Book Review: One Small Act of Kindness by Lucy Dillon

Title: One Small Act of Kindness
Author: Lucy Dillon
Published: 23rd April 2015
Publisher: Hodder

Review
One Small Act of Kindness is my first read by Lucy Dillon and upon reading her latest book, it certainly won't be my last. I must firstly just show some cover appreciation love for this novel. It is truly gorgeous. It has that warm, summer feel to it with it's gentle colours, field of flowers and white clouds. I adore it! Where I read the most is usually on my train commute and a lot can go on, what with announcements, people getting on and off, loud music and people chatting means it can be quite hard to concentrate sometimes. However Lucy's book was so absorbing, I managed to completely shut off all those distractions and lose myself in this beautiful story. This was also helped of course by Lucy's impeccable writing. Lucy has written two very strong, believable and so likable female characters. An accident and Libby's kindness bring her and this mysterious lady together. Both their stories run alongside each other and show us how they interlink with each of their viewpoints. You have Libby who is struggling trying to make the hotel The Swan work out and her husband Jason who isn't being totally honest with her and then you have the poor lady who after her accident is suffering from temporary retrograde amnesia and can't even remember her own name, so the staff call her Pippa. You cannot fail to like both of them the same and it really was a treat to read their stories and you really root for both of them. I was honestly so invested in both of their stories and felt the same emotions that each of them were going through, particularly with Libby and the frustrations of her Husband and her Mother in Law Margaret, who I really wanted to have a few words with myself at times! The way Lucy dealt with the subject of amnesia was clearly well researched and every time Pippa's memory was triggered off by something, you really felt the joy and relief that Pippa felt at finding out she had roots and connections. It is not a topic that I regularly come across in fiction and yet Lucy has dealt with it sensitively and made it believable. The concept of this book was actually really lovely. I loved the idea that with one small act of kindness it can set off a chain of events that sets things in motion and changes people's lives. It does leave you with a warm feeling and make you think yes we should all do little acts of kindness as you never know, you may even start something truly wonderful. An inspiring, uplifting and heartwarming read from Lucy Dillon.