Book Review – The Life She Left Behind @bookouture #BookReview #BooksOnTour #contemporary

Many thanks to publisher Bookouture for my spot on this Blog Tour.

Whew, an emotional read was this. Author Nicole Trope pulled at my heartstrings with the rendering of a tale that so many of us had gone through. I could just sigh at the end. Tough lives we women led.

Rachel had a perfect life, so she thought. But there was a secret buried deep inside her which she had promised never to tell. But like all secrets, it wanted to come out to destroy the life she led.

Having read many books by the author, I should have expected how much the words etched on paper would touch me. But silly me, I went in blind. And came out with a film of tears. The book was not heartbreaking emotional, but it dealt with a subject matter which is so valid today.

Told in multiple POVs, a bit confusing initially, but later got into a good rhythm, I loved how parts of her past were slowly pieced together. The child who was, the child she had to be soon emerged, bringing the full story in sight. Rachel evoked quite a few of my emotions. I felt I was with her in her life journey.

The writing brought the characters to life, their pain and fear became real to me. There were a twist at the end in their lies and revenge, but overall the prose superceded by love and forgiveness.

Real but flawed characters, an emotional story written with a steady hand, it was quite a read!!

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

When I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s not a sound that disturbs me. It’s a feeling. Silently, I creep to my daughter’s room, breathing a sigh of relief when I see her sleeping, her night-light twirling, butterfly shapes moving their pink wings. Quickly, I lock the door. I won’t let anything happen to my little girl.

You tell him everything. The husband you adore, the father of your child, your best friend. He knows, just by looking at your sage-green eyes, when something is wrong. The two of you can communicate with a glance, or a touch of the hand. Except what if you can’t?

What if your happy marriage has plastered over one huge lie? A lie you have even started to believe yourself, in order to survive? What if you have a secret, something you have hidden from your beloved husband and your strawberry-scented baby girl, to keep them safe? What if the guilt has kept you up, night after night, for as long as you can remember? What happens when suddenly, after twenty-eight years, that secret refuses to stay buried? What will you do now everyone you love, everything you cherish, is in harm’s way?

Publication Date: June 2020