversely, let them rest easy that all will be well. The connection he has with Callie, however, is something he can’t step away from once their paths cross. She is everything he needs in his life ... until that day comes where he has a vision of her future. 

‘All the reasons I shouldn’t are still there: falling for her, fearing what I might see if I do, and everything that brings with it. But all the reasons I should are slowly beginning to outweigh them.     She knows about my dreams. I bared my soul to the first person I’ve truly cared about ... Something’s drawing us together, powerful as gravity. And now, after all these weeks, perhaps I’m finally ready to let gravity win.’

Over the course of the book, the reader initially sees each intimate phase in detail - from romance, relationship status until confronted with the reality of Joel’s foresight. It’s at this stage the chapters get shorter, as pages devoted to each of them slowly whittle away as the inevitable looms large. Would you tell someone their future? Would they want to even know? This part of the book will see you racing to the end and it’s clever - really clever - as if the shortness of the chapters coincides with the readers increasing anticipation to see how it will unfold. 

For a debut author, Holly has created a near perfect love story. It slowly soothes you until the very end, turning the final page, you are left with all the air gone from your lungs. Speechless. Incredibly moving. It’s this last section that will forcibly draw you in and won’t let you go. A massive fiction debut that deserves high praise indeed. 

‘If I truly loved him, maybe I’d be encouraging him to say what’s in his heart, agreeing to share the load. Because love isn’t only about the easy choices, the simple solutions - it’s about the hard graft and the tough calls, the sacrifices you don’t actually want to make. Nothing worth having ever comes easy, my dad always says.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.