The LoveReading LitFest invited Eleanor Ray to the festival to talk about this wonderful debut Everything is Beautiful. Eleanor was inspired to write her debut novel by the objects her toddler collects and treasures – twigs, empty water bottles and wilting daisies. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL is heart-warming and thought-provoking, a mystery with a difference. It's beautifully constructed around the everyday items its central character hoards, as she slowly uncovers the secrets of her past. I loved it. -- Andrea Mara, author of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration 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 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 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 A gently absorbing entry into the mystery-uplit canon. -- Vaseem Khan, author of THE UNEXPECTED INHERITANCE OF INSPECTOR CHOPRA 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 brilliant, too’ FLISS CHESTER

Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL is a truly beautiful book, and wonderfully written. The title is perfect too. Amy is an enchanting character, and I found her story deeply moving. Ray's portrayal of her hoarding in response to grief and trauma was convincing and original, both tender and funny. The novel manages to accommodate so many qualities that might be presumed to be in tension, but in Ray's hands are brought together powerfully, so that it is charming and thrilling, romantic and gripping. The mystery of what happened to Tim and Chantel is compelling and immersive. -- Claire Kendal, author of THE BOOK OF YOU 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?

I relished it from start to finish. A beautiful book. Thought-provoking. Evocative. A treat to read’ I also really enjoyed the resolution of the mystery and the ending. Overall this book was good. I just didn't love all of the stuff from the past. I have no recollection how this ended up on my TBR and I didn’t bother reading the blurb once my library hold came up so imagine my delight when it turned out this was about one of my most strange addictions . . . . 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. Amy Ashton’s life fell apart eleven years earlier. At that time she started a collection of keepsakes of the guy she loved. Though they might be things others would throw away, to Amy they were precious. But her collection has grown and turned into an obsession that has her living in a cluttered house. When new neighbours move in next door., Amy is concerned for her pots and keepsakes in her yard. Though she attempts to keep her distance, the neighbour’s eldest son Charles is determined to make friends. Amy finds herself drawn into the little family of Charles, younger brother Daniel and their father Richard. Richard's live in lover Nina is not so keen on the attention being shown to Amy by Richard and his boys. When she makes a chance discovery, Amy end up with lots of questions needing answers. Will she be able to find the answers and find the courage to move on to a more fulfilling life?A total treat of a read – warm, enchanting and intriguing, with an unforgettable protagonist at its heart’ HOLLY MILLER 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. We form attachments with a particular memory, or a particular moment in time, a particular point in space, and we try our best to not let go. Whether with tangible objects that fill up our homes, or intangible photos that fill up our phones, or even just memories, is up to us. Amy Ashton had everything (or some version of it, at least) one minute, and the next minute, nothing at all. Now, at least she has her bottles and birds, potted plants and lighters, cookbooks and slow cookers. And, she has the memories associated with them.

Amy has found her best friend for life in Chantel and the love of her life in Tim. They even share a flat together which makes Amy feel warm and happy to have the two people she holds dearest with her always.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? Amy is left in limbo, and instead of looking for a therapist to help her deal with her feelings of abandonment and grief, Amy buys beautiful things that give her momentary pleasure. (No judgement here: many of us been there, done that.) But Amy has gone to an extreme, and the neighbours and the neighbourhood council want Amy to reduce the massive clutter in her home - contractors can't even get in to repair the chimney, for goodness sake! I’m also more than happy to report that while I had assumed upon starting (and would have most likely been A-okay with it) that this was going to be a romance it ended up not being one at all. I definitely would have made a gripe about magic penises fixing broken women being a trope I don’t love, but again I usually get over that reaction because I like feel good crap as much as the next gal. But as I said yaaaaay for this not being a kissing book at all.