Many thanks to Noelle Holten and publisher Bookouture for my spot on this Blog Tour.
A convoluted mess of family situations which showed the thoughts and feelings of people. A story written in 4 POV of women, some of whom had overlapping lives, all concentrating on the man Mark.
Jenny and Mark had an affair and daughter Ava was the result. Mark went back to his legitimate wife and had a child Daisy who was on autistic spectrum, so he rejected mother and daughter as they were not perfect. Jenny married someone else had another daughter Ellie. Mark came back to Jenny, blaming his ex-wife, hiding his shortcomings, and they tried to live happily ever after till Ava got married, and things came to a confrontation.
My second book by author Ali Mercer, the story had me grappling to get a hook on to the thoughts of these characters. Each of them were unlikable and selfish, except for child Daisy. She was innocent and sweet.
The author has tried to get into the psyche of the human mind to show us the nature of some. Selfishness and a need for perfection were ingrained. Some didn’t want to face facts and believed in explanation without clarifying. All the characters seemed to seek happiness at any cost, primarily their own.
It was down the line when Ali transformed them, and there was light in the dark tunnel as facts presented themselves. Forgiveness is for one’s own soul rather than for the guilt-doers. The story brought to the forefront what we rarely want to face. It removed the masks off people. The opening scene was at its most dramatic, and then the layers swirled and waved feebly in the winds of time.
Life is a blend of situations and circumstances and people who face them, some bravely, but most, not so much. This book was a honest portrayal of some of them, stark and raw drawn as characters in a fictional situation, people whom we have all come across in real life. A reflecting read.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.
All my reviews can be read here
Ali decided she wanted to be a writer early on and wrote her first novel when she was at primary school. She did an English degree and spent her early twenties working in various jobs in journalism, including as a reporter for the showbusiness newspaper The Stage.
She started writing fiction in earnest after getting married, moving out of London to the Oxfordshire market town of Abingdon and starting a family. She has two children, a daughter and a son who is autistic and was diagnosed when he was four years old.
Ali is fascinated by families, their myths and secrets, and the forces that hold them together, split them up and (sometimes) bring them back together again. She always travels with tissues and a book and has been known to cry over a good story, but is also a big fan of the hopeful ending.
@AlisonLMercer
@alimercerwriter
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AliMercerwriter
It’s a beautiful day for a wedding. White roses scent the air and the summer sunlight streams in. A spoon chimes against a champagne flute and the room falls silent. And there he is – my husband – getting to his feet to propose a toast. He’s still handsome. His new wife is next to him, gazing upwards, oblivious.
I’m not supposed to be here. All these years in the same town and I had no idea until I saw his name on the seating plan. He lived with me, once. Loved me. Small-town memories are long, but the people in this room don’t want to remember.
They say the healing is in letting go, but after what he did, he needs to know we haven’t gone away just because he’s shut his eyes.
So I take Daisy by the hand and step forward from the shadows. He notices us and his eyes widen. The champagne glass falls from his hand and smashes. Then he sags forward, making a terrible sound – a sort of strangled scream…
Publication Date: 11th September 2019
Publisher: Bookouture
24 Responses
It sounds like the character development was done really well. Glad you enjoyed this one, Shalini, even if the characters weren’t very likable at first. Great review.
Thank you Diana. This was quite different a book, made me look into human psyche.
How are you doing? How is the tiny bean?
I’m good Shalini and so is the little one. 3 months to go before I meet her 🙂 How are you?
Aww tiny bean has become a little one. So cute. Always in left side to sleep in the last 3 months. Ante natal exercises. Ask an experienced midwife or old granny if they don’t show.
Squatting is needed in the last trimester which the western world might not follow. But our grandmother’s say squatting helps to loosen the perineal muscles so that natural delivery is easier. As your elders for the herbal medicines for the let down of milk. Here there is a special preparation which is started in the last month so that milk flows easy. Sleep lots. My sister hasn’t had 8 hours of sleep so far.
More than the doctors, the elders know how to manage. We ran pillar to post for a lot of remedies. The docs keot giving meds which didn’t help. And the old grandmothers of friends helped us. The homemade solutions worked well
Wow this book sounds intense, four POVs is a lot. The story sounds interesting.
It was not exactly a psychological thriller but gave me an overview of the psyche
Thanks for the wonderful advise, Shalini. The thought of squatting makes me wonder how I will raise myself back up but I will give it a try and also ensure that I get plenty of rest. Thank you <3
Use support. Do it only when mom or husband is at home so you would have help… Elders will tell you better than most docs
I love a family drama! Wonderful review, Shalini!
Thank you so much Jennifer. Have a wonderful week
So one woman and and one family wasn’t enough for this guy… hmph.
But it’s good that the author got so into the psyche of the characters though 😉
Hey cozy babe. Where are you? And how are you?
Ugh… work 🤯😤🙈
But otherwise I’m healthy and so are the kiddies 😄
I took a little 20 mins this morning to catch up on a couple blogs.
Omg work has caught you in its web. We have to save you. All work and no play… 😂 😂 😂
Hahaha. You know it.
What a web the author seems to have created to explore the human psyche! Amazing review! xx
Thank you so much darling Meggy
Thank you so much ❤️ Meggy ❤️
4 points of view. 4 women. Sounds complicated.
It was, in some ways. And delving into the psyche was a different direction
Beautifully written review, my love. Interesting book that sounds like it really made you think. ❤
I agree. It was a different book though marketed as a psychological thriller
Ooooo, this sounds intriguing, but also a book that would have to have 110% of my attention to follow along!
Thank you so much ❤️ it was quite different