Angelica Stone

by Susi Osborne

Following years of sexual abuse and resulting psychological trauma, Angelica Stone has learnt to rely solely on herself. Unwilling to allow anyone to get close to her, Angelica is reluctant to allow her work colleague Lola into her life. Lola, in contrast to the damaged Angelica, is from what appears to be a happy middle-class family. But all is not what it seems...

An unlikely bond is formed between the two as they learn more about eachother. As they become closer, a series of life-changing events leave Lola on the verge of ruin. Will the friends be able to better themselves and have the lives they so desperately want? Or will they succumb to the expectations and the path already laid out for them?

Angelica Stone follows both characters in their own journey of self-discovery. This close and in-depth look into the lives of Angelica and Lola will see the reader laugh and cry as the two women learn about themselves and the invaluable friendship they have.
Susi Osborne worked within the library service and now runs Northwick LitFest in Cheshire, where she lives. Susi also worked as a classroom assistant in a junior school and, in addition, has had first hand experience of social workers and the adoption system.

• ISBN13: 9781912362011
• Publish Date: 28 July 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Book Guild Publishing Ltd
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

I don’t know if I have the words or the thought process to write this review. This book was just wow…

I am not going to lie this book was incredibly tough to read at times. The storylines and the content were harrowing and so dark completely the opposite to what the book cover portrays.

The book is told in the first person and the third person, mainly from Lola’s point of view, but occasionally we get Helen (Lola’s mum)and Angel (aka Angelica) with a few others thrown in. I found it easy to follow who was talking as the wording changed slightly and the pace of the paragraphs changed.

Angel, Angelica Stone, has had a tough upbringing and I mean in the sense of how the hell did she manage to survive each day…until Michael came and showed her a life she could’ve had for 2 weeks before disappearing into the ether. Falling in with the wrong guy, god I hated the scenes with Sean in, it turned my stomach and I found a few times I needed to walk away from the book, needed a minute to think and digest. Move on some years and Angel is trying to survive to give her gorgeous little man Rafferty a life.

Where Angel is dark, Lola is who is not a show girl is the sunshine of the story. Having a near enough “perfect” upbringing has just been cheated on and dumped by her boyfriend Will who is leaving for Australia with some floozy. She moves back home to her parent’s house, who are so in love they are sixteen all over again. Surely too good to be true?

Angel and Lola strike up, at first, an uneasy friendship but by the end is a truest bond of friendship and I cried a lot for them. So much happened in this book and I devoured it one sitting. Thinking back I can feel the tears in my eyes because the heartache and loneliness and abandonment flows through this book in the bucketload for the three main women Lola, Helen and Angel.

There is the smallest reprieve at the end and I would love to know how Lola and Angel are doing now. Did they both survive the turbulence for the happy endings they both need? I can’t say too much for spoilers (tale as old as time!) but you do need some tissues for this one.

I think that the author Susi has done such an amazing job with this book. The taboo subjects raised, dissected and acted out in this book are dark, cold and harrowing and I will admit I did feel uncomfortable reading some of this. But the lightness shone through and the feeling of acceptance and love definitely resonated at the end.

Things that happened to you in your childhood shaped the mind of the adult you grew to become

I love the quote in this book. I won’t go into my past, but I believe that yes your past can shape who you are, but I believe that it shouldn’t consume you. I believe that you can learn to be the best version of yourself and not let your past dictate who you should or shouldn’t be, I know I don’t and again this is a strong theme of the book.

I succumbed to the wealth of emotion in this book and I thoroughly recommend this book. It will not be for everyone but it is a tale of two girls finding their way in the world with the past haunting them. It has made me appreciate what I have, and how one misstep can ripple their future into unexpected ways. It has also made me squeeze my little lady that bit tighter and see what a beautiful little lady she is and that she is my overwhelming sunshine in my story.

I still don’t think these words can express clearly how much this book affected me, or how it still does, but it is not one I will forget in a hurry that is for sure.