Lies, Lies, Lies by Adele Parks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Did you ever wonder what happened if Gatsby was able to find Daisy before she married? Did you ever wonder what they would have been like? In Lies, Lies, Lies, I could not help but think of how Gatsby's life would have been destroyed even further by Daisy. The Daisy in this book is a little less frivolous and more pragmatic. Quite honestly, this book was dreadful for me to slosh through the first 80% of it. At 90%, I was so close to done and pushed through it. I'm glad I did because close to the 90%, information Simon reveals just about has me see red and cursing the author.
First off, I didn't realize this was a chick lit book. I do not ever read this genre because I do not enjoy them at all. This book was tough because there were so many things about Simon that made me livid and disgusted. Simon's drinking is a hot button for me. Having dated a guy who was a functional drunk, this story only bought back bad memories.
Second, the characters were appalling. I loathed them. These people are people I do not ever want to be around in real life. Daisy and Simon are the people who are toxic and emotionally draining. All they do is take take take. There is no giving from them because they are so unhappy with their lives. There is very little redeeming about them. Ms. Parks does a very good job in creating completely unlikable characters. She does give them a bit of depth.
Third, this story moved slowly. I am not sure if this was done on purpose to hit home how dreary Daisy and Simon's life were and how soul crushing their existence can be. At one point, I just wished they would be put out of both mine and their misery. What is even worse is the flashbacks to when Daisy and Simon were in love and had better times. The compare and contrast were well done. It emphasized just how desolate and meaningless Daisy's life had become. If it were not for Millie, their daughter, my guess is Daisy would have either divorced or killed herself.
The lies comes in when Simon pushes to have another child. It was already difficult for the first and Simon has... lazy sperm. He finds out something he did not want to know. Instead of talking with his wife, he goes on a drunken binge. This conflict is all to easy to see happening in real life and still mystifies me. Their lack of communication seems to be prevalent across the board and is depressing.
What I did like was the ending. It did get a bit dark and for those who are triggered by sexual violations, there is a little bit of it. It does fade to black so it may be okay for those who are sensitive to it. When the lies are out in the open, the conclusion bring hope for a better future. In the end, after being dragged through the worst of it, this ray of light brought the story up to a 3 star for me. This contemporary romance is recommended for readers who enjoy chick lit.
*provided by MIRA via NetGalley
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