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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
SO good. This book really made you feel like you were going through it with Shelley regaining her memory. At times I didn’t know where it was going one minute I was thinking Matt may be a bit dodgy and then next I was loving their relationship.
It was a heavy read at times but nice that through all that she had a happy ending.
It was a heavy read at times but nice that through all that she had a happy ending.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A woman wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and has to rebuild what she remembers about her life.
I read this because I really enjoyed the Last List of Mabel Beaumont by this author. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite stack up.
My main quibble is that, while there are actually high stakes for the plot, the main character has forgotten them. The reader is given some hints but doesn't know what all the risks are before they're nearly resolved. That made the pacing a bit weird and kept the story low-tension, so it felt like not much was happening for parts of the book.
I read this because I really enjoyed the Last List of Mabel Beaumont by this author. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite stack up.
My main quibble is that, while there are actually high stakes for the plot, the main character has forgotten them. The reader is given some hints but doesn't know what all the risks are before they're nearly resolved. That made the pacing a bit weird and kept the story low-tension, so it felt like not much was happening for parts of the book.
Not my normal thriller/ crime genre but I’ve read a book by this author previously and loved it. This was no different. The way the different characters stories were portrayed was a really interesting approach.
3.5 Stars rounded down.
This book was brilliantly written and I loved the 'then' and 'now', portions of the book. Piecing it together was really interesting and I enjoyed picking up on stuff along with Shelley.
I knocked 2 stars off because I didn't love the ending, it felt like the author wanted to add something for a climax but
I did enjoy it though, and I thought
I do recommend this book, but it is not a cute fluffy romance.
This book was brilliantly written and I loved the 'then' and 'now', portions of the book. Piecing it together was really interesting and I enjoyed picking up on stuff along with Shelley.
I knocked 2 stars off because I didn't love the ending, it felt like the author wanted to add something for a climax but
Spoiler
I think that the simple life was the perfect ending, adding in a pregnancy felt odd and out of character, and the hospital would have DEFINITELY picked up on it.I did enjoy it though, and I thought
Spoiler
the love story between Matt and Shelley was very cute. Her falling for him when she didn't know him, and how hard he was trying for her.I do recommend this book, but it is not a cute fluffy romance.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My second book by this author and another 4⭐️ read.
It’s an easy read about a less easy subject, domestic violence.
I shall be working my way through this author’s back catalogue.
They are available on KU 🥳
It’s an easy read about a less easy subject, domestic violence.
I shall be working my way through this author’s back catalogue.
They are available on KU 🥳
The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson shredded my heart yet warmed it, too. Books that turn me inside out and upside down are truly winners! Gorgeously and insightfully written in dual timelines, "then" and "now", it is an emotive kaleidoscope of domestic abuse, depth, strength, heartache and hope.
Shelley Woodhouse awakens from a coma in a hospital, visited mostly by hospital staff and other concerned strangers. Her dear friend spends time with her, too. Though memories are hazy, Shelley is clear about who put her there. Her husband pushed her down stairs. She is no stranger to violence as she suffered from it when growing up but that cycle of abuse certainly doesn't make it easier. Her journey to wholeness is challenging and forces her to confront her past but she has loving support. Subplots are equally incredible.
There is so much to mull over, from the skilful handling of the difficult domestic abuse topic to the richness of realistic characters to learning more about amnesia. But the gentle yet dynamite writing is what took my breath away.
My sincere thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this captivating novel.
Shelley Woodhouse awakens from a coma in a hospital, visited mostly by hospital staff and other concerned strangers. Her dear friend spends time with her, too. Though memories are hazy, Shelley is clear about who put her there. Her husband pushed her down stairs. She is no stranger to violence as she suffered from it when growing up but that cycle of abuse certainly doesn't make it easier. Her journey to wholeness is challenging and forces her to confront her past but she has loving support. Subplots are equally incredible.
There is so much to mull over, from the skilful handling of the difficult domestic abuse topic to the richness of realistic characters to learning more about amnesia. But the gentle yet dynamite writing is what took my breath away.
My sincere thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this captivating novel.
3.5 stars.
Shelley woodhouse awakens from a coma in a hospital bed, and all she can remember is being attacked by her abusive husband. When she later finds out that it’s actually years after that attack, she must slowly recover her memories of the intervening years, and why she again awakened from a coma. She begins remembering her childhood, and the complex relationship she had with her mother, her loving grandmother, and the abusive man her mother invited into her life.
Luckily, Shelley gradually recovers all her memories, and discovers there has been much love and rewarding accomplishments in her life since her husband pushed her down the stairs of their home years ago.
In this novel, author Laura Pearson attempts to grapple with a few of the reasons why women may stay in abusive home situations, using titular character Shelley Woodhouse, and her mother.
Pearson does not attempt to tackle the whole societal mess that allows domestic abuse to not be universally deplored. Instead, she shows two generations of women who find themselves betrayed and beaten repeatedly by their supposedly loving partners, whose anger and hard fists are tolerated and excused by first Shelley’s mother, who refuses to confront her terrible situation, citing these are just difficulties in marriage and one just needs to get on. Then, later by Shelley, who is too ashamed to tell anyone, especially as she had seen the same thing happen to her mother.
Pearson writes heartwarming stories, but this book one was pretty dark, dealing with abuse and gaslighting by the women's partners. Pearson shows how abuse affects not just one member of a family, but also later generations. Pearson also shares some of the depressing statistics for domestic abuse.
I really liked how Pearson's use of the two timelines, one during Shelley's past, the other starting from the book's opening in the hospital. The author skillfully shows how Shelley's choices in the past inform her present.
While this books subject matter was a little surprising, I still enjoyed it, even though I found the incidents of abuse a little difficult to get through.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Shelley woodhouse awakens from a coma in a hospital bed, and all she can remember is being attacked by her abusive husband. When she later finds out that it’s actually years after that attack, she must slowly recover her memories of the intervening years, and why she again awakened from a coma. She begins remembering her childhood, and the complex relationship she had with her mother, her loving grandmother, and the abusive man her mother invited into her life.
Luckily, Shelley gradually recovers all her memories, and discovers there has been much love and rewarding accomplishments in her life since her husband pushed her down the stairs of their home years ago.
In this novel, author Laura Pearson attempts to grapple with a few of the reasons why women may stay in abusive home situations, using titular character Shelley Woodhouse, and her mother.
Pearson does not attempt to tackle the whole societal mess that allows domestic abuse to not be universally deplored. Instead, she shows two generations of women who find themselves betrayed and beaten repeatedly by their supposedly loving partners, whose anger and hard fists are tolerated and excused by first Shelley’s mother, who refuses to confront her terrible situation, citing these are just difficulties in marriage and one just needs to get on. Then, later by Shelley, who is too ashamed to tell anyone, especially as she had seen the same thing happen to her mother.
Pearson writes heartwarming stories, but this book one was pretty dark, dealing with abuse and gaslighting by the women's partners. Pearson shows how abuse affects not just one member of a family, but also later generations. Pearson also shares some of the depressing statistics for domestic abuse.
I really liked how Pearson's use of the two timelines, one during Shelley's past, the other starting from the book's opening in the hospital. The author skillfully shows how Shelley's choices in the past inform her present.
While this books subject matter was a little surprising, I still enjoyed it, even though I found the incidents of abuse a little difficult to get through.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.