I love angsty books. I love crying ugly.
I love feeling the intense drama. I love holding myself back from
throwing my Kindle across the room.
But sometimes angst can be overdone. You know
what I mean? When a situation is so far fetched, or the characters are so immature you find yourself rolling your eyes instead of wiping the tears away from them.
This is where AE Woodward excels. And in her new book, "Reprieve", she proves once again that she can write angst without over doing it.
"Reprieve" follows the life of Tegan, a heroine addict. We see what caused her downward spiral, watch the reality of her life as she hits rock bottom, and experience the difficulty of recovery.
But "Reprieve" isn't a feel good book about how there's hope beyond addiction. Oh no. It's much more than that. I would say it's motto is more along the lines of "once an addict, always an addict". And sometimes the easiest way to move past your addiction is to find something else to be addicted to.
In Tegan's case, it's her drug counselor.
But as lines get crossed, Tegan has to figure out when a new addiction is ok and when it's leading back down the same dark and twisted road.
This book was raw and gritty. It made my gut twist and my heart break. It was flawless in it's interpretation of the every day life of a drug addict. And it was gut wrenching to feel the humiliation of coming to terms with the things an addict lowers themselves to. You really feel Tegan's emotions. And they aren't pretty.
My biggest critique is that the likelihood of the romantic relationship developing in a real life scenario like this is pretty slim. However, if circumstances were to align the way they did in "Reprieve", it's easy to see how boundaries may get a little blurry. And for entertainment purposes, it didn't disappoint.
Overall, Ms. Woodward continues to impress me as she breaches topics that other authors shy away from. And she does it in a way that is neither over the top nor cheesy. "Reprieve" is just her latest example. You can get it by clicking here.
AE Woodward gives us a "Reprieve" from over the top, cheesy angst for a gut-wrenching
"Reprieve" follows the life of Tegan, a heroine addict. We see what caused her downward spiral, watch the reality of her life as she hits rock bottom, and experience the difficulty of recovery.
But "Reprieve" isn't a feel good book about how there's hope beyond addiction. Oh no. It's much more than that. I would say it's motto is more along the lines of "once an addict, always an addict". And sometimes the easiest way to move past your addiction is to find something else to be addicted to.
In Tegan's case, it's her drug counselor.
But as lines get crossed, Tegan has to figure out when a new addiction is ok and when it's leading back down the same dark and twisted road.
This book was raw and gritty. It made my gut twist and my heart break. It was flawless in it's interpretation of the every day life of a drug addict. And it was gut wrenching to feel the humiliation of coming to terms with the things an addict lowers themselves to. You really feel Tegan's emotions. And they aren't pretty.
My biggest critique is that the likelihood of the romantic relationship developing in a real life scenario like this is pretty slim. However, if circumstances were to align the way they did in "Reprieve", it's easy to see how boundaries may get a little blurry. And for entertainment purposes, it didn't disappoint.
Overall, Ms. Woodward continues to impress me as she breaches topics that other authors shy away from. And she does it in a way that is neither over the top nor cheesy. "Reprieve" is just her latest example. You can get it by clicking here.
AE Woodward gives us a "Reprieve" from over the top, cheesy angst for a gut-wrenching
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