Book Description:
I was broken before I met Sebastian Pryor, but he decimated me. I swept the ashes of myself into a pile that I kept safe for thirteen years. Believe me it wasn’t pretty, oh but people thought we were perfect. I hate myself most days. I hate that I feel for him as much as I loathe who I’ve become with him. This story is hard to hear. You know what the worst part is? You’ll see part of you in me. You’ll hate that. You won’t tell anyone.
My story is about cracks. A description or telling of how cracks in a marriage, a life, a personality, a heart and a mind begin and continue for years without anyone knowing. You don't always see what causes the fissure, but you feel it. Can you remember who you were before all of this started, before your life became a jumble of deceit, longing and regret?
This book isn’t for anyone who needs a happily ever after.
This book isn’t for anyone who needs a fun time out from their life.
This book isn’t for anyone, but me.
This is my story. I won’t apologize for it.
Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25990405-quiet-lies?from_search=true&search_version=service
Buy Links:
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1MkjmsL
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Sr7RAz
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1kOMUE5
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1OG3R0G
KOBO: http://bit.ly/1PpN9CI
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Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“Some of the lies we tell hurt, some soothe, some chip away at who we really are and some can break entire nations.”
This was one of those books that once I had finished I had to really think and think hard. I had many emotions swirling around my brain and none of them really made sense. I was so angry at the end and never have I ever wished for karma as bad as I did after finishing this book. This book is filled with many intricacies and it was only when I had reached the end that the little puzzle pieces that are littered throughout this book finally paint a final picture and it was here that I said…that was bloody clever. So clever in fact, I had to read it again and it was then after a second read that I could really appreciate just how convoluted and cunning this story actually was.
“My days are full of me planning for after he dies and my nights are full of refusing to sleep in order to make sure he doesn’t kill me first.”
RL Griffin is one of the most versatile authors I know, she has tried her hand at many genres and each book I have loved for very different reasons. You can tell she writes from the heart and she goes with the flow at whatever and whoever is currently shouting loudest. I admire her courage in going with those voices, there is no cookie cutter present here, her stories always have their uniqueness and you literally never know what you are going to read until you start.
I have read about many marriages throughout my obsessive reading habit and none have been on the same level as the Pryor’s. This couple deserve their own pedestal, seriously…but what would the plinth say? Most fucked up couple ever? They say that seeing is believing but even though this was the written word, so vivid were the words I actually lived this book. I may have been looking from the outside in but that did not diminish the punch that this book packed.
“When did you start thinking what you wanted matters?”
Rebecca Pryor was a woman that was the master of disguise. She had been living a lie for so long that even she could not determine what was real and what was not and it was this unreliability that really makes you question every single word you read. Whether it be the past or the present, could a couple really live like this? They say that no-one knows what happens behind closed doors and that is certainly the truth here, Rebecca Pryor had a truly miserable life, so miserable in fact I cried for her, I begged her to put herself first, but every time it looked like she could finally do it, life came along and knocked her back on her arse. Life is bloody cruel sometimes and Rebecca Pryor bore the brunt.
“I have been the perfect wife. The perfect mother. The perfect pawn. The perfect disaster. The perfect basket case.”
To the outside world, she had everything, the house, the car, the clothes, the husband and the adorable kid even the bloody dog but looks can be deceiving. Rebecca wore her stepford wife mask well, maybe too well. Women were envious of her, but they truly had nothing to be envious about. I empathised, I sympathised, I just wanted to bash her head against a brick wall and knock some sense into her but at the end of the day she had been battered enough, her life was a constant battle, especially mentally, and this woman desperately needed a break. Would life be that cruel to not afford her one?
“We are a façade that he created just so that he looked the part of whatever the fuck he thought the part needed to be.”
Sebastian Pryor is the epitome of charming, he has the looks, the mannerisms and the vocabulary to turn everything around to his favour. He is a master manipulator; he is sly, cunning and totally self-absorbed. He is and will always be number one and was so narcissistic it was as if he was the definition of the word. I hated him, like seriously hated him but then on the flip side I was totally intrigued by him…I tried to get in his head but it wasn’t pleasant, you try to comprehend why he is the way he is, but it is beyond comprehension. Sebastian Pryor is just that, Sebastian Pryor…he truly was one of a kind…or is he?
“He can’t love anyone. He can’t love me.”
This book rocked me to my core, the twists, the deviousness of both parties, the betrayals, it was sick, it was fascinating, it was unfathomable, it was understandable, it was a book of contradictions…you shouldn’t love it, but you can’t help it. This book was like crack, you had to frantically turn the pages to get your next hit…the high wears off and then you are plunged to the depths of despair until the next one comes along.
“…I love it when the white powder falls from the sky, especially in the spring, and covers everything coaxing us to believe that world is serene. However, a white covering on shit is still shit.”
To think that this whole book was the result of listening to one song was unimaginable and makes me wonder about the state of RL Griffin’s mind...how some lyrics brought forth the story of a sociopath that literally has your stomach churning, your heart in your mouth and your brain desperately trying to catch up.
“It was a life of quiet lies, unfulfilled promises and failed attempts to be something I couldn’t quite figure out what I wanted.”
As you can tell, this is not really a story that you can really discuss without spoiling everything, so all I will say is read it. It’s not pretty, nothing is sugar coated but it is flawlessly written, intriguing and captivating. The words will hold you hostage till the end and then you will get it…that WTF, that Oh My Shit, that was freaking genius. Hats off to RL Griffin for going there and once again I am loving her diversity, her unpredictability and admiring the growth in her writing. A fantastic mind blowing read and highly recommended.
About the Author:
R.L. Griffin published her first book in 2004. After that she focused on practicing law. A few years ago she began writing the By A Thread series, which is out now. Her goal is to keep readers on their toes, whether it's the plot twist or the book itself, her books are outside any box. There is a little bit of grit in most of her books and a ton of cussing. Most books are enjoyed better with a glass of wine, or whiskey, whatever your poison may be.
She lives in Atlanta with her husband, kid and dogs. She loves to travel and meet readers.
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