Friday, July 3, 2020

BLOG TOUR - The Life She Left Behind



Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for The Life She Left Behind by Nicole Trope.

DESCRIPTION:

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?

An emotional, thought-provoking and beautifully written novel which examines the pieces of ourselves we are afraid of, and the impossible decisions we make when we are desperate. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kerry Fisher and Liane Moriarty will be moved by this heartbreaking tale.


PURCHASE LINKS:

Title
:   The Life She Left Behind
Author:  Nicole Trope
Publisher:  Bookouture
Genre:  Literary Fiction; Women's Fiction
Format:   Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   456
Date of Publication:   July 1, 2020
My Rating:   4 Stars

Rachel has it all, gorgeous and attentive husband, a thriving toddler and a beautiful new house to make their very own. However, she has a troubled past that has suddenly jumped right in front of her. There is also the fact that her mother is in hospice. Rachel wishes her mother could remain with her as long as possible. 

Rachel not only has tried to forget her difficult past, to bury it, keeping most of it secret from her husband, even with outright lies. Not only are things beginning to change for her - and not in a good way - she becomes desperately afraid that she will lose her husband if he ever discovered the truth of her past. 

As the book moves evenly between the past and the present, we get to see the horrid things Rachel's father did to his family, and how, even years later, Rachel is still tormented by it. As a matter of fact, danger becomes an element of things for Rachel. I also want to add that what Rachel, her mother and her brother experienced at the hands of her father was very difficult to read. Having experienced certain things in my life made me extremely sensitive to the snippets of Rachel's past. 

This book had several perspectives. Each time we read Rachel's thoughts, I felt like she was an unreliable narrator. This is where kudos go to Nicole Trope. I love how she dangled Rachel's past in front of us, although rather difficult to read. I also loved the fact that while reading this book I had a certain view of Rachel, and I realized just how good a writer Ms. Trope is. I say this because she reigned me right back in. 

This book certainly grabbed my attention, had a couple of intriguing twists to it and delivered a really surprising conclusion. I definitely look forward to seeing what else this talented author has in store for her readers.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because, as her professor pointed out, ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’

She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree. In between raising three children, working for her husband and renovating houses, she has published six novels. She lives in Sydney, Australia. 


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