Review by neeemii - Releasing 10

neeemii 's review for:

Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I am so beyond not okay. I don’t even know how to explain what this book did to me. Releasing 10 destroyed me in the most brutal, heartbreaking, and raw way possible. I cried my eyes out reading this, it wasn’t just sad. It was devastating 😭 🤧

Lizzie’s story is one of the most painful things I’ve ever read. It’s honestly unimaginable. The trauma, the manipulation, the gaslighting, the mental illness, the absolute horror she endured in silence, and then to have everyone around her either dismiss it or not believe her? No wonder she’s angry, cold, closed off, rude. She screamed for help and no one listened. And when she finally started getting a grip on reality again, it was ripped out from under her.

And Hugh. Oh my god I love Hugh ❤️ He had to step up when every adult around him failed. He was holding her head above water while drowning himself. He gave her everything, every part of him, and even then, he couldn’t save her from a demon he didn’t even know was still alive and haunting her

Let’s be real, if anyone went through even half of what Lizzie did; being abused for years, told it was all in her head, manipulated into silence, thrown into manic episodes, having her reality questioned constantly, being hated by her family, watching her sister die,

carrying a pregnancy she never asked for

, losing the one boy who loved her, then of course she’s going to be messed up. People don’t get it. You can’t read her character and judge her like she’s a normal girl in a normal story. She’s not. Her whole existence has been survival

And the way Chloe Walsh writes her mental health? It’s haunting. Her episodes of mania and depression were so vividly real. It’s not some romanticised idea of “love heals all.” No. It’s gritty and ugly and honest. This isn’t just a love story, it’s a story about trauma, survival, and the ugly truth of what happens when no one listens. But still… Hugh’s love for Lizzie gives you something. A little light in all the dark. A reason to hope 💞

This book absolutely wrecked me, and knowing that so many of Lizzie’s experiences reflect real life stories makes it even harder to sit with. I don’t know what’s going to happen next for Hugh and Liz, but I need answers. I need peace. I need them to be okay. Because honestly, I’m not. Not even close.

Content Warnings