Review: The Moment by Claire Dyer

Paddington station, nine a.m., rush hour. As the crowds ebb and flow, time suddenly stands still for two people: Fern and Elliott, ex-lovers who parted twenty-five years before and never expected to see each other again.

But here they are, face to face, and the connection is as powerful as it was the day they first met. Their lives have moved on – to marriage, children and divorce – yet neither has stopped regretting the day that drove them apart.

Fern gives Elliott her number and they tentatively arrange to meet again that evening when both will be travelling back through the station. And, as the day ticks on, and the memories resurface, both Fern and Elliott reflect on the past. As their emotions go round in circles, so does the Paddington clock, counting down the minutes to eight p.m. – and the moment the future is in their hands. 

Review: I was fairly disappointed in this book. It has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time now. I loved the premise behind it but I had never got round to reading it and so when I had some time the other week I downloaded the audiobook and began to listen. I just felt that the storyline was a little one dimensional and the pace of the novel in general slow and hard to stick with. 

I really enjoyed the characters in this book though, I thought they were very well-rounded and easy to get to know. I didn't necessarily like them as people, showing that they were so well written because for me to dislike them, I must have found something in their personality not to get along with. Eliot is a typical middle-aged man living with regrets and fern, the female equivalent of this. Both of them spend a lot of the novel wondering what if, as well all do and I really enjoyed the relationship that they had between them. 

The book jumps around quire a lot between the present, Fern's past, Eliot's past and the past they had together. I found this a little confusing and i wasn't always sure who or what we were talking about. I really liked the storyline that was in the present and the storyline that they had in the past but I found it a little hard to link them all together, perhaps if I had read this book in paperback instead, this would've been easier to follow. 

I liked the setting of the book because it deals with a lot of places I know well and a lot of the storyline is set in and around Paddington Station which I think was really fun! I enjoyed the book enough to finish it all the way through and it certainly wouldn't put me off reading the other Claire Dyer book that I have waiting on my kindle but I just wanted a little bit more from this book, a little more pace or a little more weaving together to turn a good story into a great story.