Best friends Rosie and Lisa’s families had always been inseparable. But one summer, Lisa had an affair with Rosie’s husband, Nick. None of them would forget that week on the wild Norfolk seacoast. Relationships were torn apart. Friendships shattered. And childish innocence destroyed. Now, after years of silence, a letter arrives that begs for help. A letter that exposes dark secrets.Then Rosie’s … Rosie’s daughter Daisy’s fragile hold on reality begins to unravel. Teenage son Max blames himself for everything that happened that long hot summer. And Nick must confront his own version of events. As long-repressed memories bubble to the surface, the past has never seemed more present and the truth more murky.Told through the eyes of four family members, The Betrayals takes an unflinching look at contemporary life, explores the nature of memory and desire and asks whether some things can ever be forgiven.
more
A stunning, poignant, insightful novel that intricately explores the dynamics of family, memories and forgiveness. This book completely consumed me from the very first page. The characters instantly drew me in, with positives and negatives that made them feel real and human.
An absolutely beautiful story that was so emotional, powerful, and raw. A complete master-class on storytelling and characters by Fiona Neill.
I found this story to be intriguing, it centers on life following an affair that a woman’s husband has with her best friend. It also discusses the issue of OCD and does so in a sensitive manner. This is an interesting story about relationships and family. This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author and I’m very pleased that I chose to read this book.
So this one was a bust for me: I really didn’t enjoy it at all.
I felt like I was waiting for some big reveal to happen and It never actually did.
It was all so anti-climatic in nature and that ending for me was just so sudden and abrupt.
It’s a shame really as the writing style here I did enjoy: this was great and was ever so easy to follow along with: but the story itself I found that to be a let down it never quite managed to capture my undivided attention.
Really my main issue here was I was bored and it was only the fact that this was an Arc that I persevered until the very end though I did find myself somewhat skimming in places.
So the idea here was very clever and in some way applied a three degrees of separation concept to the characters involved.
every action has a polar reaction and every unrelated incident is somehow connected on an alternate level eventually coming full circle: see really ingenious.
I may not have fully appreciated this but I can still applaud the author’s creativity in this matter.
This was told from various POV: it was almost the same story from different perspectives portraying how each person can see the same incident but with a totally different interpretation and overall clarity concerning the exact same event.
The writing itself here had such an easy style I just failed to connect on any deeper level.
So this also explores a variety of diverse subjects from infidelity, betrayal, mental health: there really is a whole lot going on.
I think this will be more down to the style of fiction you ultimately like rather than the merits of is it well written: As I said earlier I cannot fault it in that regard.
On reflection, I would say this is more of a family drama type novel and it’s just a shame that It wasn’t really my cup of tea.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of The Betrayals.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
http://www.beckiebookworm.com
This story confusing the title fits the book. They talk about OCD with daisey but she has more issues like aniexty depression PTSD. This is a very druma story. The ending don’t make since all the games are messed up
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone. Rating is a low C-.
I requested this book by the cover and jacket description. For some reason, I found this a very slow and boring read. Told in 4 voices, I must admit that I didn’t like any of the characters very much. This book tackles many issues…OCD (which was done very well), infidelity, divorce, bullying, cancer, modern dating, alcoholism. So many issues! I felt like there was nothing resolved at the end and it left me not caring about any of the characters.
I did like the descriptive writing style and would read this author again.