Whisper Me This

I am just amazed at how beautiful and heart-wrenching this story is. I got it as an Amazon First Reads a while back. I kept putting off reading it because, honestly, I just didn't like the cover. Loa. But I am very happy I finally gave it the time of day!

This book is about women who overcame abusive relationships and the struggle they went through to get there. For someone who had a relationship that was heading in the direction, I very much can verify some of the emotions these girls went through. Thankfully, I had a father who had taught me self-worth and I was able to remove myself before things got this bad.

For those of you who have never understood why women stay in abusive relationships, I would highly recommend reading this show more book. It brought me even more clarification to something I have sought to understand in the past. show less

Once again this is a new author for me and I need to go back and read her earlier books because I found this one so well done. This is an intense novel about the result of domestic abuse through the generations and the ability of women to rise up and take back their power from those who try to abuse them - either physically or emotionally.

Maisey is a single mother with a 12 year old daughter Elle. At the beginning of the novel, Maisy is adrift in her life and not living to her potential. She gets a phone call that her mother has just been taken to the hospital and her father may be arrested for neglect. She rushes to her childhood home and finds her father totally confused and finds out that her mother is in a coma that she will show more probably not come out of. She hasn't been home in years but was still shocked at the situation she found her parents in. After she goes through some of the paperwork, she finds out that she had a twin sister she had dreamed about but had no idea really existed. As Maisey tries to get to the bottom of this startling revelation, she finds even more secrets about her parents that make her wonder if her whole life was a lie. When her daughter's father tries to get custody of Elle, Maisey learns that she has to learn to stand up for herself and her family and stop the cycle of secrets in their lives.

This wonderful intense novel kept me intrigued throughout. It's a wonderful story about a woman who has to learn to find her own voice to protect her daughter and her family.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

This book starts with what feels like an immature MC and simple writing style. But folks, it turns out there’s a reason for it as we learn about the MC’s life to explain why she is the way she is. As secrets unfold, the characters grow and the writing also becomes more complex. Meaningful character development as it explores the impact of family violence on multiple generations. Impressive. Stick with it—worth it. I admit: there were tears.

An above-average suspense/thriller about Maisey Addington, who upon the death of her mother discovers that her childhood "imaginary friend" Marley was based on a real-life twin sister from whom she was separated at a very young age. Who did the separating, and why, and what it means for Maisey's relationship with her own daughter, forms the heart of the story. I thought the apparently obligatory romantic subplot was a bit over-the-top and unrealistic but the rest of the story kept me turning the pages at a brisk pace. One note of warning: This isn't a book for people who have an aversion to stories about domestic violence.

This is a story of secrets, life choices, family, strength, and redemption. It also a reflection of domestic violence and how it affects the victim and their children, how there is a cycle of domestic violence, and reclaiming your life.

Maisey had an imaginary friend named Marley that felt very real to her. But any mention of Marley brought on punishment from her mother, Leah Addington. Now Maisie is the single parent of precocious 12-year-old Elle. Maisie receives an unexpected call from her mother’s neighbor. The neighbor informs her that Maisey’s mother fell three days previously and has been in a comatose state since her fall. Her father Walter has been at his wife’s bedside the entire time. He has not called an ambulance and show more insists that his wife does not want to go to the hospital. Thinking he has dementia emergency services personnel take Leah to the hospital.

When Maisie arrives at her parents’ home she finds her father frantically burning papers in the fireplace. Among the papers is a journal Leah wrote when she learned she was dying. In it she reveals the secrets she have kept from her husband and from Maisey. Only twelve pages of the journal have survived the fire but the destroyed entries are interspersed between chapters. Maisey also finds another document that turns her life as she knew it upside down.

The book has fairly graphic scenes of domestic violence so beware. In the wake of all its darkness, the story also has strength and the reclaiming of one’s life. The realization of the cycle of abuse is a strong point.

While the book was well written I gave the book a three-rating because there are some areas that are just too pat, too simplified, too “over the top”.

Why “over the top”? The depiction of Elle’s father (whom Maisey did not marry) was realistic given the unfortunate cycle of abuse phenomenon. But then Maisey’s new romantic interest Tony is also a victim of abuse. You can debate whether this would be a good pairing for Maisey, but I felt it was just too much thrown into the story.

This was a free Kindle selection and I am giving just my own personal opinion of the story. show less

This was a great and complex book. Maisey Addington has little confidence in herself. As a single mother she believes that is the only thing she has ever done right. She receives a call about her mother being in a coma. They suspect her father had something to do with it since they found him sitting on the bed with her. He had failed to call for help. He claims she wanted to die. They all realize there is something else going on with him. Maisey had a strained relationship with her mother. Sje has no way to prove her mother wished to die because her mother’s papers were destroyed by her father. It had been quite some time since she had seen her mother. He destroyed the paper telling her last wishes while he was trying to protect a show more long-held secret. Maisey discovers she has a twin sister named Marley. At her daughter’s urging she sets out to find her twin. What she learns is that her sister has known about her all along and their lives went in completely different directions. Both of them have misconceived ideas about how things happened. Maisey remembers the trauma. This interaction gives both girls the opportunity to stand up to an abusive person in their lives.
This book was a great and realistic look at how an abusive situation can affect someone not only long term, but also generation after generation. The author took a sensitive topic and wove hope into all of it. This is a book I would highly recommend to anyone show less

"It's funny how life spins, how we go on for long stretches of time and nothing changes, and then all at once, in a single moment, everything is altered."

Family drama and a bit of mystery as Maisey learns secrets and lies after she is called back to her childhood home. I loved Elle and Tony, Mia and the Dad. I also loved a few supporting characters that pop up later in the book. I like how the secrets flow out slowly as realization of Maisey's current life also come into focus. It's a good story, one that pulled at my heart and gave me the happy end I was hoping for.

Lovely cover, too.