BOOK SYNOPSIS
This psychological fiction explores the emotional well being of Epiphany, a forty-year-old woman who has held an unhelpful belief system for the past twenty years. She has suffered in silence with depression and has made little progress with her life. Then a strange visit by her half-sister's half-sister, Sadie, changes her life.
Here we go round the mulberry bush... Epiphany (Pippa for short) is immature and insecure, and her life is going nowhere. She fears being alone, she loathes her job, she dislikes herself and seeks meaning in her life.
This is the way we comb our hair... Sadie is everything that Pippa wants to be and everything that Pippa needs. She becomes the supporter that Pippa never had and then persuades Pippa that her mother and sister are witches.
This is the way we brush our teeth... Things don't add up with Sadie; Pippa is the only person to have seen her and soon, secrets are revealed, and twists are turned. Your half-sister's half-sister could be you.
On a cold and frosty morning... Sadie’s attentions are not selfless; she wants something in return. Pippa wakes up in an unexpected place; what has she done? Is she a murderer? Did Sadie lie? Are her mother and sister witches?
This is the way we mess with a reader's head on a cold and frosty morning
At the beginning of this realistic and for some reader's (including myself) relatable journey into the author's main character's mental health issues, Epithany (call me Pippa) has a very low opinion of herself. We are given a insight into one of the possible reasons why she had such low esteem when we are introduced to her overbearing mother Jacquetta and sister Heather. Pippa lived with her boyfriend Ben in a flat above the Feathers pub which was not exactly the ideal place to live if you were a alcoholic (something which Pippa vehemently denied) Something had happened in the past, a event that Jacquetta and Heather kept referring back to and insisting that Pippa was displaying symptoms which suggested it might happen again. Pippa constantly felt that everyone in her life was judging her negatively (I know how that feels) and that the only person she could truly trust was her half-sister's, half-sister Sadie. But as the story unfolds, it gradually becomes apparent that there is something not quite right about Sadie and that she might not be such a good influence on someone as vulnerable as Pippa. Why was Pippa the only person who could actually see Sadie? Why was Sadie trying to convince Pippa that Jacquetta and Heather were both witches? Was Sadie's plan the only way that Pippa could ensure that her life as she knew it was secure or had she fallen under the influence of her own inner demons and about to travel on a unpredictable and life altering journey to self discovery?
Technically,you could say that this is a story of two halves, before the event and after and to be honest,I found the first part of the story more captivating than I did the second part. Quite a number of Pippa's character traits mirror my own so I did feel a certain amount of empathy towards her character but there was one aspect of her character which seriously grated on my nerves and that was her insistence in referring to her mother as mummy. Pippa was forty years old for Pete's sake, I really don't understand why a adult would continue to refer to their parent as mummy, sorry, it's one of my pet peeves in life.
The secondary characters were a eclectic mix of realistic individuals about whom we only had Pippa's perspective and observations so it was difficult to judge how reliable and trustworthy the characters actually were.
As a reader, every so often, you encounter a book that you really enjoy reading but you can't honestly say why and for me this was one of those books. It's a extremely well written,cleverly and intelligently plotted blend of genre's that kept me guessing and wanting to know how the author intended to conclude her heroine's realistic and relatable journey. Mental health is a complex issue which is still a grey area for the experts in its many fields of study and the author has written about her subject matter with care,understanding and sensitivity. A fascinating, informative read by a author I have never heard of before I received a email about this book from Anne Cater and I would happy read more of her books in the future.
AUTHOR BIO
Samantha Henthorn was born in 1970something in Bury, England. She used to be a nurse, now she is a disabled author.
When she was a child, she read Roald Dahl, when she was a teenager she read Stephen King. Now she reads lots of things.
Samantha is 96% Mancunian, she has one dog, one gorgeous grown-up daughter, and one husband. When not reading or writing, she listens to heavy metal. Samantha would be thrilled to bits if someone read one of her books. Samantha's books are available as audiobooks (narrated by Lindsay McKinnon).
After a diagnosis of MS in 2005, Samantha eventually accepted early retirement in 2014. Looking for an occupation where she can work at her own pace, Samantha drew on her observation skills and imagination to start writing. Samantha often feels as though she is living in a sitcom and this is reflected in her style.
Samantha looks after her condition by attending physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, resting whenever possible, wearing sunglasses indoors, avoiding emotional vampires, and enjoying life as much as she physically can.
Samanthahenthornfindstherightwords.blog
Join Samantha Henthorn's mailing list to catch up with all the gossip and freebies from Curmudgeon Avenue https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/d0q2h7
PUBLICATION DATE: 30th November 2021
PURCHASE LINK....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Half-Sisters-Half-Sister-Samantha-Henthorn-ebook/dp/B09HHGB5WM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4JQTIYEFD6XJ&keywords=my+half+sisters+half+sister+by+samantha+henthorn&qid=1643195325&sprefix=My+half+%2Caps%2C326&sr=8-1
PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT THE POSTS OF THE OTHER BLOGGERS WHO HAVE STOPS ON THIS BLOG TOUR
Thanks for the blog tour support x
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading it and of course, this fabulous blog 😀
ReplyDelete