Tuesday 16 September 2014

Book Review: Forgive Me by Lesley Pearse

Forgive Me by Lesley Pearse is one of the bestselling novels by this author and already stocked on the shelves in most supermarkets and book shops. I decided to give it ago when my boyfriend's mother let me borrow it after seeing it so frequently, and I can see why it's so popular. Firstly, I didn't think the book would be my usual type. The title alone didn't fill me with much enthusiasm and the blurb didn't help much either. But, reading the first few pages I knew instantly that this was a book I was going to enjoy. Pearse writes in beautiful detail which creates a vivid image of the surroundings of the characters. Although, while she defined the details on the external objects and places, I felt it lacked when concerned with the characters themselves. In the beginning there was very little description of our main character, her sister, brother, mother and father. The same came with the rest of the characters that were introduced, such as Phil the love interest. But that didn't bother me. The drama surrounding the poor MC, Eva, overruled these issues. The writing pulled me into the situations which made me care more about what was happening rather than who it was happening to and what they looked like. The novel is full of drama. It's overflowing with it. The first thing that happens is a suicide. While it's written in a gentle way to not offend or push away readers, it is the beginning of a very long and tiresome journey for Eva. The suicide starts off a string of unfortunate events. Each one just bruises Eva more and more. Her family turn against her and the life she knew disappears. Of course there is a happily ever after, but Eva struggles to get there. One thing I loved about this book was that it expressed the generosity and kindness of strangers. Phil and his work team all become a support system for Eva when she moves away. Lost, hurt and alone, this bunch of guys help to rebuild her for no reason other than to just help. Of course Phil is helping because he fancies her... Nevertheless, the kindheartedness this book brings is thoroughly refreshing amongst the pit of despair and drama Eva is dealing with. But... the amount of drama was becoming tiresome for myself. I found myself thinking: "Oh c'mon, this is getting ridiculous now". Admittedly, the ongoing song and dance for the character by the author was making me want to put the book down. It was becoming too much, just one thing after another. I'm glad I didn't put it down, I honestly wanted to know what was going to happen, particularly because I wanted to know what happened to Eva's mother, the girl who committed suicide. Eva's mothers story is the basis of this book and how Eva finds out about her mysterious path, meeting very nice people along the way. These people, again (of course) are extremely nice and helpful when Eva starts asking questions. The only real baddies are from Eva's own family and very few external characters which I find slightly unrealistic. Personally, I would oblige, but not many people would be happy to reveal so much about someone they "loved dearly" to a complete stranger to them - especially when they don't ask for proof of who Eva even is. Still, the generosity of the other characters is lovely to see, even if I found it slightly unusual. The plot thickens the further into the book. Something happens to Eva, and then she finds out some incredible fact. The wave of emotions is constant. She remains lost for most of the book (emotion-wise) but I'm happy she finds a decent boyfriend and a happy ever after. This book is written with skill and it entertained me for two days. The constant mystery of what Eva's mother had done, whether the drama with Eva's family would be sorted and the hype of whether Eva and Phil will finally get together drew me in and I really enjoyed the novel. A four star on my rating! Nice one Pearse :)

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