Tag: addiction

5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview The Liar’s Sister by Sarah Denzil. @bookouture @sarahdenzil #TheLiarsSister #BooksOnTour

if only I could read faster

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for The Liar’s Sister by Sarah A Denzil. I’ve been a fan of the author for a while now and I know that I am not the only one who enjoys her writing because my review of Silent Child is one of my most read blog posts ever, and Only Daughter isn’t too far down the list either.

I received a copy of The Liar’s Sister by Sarah A Denzil from the publisher, Bookouture, via Netgalley. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

Wow, I don’t really know where to start with this review. The Liar’s Sister starts off being your everyday psychological thriller and then it goes along seemingly following a normal path and then BAM! You realise that you stopped breathing a couple of minutes ago and you can’t read fast enough to find out what actually happened ten years before.

I quite liked Heather as a character, although I never really felt as though I got to know who she really was, but by the end that all made a lot more sense. I wasn’t sure about her sister Rosie, she seemed to be so consumed by guilt that it was impossible to work out what exactly she felt guilty about, although again that all became clear.

With The Liar’s Sister, Sarah A Denzil has weaved a clever story, one that gradually builds up the tension as more and more is revealed but it is hard to know who to trust.

The setting of Buckthorpe village was perfect, it felt claustrophobic and remarkably unfriendly, but why were the villages so contained, were they also keeping secrets too?

I feel as though I need to process this book a lot more to work out exactly what happened and why and also how I feel about it. It is one of those books that I will think about for a couple of weeks after finishing, a sure sign of a great read that kept me wondering and guessing right until the very last page.

I’ve really enjoyed previous books by the author but I think that this one is probably her best one yet.

Blurb:

A SHOCKING DISAPPEARANCE. A VILLAGE FULL OF SECRETS.

Ten years ago, a boy named Samuel Murray went missing from the quiet village of Buckthorpe and was never seen again.

Rosie Sharpe cried over her missing friend for weeks after. But her little sister Heather knows that Rosie’s tears hide the truth. Because the night Samuel was last seen, Heather watched her older sister climbing back through the window of their childhood bedroom. Her jacket torn, her eyes wild and her body trembling with fear.

Heather never told anyone what she saw, but secrets can’t stay buried forever…

A decade later, Rosie and Heather return to the home they grew up in when their mother falls ill. But when their house is ransacked and they receive a threatening note, it becomes clear that someone in the close-knit village doesn’t want them there.

When Heather finally confronts her sister about what really happened on the dark, rainy night Samuel vanished, Rosie’s version of the truth is more shocking than she could ever have imagined. But can she trust her sister? And who broke into their house that night? As the lies of the past begin to unravel, they have the power to put the lives of both women in terrible danger…

This twist-filled, page-turning psychological thriller from the million-copy-bestselling author of Silent Child will keep you hooked until the final, jaw-dropping pages. Perfect for fans of Behind Closed Doors and The Girl on the Train.

About The Author:

Sarah A. Denzil is a British suspense writer from Derbyshire. In her alternative life–AKA Sarah Dalton–she writes speculative fiction for teenagers, including The Blemished, Mary Hades and White Hart.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. 

Saving April, Sarah’s debut suspense thriller, is a psychological look into the minds of the people around us who we rarely even consider – our neighbours. What do we really know about them, and what goes on when the doors are closed?

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahdenzil

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marmiteandbooks/

Website: https://www.sarahdenzil.com/

The Liar’s Sister by Sarah A Denzil is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

4.5*, blog tours, book review

#BlogTour #BookReview Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer. @KelRimmerWrites @headlinepg #BeforeILetYouGo #KellyRimmer #addiction #book

if only I could read faster

Before I let you go

I’m so pleased to be part of the blog tour for the paperback release of Before I Let You Go by the fabulous Kelly Rimmer.

My Review:

I’m a big Kelly Rimmer fan, every book of hers that I have read have been a brilliant read and one of them in particular completely blew me away.

So I was excited to read her latest book Before I Let You Go, and wanted to read it based only on who wrote it, the blurb really didn’t matter. As it turned out if I had read the blurb then it would have been a book that I wanted to read. Although there might have been some hesitation because when a book features someone in active addiction it can often misrepresent addiction or even glamourise it.

Not that that happens here, one of the best parts of the book is the accurate portrayal of addiction, how hard it is the break and the heartbreaking consequences that it can bring.

The relationship between sisters Lexie and Annie is delightfully complex, when they were young they both needed each other and had a wonderful relationship, but Lexie moved out and was unable to have contact with Annie for a few years. In that time both girls changed and things between them were never quite the same again.

Lexie still feels responsible for her sister and tries, again and again, to help Annie to break her addiction. Finally, Lexie must cut ties in order to keep herself safe and allow her to live her life, which she is finally getting back when Annie contacts her again.

It is hard to say no to family when they need help, and when Lexie finds out that Annie is pregnant she becomes determined to do everything that she can to support Annie to get clean and so that she can keep her baby. But what will the consequences be for Lexie?

I really did enjoy reading Before I Let You Go, the characters were realistic and I cared about what was going to happen for them. Kelly Rimmer really is a skilled author whose books I will continue to read, enjoy and possibly shed a tear over.

Thank you to Kelly Rimmer and Headline for a copy of Before I Let You Go. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

Before I Let You Go CoverYour sister or her baby. Who do you choose? A moving page-turner with a heart-pounding dilemma. As children, Lexie and Annie were incredibly close. Bonded by the death of their beloved father, they weathered the storms of life together. When Lexie leaves home to follow her dream, Annie is forced to turn to her leatherbound journal as the only place she can confide her deepest secrets and fears… As adults, sisters Lexie and Annie could not be more different. Lexie is a successful doctor and happily engaged. Annie is an addict – a thief, a liar and unable to remain clean. When Annie’s newborn baby is in danger of being placed in foster care, Annie picks up the phone to beg her sister for help. Will Lexie agree to take in her young niece? And how will Annie survive, losing the only thing in her life worth living for?

About The Author:

Kelly Rimmer Author Picture

Kelly Rimmer is the USA Today bestselling women’s fiction author of five novels, including Me Without You and The Secret Daughter. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages.

 

 

Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer is out now in ebook and paperback and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

3.5*, book review

Review: My Girl by Jack Jordan.

if only I could read faster

mygirl
My Girl by Jack Jordan.

My 3.5* review:

This is my first Jack Jordan read but I’ve heard a lot about him and how good his books are so I was excited to read this. I knew little about the book’s storyline and if I’m honest I think that that is the best way to read this book.

I found it very easy to read, it took me a couple of days which is really quick for me but that was because the book is quite simply written. This has its benefits but I also felt that it was a bit too simplified and I just didn’t emotionally relate to any of the characters which meant that I didn’t really care about what happened to them.

Paige is a mess, her daughter was killed ten years ago and only her severed arm was found. Then, a few months ago, her husband committed suicide. Paige falls apart, she is drinking so much that she often blacks out so when strange things start happening no one will believe her as they think that it was something that she had done herself when she was drunk.

There is talk about childhood sexual abuse in the book which could be a trigger for some people but it is not graphic in any way. There is pretty graphic violence in the book though.

I enjoyed My Girl and give it 3.5*. I received a copy of My Girl from the publisher via Netgalley but I was under no obligation to review the book.

Blurb:

Paige Dawson: the mother of a murdered child and wife to a dead man.

She has nothing left to live for… until she finds her husband’s handgun hidden in their house.

Why did Ryan need a gun? What did he know about their daughter’s death?

Desperate for the truth, Paige begins to unearth her husband’s secrets.

But she has no idea who she is up against, or that her life isn’t hers to gamble – she belongs to me.

From the bestselling author of Anything for Her, Jack Jordan’s My Girl is the new chilling thriller that you won’t want to miss.

My Girl is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

5*, book review

Review: Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi.

if only I could read faster

nina is not ok
Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi

This is such a well written book that skillfully tells the horrors of alcoholism. I hope that readers who do not struggle with addiction will see things differently and gain some understanding and compassion after reading Nina is Not OK. I really enjoyed it and I know that I will be thinking about Nina for some time to come.

My Review:

There are lots of books and movies out there that glamorise addiction, even unintentionally. Nina is Not OK is not one of those books.

Having worked in the field of addiction I was unsure about how I’d find this book, as so often inaccuracies frustrate me, and recovery is made to look very easy. Impressively I found none of this in Nina Is Not OK.

Nina is 17, her father is dead, her mother is married to a new man and has a half sister, Katie aged 6. Nina loves Katie in an adorable way, but she struggles with her relationship with her mother and step dad, Alan. This, combined with the fact that Nina’s boyfriend has dumped her for someone he just met prove to be too much for Nina. She descends into a world dominated with alcohol and sex with men she just met. Nina is consumed by anger and the only way that she can cope with this is to drink herself into oblivion.

Despite her awful treatment of her family and friends they stick with her, eventually showing her the tough love that she needs and taking her to rehab. While the author doesn’t go into a lot of detail about her time in rehab, what is there is in my experience, fairly realistic. Once out Nina attempts to put her life back together, she throws herself back into her A-Levels and rebuilding her relationships with her friends and family. Without alcohol to skew her thinking she is able to come to terms with things that previously consumed her and with the quiet and steady support from her 12-step sponsor she begins to rebuild her life.

The author, Shappi Khorsandi, writes a painfully accurate portrayal of alcoholism. It isn’t sensationalised or overdramatised. I would think that the author must have experience of alcoholism in some form or other.

I think that Nina is Not OK is a good book for anyone to read, but for those with family or friends who struggle with addiction it is good insight into the thinking that goes on in the addicts mind, and how powerless they are over their addiction. I couldn’t help but wonder while reading whether this would be a good book for people in early recovery to read. I think Nina is Not OK would be a good book to give to someone in active addiction, especially a young person, but I don’t think that someone in early recovery should read it due to the risk of being triggered. There is also frequent reference to a rape that some readers should be aware of.

I received a copy of Nina Is Not OK from the publishers via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Blurb:

Nina does not have a drinking problem. She likes a drink, sure. But what 17-year-old doesn’t?

Nina’s mum isn’t so sure. But she’s busy with her new husband and five year old Katie. And Nina’s almost an adult after all.

And if Nina sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before , then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks. Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend.

But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…

 

Nina is Not OK is available now on Amazon UK and Amazon US now.

4*, book review

Review: The Forgotten Woman by Angela Marsons.

if only I could read faster

the forgotten woman
The Forgotten Woman by Angela Marsons.

My Review:

I think that most followers of If Only I Could Read Faster know that I love author Angela Marsons. Her crime book series about DI Kim Stone are, without a doubt, my favourite crime series so I was excited to read a non crime book by the author. I give The Forgotten Woman an easy 4*.

‘I am a huge Angela Marsons fan, her crime series Kim Stone books are brilliant in so many ways. I knew that she had written two book before her Kim Stone series and had bought them both but had yet to read them. When I heard that Bookouture was re-releasing them I was excited, I heard there had been some tweaking and editing so decided to read the newer version.

The Forgotten Woman tells the story of Kim and Fran, two women who appear to have nothing in common. After meeting in an AA meeting the two forge an unlikely friendship, helping and supporting each other to rebuild their lives.

Both women have complex histories involving prostitution and a brief mention of sexual child abuse. They learn to deal with their past and move on in their lives. I really liked Kit and Fran, they worked really well together and were both believable as characters. I felt that it was a shame that the AA meetings weren’t portrayed more positively, and that they appeared to play no part in Kit and Fran’s recovery from alcoholism.

At times while reading The Forgotten Woman I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it was based on the author’s own experience. There was something about it that felt so real and raw that at times it made for uncomfortable reading.

While The Forgotten Woman didn’t blow me away like Angela Marson’s Kim Stone books it was still a really good read. It will open your eyes and make you think. For a first novel this book shows that Angela Marson’s is a talented author who definitely has more to tell us. I can’t wait to read more books by her and hope that she keeps writing for a very long time.

I received The Forgotten Woman from the publisher, Bookouture, via Netgalley in return for an honest review.’

The Forgotten Woman is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Blurb:

Two ordinary women. Two damaged lives. One friendship that would save them both

Kit Mason has lived a life of unimaginable pain. An ex-prostitute, she has fled the clutches of an abusive pimp and now finds herself living hand to mouth in a new city, without anyone to help her.

Frances Thornton seems to be living the perfect life. A lawyer from a privileged background, her perfect façade hides the painful secrets that still haunt her.

Brought together by their attempts to conquer their addictions in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, the two women strike up an unlikely friendship.

But can they find strength in each other – or will the demons of their past catch up with them?

A compelling, moving and ultimately uplifting novel about overcoming the very worst life can throw at you and starting over. The perfect read for fans of Jodi Picoult and Amanda Prowse.

Previously published as My Name Is.