Publisher: Level Best Books

Publication Date: October 31, 2023

Length: 293 pages

In Louisville, Lauren is finishing her lunch when she receives a text message from her boyfriend. She opens it and just like that, she is single again. She knows this is the right thing to have happen but being dumped in a text is awful. After sharing her news with her friends, they decide a night out is needed. The girls’ night of fun ends early as Lauren becomes too drunk to continue. After her friends take her home and tuck her in, Lauren’s life changes. Lauren struggles to move on so she returns to her hometown of Lamington. Living in the furnished annex of her parent’s house, Lauren is very withdrawn and has no interest in socializing. A friend holds Lauren to a promise to attend a party. Lauren stands at the side of the gathering, unwilling to interact. A very handsome man approaches her and they begin talking, changing her life forever. Lauren has had such a rough time, she really deserves to have something good happen. Will this be it?

It is really impossible for me to review this book and not have a few spoilers. This is a deeply complicated story. If you have triggers to sexual violence this book is probably not for you. The main character Lauren is a very likable and somewhat naive character. The tragedy that she endured is horrible. She doesn’t deserve to be in the trouble that she is in. Innately we hope the best for her. The other characters are well-crafted but mainly support the story of Lauren.

I lived in a suburb of Louisville for nearly five years. The author uses the name of the city but nothing else. The locations are none that I ever encountered. To eliminate distractions with location names, it might be better to create one. Don’t let the location be a distraction to the message here. There are some really awful circumstances that people live through and the author does an excellent job of portraying one such time. The ending of this story was satisfying. This book would be a good one for book clubs, the discussion and opinions of other readers opens up new ways of thinking about the topics.

I am looking forward to reading more from this talented author.

My Rating: 🌻🌻🌻🌻/5