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Kayleigh {K-Books}

I'm a 20-something Psychology Lecturer and Literacy specialist who is obsessed with anything bookish. I run K-Books, a book-blog that has been going for 2 and a half years. I am also a publicist for Spencer Hill Press.

Putting Alice Back Together

Putting Alice Back Together - Carol Marinelli

There's only so much sex, valium and red wine you can take to paper over the cracks... 

Alice Lydia Jameson is the friend you wish you had. The girl who makes a party more fun, pulls a funny face to make you feel better, drinks wine out of a mug and makes you laugh while you're crying over an ex. Alice is totally happy, everything is amazing, and there is nothing at all to worry about... except, well: Her job was really great 10 years ago; The sexiest guy alive doesn't want her...because he's gay; Her credit card bills are mounting up... But maybe the biggest problem for Alice is that she has a secret. A secret so big she can't tell anyone...but how do you keep a secret like that when everything is starting to fall apart? And once it's out there, how do you ever begin to put yourself back together again?

 

 

I really loved this book. I was definitely not expecting to fall in love with this book as much as I did and I am so glad I received it for review otherwise I may never have read it.

Alice puts on the front that her life is perfect. To everyone else she's happily single and loving life. Little do they know that she's addicted to Valium and alcohol and she's just trying to paper over the cracks. Because the truth is, her life is falling apart. Something happened 10 years ago, something that nobody else knows and she can't tell anyone. How can she keep this secret when keeping it in destroying her life, and maybe destroying her relationship with the only man she truly loved.

I was completely hooked to this book right from the first chapter. I am a huge fan of Chic-Lit Romance books which is what this is but never have I become so glued from the start like I was with this one. Okay maybe I was with PS, I Love You and Lucy in the Sky but that's not the point. I really loved this book from the start and I could not stop reading. From the start you know that Alice has this secret but you don't know what it is. Well I suppose it's the nosy side of me but I couldn't stop reading, I was like SECRET? WHAT IS IT?!?! I really needed to keep reading to find out what had happened for Alice to get to this place in her life.

I think Carol's writing was brilliant and she is fantastic at holding the readers attention and keeping them in suspense. I really loved the use of flashbacks in the books so that you found out what had happened to Alice in a way that you went through it with her and I found that through the flashbacks you really got to connect with Alice's character more and I loved that.

Alice is such a great character, I really loved her and felt for her so much throughout the book. All these terrible things have happened to her and you really understand why she is where she is and why her mental health has deteriorated to this point. Through Carol's amazing writing technique you really sympathise with Alice and most of the way through I just wanted to give her a hug.
I really loved Alice's friends, Nicole really annoyed me a lot through the book how she knew there was stuff going on with Alice and yet she just left and didn't come back. I loved Ros and Dan and thought I want them as friends because they are the best friends you could ever imagine and I loved how no matter what bad things were going on with Alice they never gave up on her. It didn't matter when they found out her secrets they were still there for her.
Hugh, oh Hugh. I love him. I just fell in love with him from the moment we met him and he is just the sweetest guy ever. He's the guy that every girl dreams of finding one day because he was just perfect. Every scene he was in I loved and I went all girly going *sigh*. I loved him and I was sad at one point with where the story was going but by the end I was completely in love with him again.

I thought this book was fantastic and to me the ending was perfect. Although I didn't like where the story was heading at some parts I understood why it had to happen so Alice could help herself and I think the storyline was just brilliant. It's a really great story and I would recommend it to any fan of books by Cecelia Ahern, Paige Toon and Marian Keyes.
I absolutely loved it and I know I could just read it over and over again.