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faysieh's review
3.0
This has all the makings of a fascinating novel.
Pivotal is an apt word to describe its essence and the book is plotted in such a way as to deliberately encourage the reader to imagine 'what if' you made a different decision at a particular point in your life. Would what follows resemble what your current life looks like or would it be vastly different? Would YOU be different? And would you be surrounded by the same people or in a different relationship with a whole new set of friends and colleagues?
There must be a million, zillion ways in which everybody's lives could turn in a different direction given the choices we continually make as we navigate our way through one end of the day to the other. Multiply that again and again and again and there you have endless possibilities for a new you, a new life. Might you even have a new name?
Pivotal charts the stories of a handful of women who find themselves in a position of needing to make a life changing decision after an unknown benefactor leaves an unusual inheritance.
The book makes the reader question what we know about ourselves and others and how our relationships, past and present, impact upon the choices we make. It is a reflective novel, examining what it is to be human and whether through therapy, in this instance hypnotherapy, we can gain insights which help us to decide important issues when faced with uncertainty and disillusionment.
I wanted to give this book 4 stars once I understood how the different threads twisted together to make a stronger whole and the 3 stars I have awarded it, aren't really enough. The only reason the star rating is what it is, is because I found the novel confusing in many places and I didn't particularly like the dialogue which missed the mark in terms of truly capturing distinct and complex personalities. That said it is definitely a book which makes you think and an ideal choice for book club discussion.
I was fortunate to read Pivotal via the Pigeonhole platform and once again this has enabled me to read a book I might well have bypassed ordinarily, but in picking up and reading, has enriched my literary enjoyment and understanding. Even if I have 'liked' other books far more, I HAVE learned new things whilst reading Pivotal.
Thanks to the author Nikki Vallance, the publishers and the mighty reading experience that is Pigeonhole.
Will you read this book? You choose!
Pivotal is an apt word to describe its essence and the book is plotted in such a way as to deliberately encourage the reader to imagine 'what if' you made a different decision at a particular point in your life. Would what follows resemble what your current life looks like or would it be vastly different? Would YOU be different? And would you be surrounded by the same people or in a different relationship with a whole new set of friends and colleagues?
There must be a million, zillion ways in which everybody's lives could turn in a different direction given the choices we continually make as we navigate our way through one end of the day to the other. Multiply that again and again and again and there you have endless possibilities for a new you, a new life. Might you even have a new name?
Pivotal charts the stories of a handful of women who find themselves in a position of needing to make a life changing decision after an unknown benefactor leaves an unusual inheritance.
The book makes the reader question what we know about ourselves and others and how our relationships, past and present, impact upon the choices we make. It is a reflective novel, examining what it is to be human and whether through therapy, in this instance hypnotherapy, we can gain insights which help us to decide important issues when faced with uncertainty and disillusionment.
I wanted to give this book 4 stars once I understood how the different threads twisted together to make a stronger whole and the 3 stars I have awarded it, aren't really enough. The only reason the star rating is what it is, is because I found the novel confusing in many places and I didn't particularly like the dialogue which missed the mark in terms of truly capturing distinct and complex personalities. That said it is definitely a book which makes you think and an ideal choice for book club discussion.
I was fortunate to read Pivotal via the Pigeonhole platform and once again this has enabled me to read a book I might well have bypassed ordinarily, but in picking up and reading, has enriched my literary enjoyment and understanding. Even if I have 'liked' other books far more, I HAVE learned new things whilst reading Pivotal.
Thanks to the author Nikki Vallance, the publishers and the mighty reading experience that is Pigeonhole.
Will you read this book? You choose!
serenityyou's review
4.0
Ok where do I start. This book follows 4 women, Elizabeth, Dulcie, Annie and Liza. Each chapter takes it in turn to be viewed from one of these. I really liked how the author made each character different and really brought them to life. My favourite though was Liza.
They all receive a letter from a solicitor saying they have been left an inheritance. But there are conditions. They will receive a house and money, but they have to use the house to home a Tango school and use the money to build up the dance school business. There may also be other unknown beneficiaries and they are not allowed to discuss anything about this with their families.
There are a few chapters from Pia, one of the women's relatives who is also a beneficiary of the inheritance. To help them make a decision weather to take up the offer, they all go to see Dr Kath, a hypnosis.
I did think it was strange coincidence that all 4 women were seeing Dr Kath and there was no mention of this by her.
But in the last part of the book it all became clear.
I am still not 100% sure I understand it completely. But this is good in a way, has it make a me want to re-read the book again, this time with open eyes. Really leaves you thinking about how different decision can shape your live.
I give this book 4/5 stars
They all receive a letter from a solicitor saying they have been left an inheritance. But there are conditions. They will receive a house and money, but they have to use the house to home a Tango school and use the money to build up the dance school business. There may also be other unknown beneficiaries and they are not allowed to discuss anything about this with their families.
There are a few chapters from Pia, one of the women's relatives who is also a beneficiary of the inheritance. To help them make a decision weather to take up the offer, they all go to see Dr Kath, a hypnosis.
I did think it was strange coincidence that all 4 women were seeing Dr Kath and there was no mention of this by her.
But in the last part of the book it all became clear.
I am still not 100% sure I understand it completely. But this is good in a way, has it make a me want to re-read the book again, this time with open eyes. Really leaves you thinking about how different decision can shape your live.
I give this book 4/5 stars
dollydaydreamsx's review
3.0
As someone who can be quite indecisive, the premise of this book appealed to me - being asked to commit to a business venture without knowing anything about your partners and being forbidden to discuss the proposal with your family. What would you do?
Those offered the opportunity face a lot of soul searching before they can decide and decisions have far-reaching consequences.
While I enjoyed the book and did come to understand the underlying storyline eventually, the clues were a bit too hidden for me and I finished the book feeling a bit unsure about what I'd just read. A great idea, just a bit too subtle in its execution for me.
Thanks to the author and Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this book.
Those offered the opportunity face a lot of soul searching before they can decide and decisions have far-reaching consequences.
While I enjoyed the book and did come to understand the underlying storyline eventually, the clues were a bit too hidden for me and I finished the book feeling a bit unsure about what I'd just read. A great idea, just a bit too subtle in its execution for me.
Thanks to the author and Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this book.
laurahastoomanywips's review
2.0
After having had a few days to allow my brain to adjust I can now do my review.
I found this very long and drawn out, till about the last 10% I felt like I was going round and round in circles as the plot didn't develop anywhere. I now understand what the author's intentions were (parallel lives) but the delivery of the reveal made it look more like multiple personality disorder.
I hate to give a bad review as the author was lovely, answering questions as best she could during the readalong, but this just failed to hit the mark with me. Others may love it though.
Read on the Pigeonhole with thanks to them and the author for the opportunity.
I found this very long and drawn out, till about the last 10% I felt like I was going round and round in circles as the plot didn't develop anywhere. I now understand what the author's intentions were (parallel lives) but the delivery of the reveal made it look more like multiple personality disorder.
I hate to give a bad review as the author was lovely, answering questions as best she could during the readalong, but this just failed to hit the mark with me. Others may love it though.
Read on the Pigeonhole with thanks to them and the author for the opportunity.
bookie_mama_bear's review
3.0
✨BOOK REVIEW ✨
Thank you to @nikki_vallance for sending me my ebook of Pivotal. This is Nikki’ debut novel and it’s a contemporary fiction with lots of twists along the way.
I really liked the short chapters dedicated to each character. I liked how each female was so clearly different and their tormented family relationships. The story has a really interesting concept and covers lots of different issues that many women face in everyday life. The book is written with a lot of heart and it’s a really nice read!
My only but....although I understand the ending it is a little lost on me, I was both shocked and annoyed at the turn of events.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Thank you to @nikki_vallance for sending me my ebook of Pivotal. This is Nikki’ debut novel and it’s a contemporary fiction with lots of twists along the way.
I really liked the short chapters dedicated to each character. I liked how each female was so clearly different and their tormented family relationships. The story has a really interesting concept and covers lots of different issues that many women face in everyday life. The book is written with a lot of heart and it’s a really nice read!
My only but....although I understand the ending it is a little lost on me, I was both shocked and annoyed at the turn of events.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
lozababe's review
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
2.5
Quite a confusing read, and one that I’m still not sure about what happened after finishing it!
We follow four women Dulcie, Elizabeth, Annie and Liza after they get a summons from a solicitor about a potential inheritance they have to decide whether they are going to accept or not. It is stipulated that whilst deciding they can’t speak to their family otherwise they forfeit the inheritance. We follow the women as they try to make their decisions as well as following them through their day to day lives, which are all extremely different. One is a potter, one a dancer, one a head hunter and one a teacher. Their way of making the decisions although different and more in keeping with their personalities, were also similar in some ways.
Although I enjoy the idea behind the whole book, I spent the majority of it confused. Even at the end, I was still confused and it was only because I was reading along on Pigeonhole and had the pleasure of Nikki Vallance answering questions that fellow readers had that I understood what had happened, but without that I’m not sure that I would have completely understood the ending.
The writing was beautiful, but maybe in order to be less confusing the chapters for each character could have been slightly longer and with more obvious time frames.
I want to thank pigeonhole and Nikki Vallance for allowing me to read this book for free, and I want to thank Nikki for trying to answer all of the questions that everyone had without giving away any of the plot, and for explaining it to those of us who were still confused at the end!
We follow four women Dulcie, Elizabeth, Annie and Liza after they get a summons from a solicitor about a potential inheritance they have to decide whether they are going to accept or not. It is stipulated that whilst deciding they can’t speak to their family otherwise they forfeit the inheritance. We follow the women as they try to make their decisions as well as following them through their day to day lives, which are all extremely different. One is a potter, one a dancer, one a head hunter and one a teacher. Their way of making the decisions although different and more in keeping with their personalities, were also similar in some ways.
Although I enjoy the idea behind the whole book, I spent the majority of it confused. Even at the end, I was still confused and it was only because I was reading along on Pigeonhole and had the pleasure of Nikki Vallance answering questions that fellow readers had that I understood what had happened, but without that I’m not sure that I would have completely understood the ending.
The writing was beautiful, but maybe in order to be less confusing the chapters for each character could have been slightly longer and with more obvious time frames.
I want to thank pigeonhole and Nikki Vallance for allowing me to read this book for free, and I want to thank Nikki for trying to answer all of the questions that everyone had without giving away any of the plot, and for explaining it to those of us who were still confused at the end!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Abortion
liseyp's review
This wasn’t my kind of book. The characters were over the top and I didn’t find them engaging, which left me unable to care about what was happening to them.
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