chymerra
Written on Apr 23, 2018
Everything She Lost’s main plotline was centered around Nina’s mental illness and her recovery. I have read other books where the main character has a mental illness but it has been glossed over. Or it was miraculously cured. Or forgotten about. Nina’s recovery was written about realistically. She was taking baby steps. For most of the book, it was one step forward, two steps back. Just like in real life and I loved it. It made the book feel more realistic to me. I did feel bad for her during that struggle. The only one that supported her was her father. Her husband was a jerk and her BFF was even a bigger jerk.
I thought Nina’s backstory was heartbreaking. I do wish that her brother’s illness had been addressed up front. That would have helped me with understanding what Nina was going through. Her devastation when he died led to her making some rash decisions. One which included her marriage to Rodney.
Speaking of Rodney, I couldn’t stand him. He was such an opportunist and a pig. He was going to divorce Nina when her breakdown occurred. Then he kicked her out of her house until the money ran out. They got back together but he treated her like a flipping child. To be having an affair with Deja was the final straw for me. I wanted to kick him where the sun doesn’t shine. He was a great father but that was the only thing I liked about him. So yeah, I didn’t like him.
My feelings for Deja were complex. She was a strong woman who had overcome some pretty awful things in her life to get to where she was now. She wasn’t afraid to use her body or her sexuality to get what she wanted or what her boss wanted. I liked her for that. But I didn’t like that she was being blackmailed by her ex to do something that she didn’t want to do. She also didn’t want to have a relationship with Rodney after getting to know Nina better. Even with everything that happened later in the book, she felt awful for doing it.
I loved the storyline about who was stalking Nina. I thought the author did a great job at keeping who it was and why they were doing it under wraps. I did figure out part of it about halfway through the book. But the other half of it, I was surprised by.
I wish that Damien had been introduced earlier on in the book. I also wish that he factored more at the end of the book. But, I got what I wanted in the epilogue…haha.
The end of the book was one that kept me on my toes. Everything was revealed and what happened after the revelations shocked me. I loved the epilogue. Talk about a perfect ending to the book!!
What I liked about Everything She Lost:
A) Strong female characters
B) Great plotlines
C) The correct usage of Nina’s mental illness
What I disliked about Everything She Lost:
A) Rodney. I couldn’t stand him
B) I wish her brother’s illness had been addressed earlier (why he committed suicide).
C) No Damien until almost the end of the book
I would give Everything She Lost an Adult rating. There is sex. Not graphic sex but it is vague enough to understand what is going on. There is violence. There is language. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 21.
There are trigger warnings for Everything She Lost. They would be: Child sexual abuse, teenage prostitution, domestic violence, mental illness, suicide (talk of it nothing was described), bullying, and talk of alcoholism. If you are triggered by any of these, please do not read the book.
I would recommend Everything She Lost to family and friends. I would include a warning about the triggers and what they are. This is a book that I will reread.
I would like to thank Alessandra Harris and Red Adept Publishing for allowing me to read and review Everything She Lost.
All opinions stated in this review of Everything She Lost are mine.
**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**