Finding the words to describe Sunset feels impossible. It's relentless. I don't think I have ever read such an unflinchingly honest portrayal of grief, one that embraces all of its ugliness and volatility, rejecting societal expectations of how grief should be experienced. Ruth, the protagonist of Jessie Cave's debut, finds herself in a world that she could never have imagined after experiencing a sudden, earth shattering loss. The people around her perform their grief in contained, palatable, expected ways, but Ruth implodes. There is no beauty in her grief, it's volatile and it's relentless. Her fury and sorrow are boundless and insurmountable. Ruth is... unlikeable. I'm not sure she was ever likeable, even before grief took over her life. She's brutal, self-destructive, and directionless—she's a mess. This is exactly why I loved her. Her relationship with her sister, the keel to her ship, is intricate and layered, their bond is intimate and unbreakable but tempered by jealousy. It is the love of siblings who have grown up with only one another to rely on. Of all the relationship dynamics in the novel, this was the one I was most fascinated and enthralled by. When this book is described as a love story, it is the love story of Ruth and her sister Hannah. I also adored that, as someone who has followed Jessie Cave's career for quite some time now, I could find little pieces of her and her sister Bebe in Sunset — I'm thinking mostly of gold eyeliner and flat whites. :) I'm also familiar with Cave's wit, warmth, and cutting honesty, all of which were palpable throughout the novel. If you've never seen her shows I Loved Her and Sunrise, I insist you watch them immediately. Right now. Go. I received a copy of Sunset from Welbeck Publishing Group in exchange for a review.

Sunset is one of those rare titles that completely destroys you but won’t let you stop reading. It rips your heart out and stomps all over it, completely devastates you, but somehow still makes you want to go back and reread it immediately after turning the last page. It’s absolutely fantastic. The story is about Ruth, reeling from the sudden and extremely tragic death of her sister Hannah, and Jessie Cave does not hold back on her descriptions and portrayal of raw grief and pure emotional turmoil. Your heart aches for Ruth constantly, and the pain of her grief comes alive on the page. It’s brutal, but for Ruth it’s her reality and when you learn at the end in the acknowledgements that Jessie Cave lost her brother in real life, it becomes all the more powerful and completely astounding. Amazingly, throughout all this grief and raw emotion though, it is never a drag. There is a lot of heavy stuff to wade through but Jessie’s writing is exquisite and I genuinely found it really difficult to put down. It’s effortlessly readable - you become so absorbed in Ruth and her characterisation is so on point that I truly felt I knew her intimately, and her story is addictive despite its heavy subject. You have to keep reading to know that she is going to be okay, that she can realise that the best way to honour Hannah’s memory is actually to live. It’s bittersweet, with some touching and even humorous moments, and it ends just perfectly too. Sunset is absolutely sublime and I haven’t read a book this good in months. An extremely powerful and heartbreaking story of sisterhood and grief, told with excellent precision and astute observation. This is certainly a book I will be recommending for years to come.

Beautiful, darkly funny, real. I tell everyone to read this without going into too much detail about it - there's just something so genuine in the way this story is told. Even if you can't relate to the exact situation, there are so many things to take away from it. I hope Jessie writes many more novels in future, because her voice is important.

Thank you so so so much to Netgalley allowing me to read this. I absolutely loved this book. Brilliantly written, amazing truly amazing. Jessica Cave has captured siblings bond perfectly, she has taken aspects from her own relationship with her sister which you can tell due to how feel it feels. This was a beautiful story, I can't believe this was her debut novel , I it not hesitate to give it a 5*. I requested this with no idea really what it was about, but it was full of love, loss and grief. Following the story of 2 sisters Ruth and Hannah. I love the growth of Ruth's character throughout. It made me feel so many emotions; made me laugh, cry and honestly shocked me. Highly reccomend.

Sunset is a moving and heartbreaking story of life, great challenges, loss and grief. Set in London and the Mediterranean, I really enjoyed this story of sisterly love and reconciliation with issues of self-esteem and mental health. Told from Ruth's point of view, in differing timescales dating back to 1999, 2018 and the present (2019), the main characters were extremely likeable and Ruth's desperation after her sister, Hannah's terrible accident was tremendously well portrayed. As Ruth attempts to come to terms with what happened, Jessie Cave's representation of Ruth's grief was so incredibly raw and powerful. Hannah's boyfriend, Rowan was also terribly well-drawn. Hannah was the perfect big sister and a parent figure to her little sister, as well as being popular, hardworking with a successful career, a volunteer worker, and a loving girlfriend. Ruth on the other hand was complex, wild and chaotic, an artist who hasn't reached her full potential, a uni dropout, had no love life to speak of and had some antisocial tendencies, yet she was still so lovable. Although there was melancholia to sections of the story, it was well-handled by the author without being overwhelming largely due to the sweeter moments and the humour injections. The author's writing style was a good fit for me and the deep, multilayered, charming novel wasn't frothy or saccharine. The audiobook was narrated by Bebe Cave and I alternated between reading and listening to this novel; listening to the story was a good decision and I thought it was narrated well with Bebe's engaging voice bringing the necessary worth and verve to the proceedings. Overall, Sunset is a super book that deals with big issues but is still an easy read. Very highly recommended and definitely one of my favourite stories, so far this year.