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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This was very well written and a good version of an oft used theme
A great thriller!! Check for trigger warnings though!
Major trigger alert for domestic violence including rape, this book is very descriptive.
I started reading this book because I received a small nook for Christmas and I had also gotten the book for free via Book Bub years ago and its just been sitting on my electronic shelf waiting for me.
This is a thriller for sure, no huge twists to wait for, just waiting for the hammer to fall if you will. I enjoyed the burn of this book and its pace was well written.
We have 3 timelines - one is a murder in the very beginning of the book, we never go back to this timeline so it's really just two - second is Catherine & Lee when they start dating, last is Cathy now 4 years later.
The back and forth was a bit confusing at first, it took a couple of chapters to realize, I really had to pay attention to the dates, but 1/4 of the way through you knew where you were within the first sentence if you forgot to look at the date in the chapter.
Our author did such a good job writing from Cathy's POV then and now that I had to keep reminding myself that they were the same person and not two different characters, they are that different!
Another thing I liked was that Cathy was never magically cured from her PTSD and OCD behaviors, she was working on them and putting in the time, and while she had times when she was improving she was never just 'cured' this felt very realistic.
The current chapters of Cathy and her OCD were honestly exhausting, I found myself getting annoyed and had to stop myself and think, this is what life is like for someone with this condition, it is exhausting for them as well, it was quite sad.
The violence that was portrayed was difficult to read, quite detailed and dramatic, but wholly believable.
My biggest complaint with this book is her falling in love with Lee to begin with, his red flags were waving from the start and I think any normal person wouldn't have even made it past that first night if they had been treated that way, but this is my cynical mind talking. Nothing about him was something to fall in love with at any point, however, for those that did, our author gives a very solid picture of why it is hard to leave an abuser.
Also, with friends like Catherine had, she didn't need anymore enemies.
I started reading this book because I received a small nook for Christmas and I had also gotten the book for free via Book Bub years ago and its just been sitting on my electronic shelf waiting for me.
This is a thriller for sure, no huge twists to wait for, just waiting for the hammer to fall if you will. I enjoyed the burn of this book and its pace was well written.
We have 3 timelines - one is a murder in the very beginning of the book, we never go back to this timeline so it's really just two - second is Catherine & Lee when they start dating, last is Cathy now 4 years later.
The back and forth was a bit confusing at first, it took a couple of chapters to realize, I really had to pay attention to the dates, but 1/4 of the way through you knew where you were within the first sentence if you forgot to look at the date in the chapter.
Our author did such a good job writing from Cathy's POV then and now that I had to keep reminding myself that they were the same person and not two different characters, they are that different!
Another thing I liked was that Cathy was never magically cured from her PTSD and OCD behaviors, she was working on them and putting in the time, and while she had times when she was improving she was never just 'cured' this felt very realistic.
The current chapters of Cathy and her OCD were honestly exhausting, I found myself getting annoyed and had to stop myself and think, this is what life is like for someone with this condition, it is exhausting for them as well, it was quite sad.
The violence that was portrayed was difficult to read, quite detailed and dramatic, but wholly believable.
My biggest complaint with this book is her falling in love with Lee to begin with, his red flags were waving from the start and I think any normal person wouldn't have even made it past that first night if they had been treated that way, but this is my cynical mind talking. Nothing about him was something to fall in love with at any point, however, for those that did, our author gives a very solid picture of why it is hard to leave an abuser.
Also, with friends like Catherine had, she didn't need anymore enemies.
Fantastic psychological thriller set in the past and present. Bubbly and risky in the past. To a victim of OCD. Gripping and keeps you wanting to see what happens next.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Super-spannend en goed opgebouwd. Aan de ene kant is het vrij voorspelbaar maar de manier waarop het wordt verteld maakt dat je dit boek niet meer aan de kant kan leggen.
Note: This book contains graphic physical and emotional abuse.
This book was published in 2011, five years after the author conceived it during NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, which occurs every November. And for a debut, it’s a good one. Ms. Haynes is a skilled storyteller albeit the story is a hard one to read. When Caroline meets the handsome Lee, he seems too good to be true. A common theme: girl meets boy who turns out to be a psychopath.
There are a lot of clues for Caroline but as many of us tend to do, she wants to believe the good in people and when Lee says how very, very sorry he is for his most recent abuse, she thinks he’ll change. As a reader, we can see this coming a mile away but the story is such that we do have empathy for Caroline and understand, to a certain extent, how confusing the situation is. She rather quickly realizes that she needs to get out but then how to safely extricate herself from him proves challenging at best. Lee is everywhere and has infiltrated every corner of her life. An opportunity to leave the country looks like her best solution – he could never find her on another continent. We are with her as she stealthily packs her bags and makes her escape to the airport only to see her efforts thwarted. Lee does not take kindly to rejection and the punishments escalate.
An old friend pops up, one that Caroline thought was jealous of Lee and had maybe even been flirting with him. Another story as old as time, a man comes between two friends. At this point, Caroline would like to just hand him over to this woman but it turns out she has also had her own experiences with this charmer. Without giving it all away, Caroline is able to save herself but not without a lot of physical and emotional scars. Pictures are rarely clear when we’re in them. In human nature, the desire to love and be loved can be stronger than even self-preservation. Facing the choice, perhaps does what the title says, putting us into the darkest corner.
This book was published in 2011, five years after the author conceived it during NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, which occurs every November. And for a debut, it’s a good one. Ms. Haynes is a skilled storyteller albeit the story is a hard one to read. When Caroline meets the handsome Lee, he seems too good to be true. A common theme: girl meets boy who turns out to be a psychopath.
There are a lot of clues for Caroline but as many of us tend to do, she wants to believe the good in people and when Lee says how very, very sorry he is for his most recent abuse, she thinks he’ll change. As a reader, we can see this coming a mile away but the story is such that we do have empathy for Caroline and understand, to a certain extent, how confusing the situation is. She rather quickly realizes that she needs to get out but then how to safely extricate herself from him proves challenging at best. Lee is everywhere and has infiltrated every corner of her life. An opportunity to leave the country looks like her best solution – he could never find her on another continent. We are with her as she stealthily packs her bags and makes her escape to the airport only to see her efforts thwarted. Lee does not take kindly to rejection and the punishments escalate.
An old friend pops up, one that Caroline thought was jealous of Lee and had maybe even been flirting with him. Another story as old as time, a man comes between two friends. At this point, Caroline would like to just hand him over to this woman but it turns out she has also had her own experiences with this charmer. Without giving it all away, Caroline is able to save herself but not without a lot of physical and emotional scars. Pictures are rarely clear when we’re in them. In human nature, the desire to love and be loved can be stronger than even self-preservation. Facing the choice, perhaps does what the title says, putting us into the darkest corner.
One of the best books i have read in a long time.
The story consists of the main characters whom are; Cathy - a young woman who suffers from
OCD and post traumatic stress disorder, due to the violent abuse at the hand of her boyfriend. Lee- the boyfriend of Cathy who at first sight seems to be very charming, caring but who has a very dark side creating doubt in cathy's mind by doing odd things moving small insignificant objects about and whom creates fear by abusing cathy severely. Sylvia - Cathy's best friend in Lancashire she is a journalist who moves to London to work on the Daily Mail, one of the friends whom doesnt believe issues that Cathy brings up due to his percieved nature but eventually believes her due to commencing a relationship with Lee. Stuart, lives above Cathy who is a Psychologist who teaches Cathy not to let the past and the OCD rule her, they become very good friends and end up married at the end of the book. :)
AN EXCELLENT READ
The story consists of the main characters whom are; Cathy - a young woman who suffers from
OCD and post traumatic stress disorder, due to the violent abuse at the hand of her boyfriend. Lee- the boyfriend of Cathy who at first sight seems to be very charming, caring but who has a very dark side creating doubt in cathy's mind by doing odd things moving small insignificant objects about and whom creates fear by abusing cathy severely. Sylvia - Cathy's best friend in Lancashire she is a journalist who moves to London to work on the Daily Mail, one of the friends whom doesnt believe issues that Cathy brings up due to his percieved nature but eventually believes her due to commencing a relationship with Lee. Stuart, lives above Cathy who is a Psychologist who teaches Cathy not to let the past and the OCD rule her, they become very good friends and end up married at the end of the book. :)
AN EXCELLENT READ
I wouldn't normally read a book about domestic violence but saw great reviews for this book and thought I'd read it. It's quite a gripping tale about how a controlling relationship gets worse and worse and leads up to more and more shocking scenes shapes the future of a young woman's life. The book jumps back and forth between the past and present, keeping the reader enthralled at what's happening at both timelines and wanting to know what happens next. The protagonist develops severe OCD as a result of the experience, and the book was very interesting on many levels. The book got especially interesting and gripping towards the end when it leads up to the final scene of domestic violence and also shows how her story shapes up at the end. I would really recommend this book.