This novel is crying out for a movie adaptation

Masterfully portrays life in the south of Italy during the first half of the twenty-first century

A beautiful book that will deliver huge satisfaction

A high-stakes, high-concept love story from a bold new talent . . . All of the obvious "out of this world" comments apply.

Think Gravity meets The Versions of Us

A tense fight for survival with an unexpected ending ****

An edge-of-your-seat tale.

Gripping from the very first page Hold Back the Stars is a rare combination of thrilling action, deep emotional depth and intelligent ideas. The most unique love story I've read in years.

Just the ticket if you’re looking to get lost in a breathless love story

A unique take on the usual dystopian fiction . . . a worthwhile read which will keep you up past bed time

This is a stirring, unique and beautifully crafted story on the complexities of first love that will stay with you long after reading. This is going to be huge.

Dazzling . . . a truly stellar debut, full of wonder and heart. I'm sure it's going to be a mega hit.

A beautiful, moving, truly original tale. I loved this book for taking me by surprise.

Terrific . . . A beautiful story

Gorgeous, brilliant, heartbreaking . . . A love story to remember.

A tense, crisp, edge-of-your-seat love story and a completely unexpected ending, I was gripped from the first line to the last. Hold Back The Stars is out of this world. I loved it.

Playfully serious, imaginatively assured, Hold Back the Stars packs real emotional punch.

Beguiling and heartbreaking.

Terrific . . . A beautiful story.

What a wonderful book.

A stand-out read, I'll be recommending it to everyone.

insanely brilliant

pacy, thrilling and very original. The plot is fabulous

A page-turning psychological thriller with a difference, this is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

An extremely good short novel about a teenage boy from Dublin… This is really very good indeed.

Their love affair, across divisions of class and age, is brilliantly, painfully told. Although Montpelier Parade is – amazingly – Geary’s debut novel, he already knows how to play with the reader’s feelings like a pro. He’s one to watch.

It’s written throughout in the second person, a device that sounds tricksy and ought to jar, but Geary’s deft way with words makes it work. Staggeringly good.

Wow, for a debut book, this blew me away. It is a beautiful, lyrical, almost poetic story of first love, the passion and heartbreak of loss and finding out who you are… The writing just made me sigh (in a good way) and I cannot wait to read Karl’s next book. As this is only a slim book, it will haunt the reader, and for me, it will always have a place in my heart. It is a book to treasure and to tell your friends and family about. It’s one to keep and one to reread, just because.

It’s a sensitively told love story and an evocative picture of rainy, gritty 1980s Dublin. Geary is a writer to keep an eye on.

Geary’s use of the second person is unfaltering and brilliantly sustained, it creates an intimacy and intensity that is utterly absorbing.

A quietly moving story of two lost souls in 1980s Dublin.

The Summer of Impossible Things is that rare thing: a deftly crafted, utterly compelling story written entirely from the heart. Hauntingly beautiful, heart-rending and unique, this is an instant classic. I sobbed my heart out and adored it!

GORGEOUS. It's so moving and romantic and I want to re-read it immediately

Definitely more Time Traveller’s Wife than Dr Who

Packs an emotional punch that's second to none - and the author's hallmark. Rowan Coleman picks you up, spins you around and dances you to the very edge of love. Glorious

Powerfully moving, vivid, glowing with love and humanity... I loved every word

The Summer of Impossible Things is utterly beautiful and engrossing - and Coleman is a brilliant storyteller

I fell into the pages of this beautiful book, vivid, emotional, and so very evocative, it was an utter joy from first page to last

THE SUMMER OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS is truly a thing of great beauty.'

The pages turn themselves in this perfect summer read. Rowan Coleman has written a time-bending mystery with a huge heart. I loved it

The Summer of Impossible Things is captivating, thought-provoking and beautifully written. Rowan Coleman has written a book to savour, and characters to care about. I loved it.

A romantic holiday read with substance…a timeless love story…heart-wrenching

You're going to love, The Summer of Impossible Things...A rollercoaster ride back and forward through time...enthralling

A wonderful story

magical and fresh...totally unexpected

A sparkling novel of hope and sacrifice’

Magical, heart-warming and time-bending story.