Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves – soon there’ll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she’d lost still be hers for the taking?

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette UK Audio via Netgalley for providing an audiobook ARC of Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Equal parts heart-warming and heart-breaking, Everything is Beautiful mesmerized me in the best way possible. The book comes out on the 4th of February, 2021. Please read it when it comes out, you’ll fall in love, I promise.

Eleanor Ray Press Reviews

The story starts slowly and I was afraid we'd have to meet every single item in Amy's hoard but that didn't happen. Instead we meet Charles aka Charlie, 8 1/2 years old (almost 9!), the oldest son of Amy's new next door neighbor, Richard. Charles loves Amy from almost the moment he meets her and he's good for Amy, such a smart, insightful little boy, with answers for almost everything. He makes no secret of the fact that he favors Amy over his dad's dreadful, evil girlfriend.

I liked the way this story was told. A chapter from the present day interspersed with chapters from Amy’s past that explain how she ended up where she did as a hoarder. It is easy to empathise with the likeable Amy. Put quite simply, I cared what happened to her and was with her every step of the way. Richard is a great character and Charles is a delight, though sometimes he does sound somewhat older than the child he is. An intriguing mystery with a quirky but lovable protagonist - funny, sad and perceptive. This will appeal to fans of The Girl on the Train and Elizabeth is Missing. -- L C Tyler, author of A Cruel Necessity Needless to say she is beyond broken hearted. In their absence she discovers something else ... a need to accrue beautiful little possessions. Mugs, vases, ashtrays, and her porcelain birds among many other carefully selected items. It started with just a few, then a few more, and now she is barely able to navigate her own home. Not really a problem as she never has company. Her possessions won't deceive her like the people she once loved. It's safer with them. Eleanor Ray has an MA in English Literature from Edinburgh University. She lives in London with her husband and two young children.I loved this charming, endearing novel...it will melt even the hardest of hearts...If ever there was a time for a book like EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL to lift us above the every day doom and gloom, it is now. -- Joanna Nell, author of THE SINGLE LADIES OF JACARANDA RETIREMENT VILLAGE Everything is Beautiful reads like a sentimental story. And although it contains emotional chapters of calamity and sorrow, its overall message is one of hope and acceptance. ABOUT 'EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL': Sometimes it's impossible to part with the things we love the most...

I used to like to watch those reality shows about hoarders. I'm not sure what the fascination was but I would wonder how these people got to such a point in their lives that their living conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. I liked the character of Amy and loved the descriptions of some of the mixed media artwork that she created in the past. It was very heartening to see the changes in Amy as the story progressed and the ending was perfect. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to a friend. Thus, this story becomes an uplifting mystery centered around missing persons, the passage of time, and the crushing anxiety and grief of not knowing what might have happened. There's also a compelling mystery that is slowly unravelled and I was eager to find out what happened to Amy's boyfriend after he and her best friend disappeared twelve years ago. Right around the time Amy's hoarding started.

Eleanor was inspired to write her debut novel by the objects her toddler collects and treasures – twigs, empty water bottles and wilting daisies. I’m giving this four stars. I was surprised by the genre bending sort of storyline and truly appreciate any author willing to write about potentially offensive subject matter. I think Eleanor Ray did a bang up job with Amy Ashton. I would have given it 4.5 had the original title and cover been kept . . . . This is a sweet story, about how broken hearts can harm us forever, if we don't let go, but also about how broken hearts can be mended if we make room for love. Letting go can make room and this is a lesson that Amy needs to learn. I loved every bit of it. I think the term in book reviewer lingo is 'utterly captivated' - and I was, as it was not only so beautifully written but the story was so good, too. -- Fliss Chester, author of A DANGEROUS GOODBYE Readers of Carpe Librum will know that I love reading - and watching documentaries - about hoarders. There's something uniquely fascinating to me about the physical manifestation of their grief, personal trauma or mental illness and the appeal of the before/after transformation process and subsequent recovery - albeit rarely achieved - is irresistible.