Publication Date - 21st September 2013
Ebook - 85 pages
Genre - New Adult/Contemporary
Source - Received for review via NetGalley
Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.
Reviewed by - Chrissie
Book Info - Sometimes bad things happen to beautiful people.
When socialite party girl Mia Abbott-Renou wakes up in a garden she has little recall of the previous night -- except that she is naked...hurt...terrified. Not only has she been raped, but she knows one of her assailants: the son of a wealthy politician who happens to be her own father’s political ally.
Mia wants and needs justice. Except this privileged boy has an alibi and her father forbids her from going to the police. It’s a critical election year, one that his party might lose if his image as a doting father is soured due to Mia being labeled a lush or worse, promiscuous.
Devastated at not having the support of her family, Mia finds herself in a tug-of-war with her conscience over what to do, especially since she can’t remember exactly what happened that night. Worse, the men who attacked her have hurt several other girls, and Mia may be the key to stopping them.
Mia tries to forget, until the unthinkable happens, and she’s left reeling once again, faced with a new challenge that will force her to take more control of her life.
My Thoughts - I have to warn you that this is a novella that is not for the faint of heart. It deals with a very difficult and heart-breaking topic, and something that way too many women have to experience and endure, including the author herself according to the introduction of the story. It brought a tear to my eye a time or two but I still could not put this book down. I just felt completely pulled into Mia's story and had to know how things would turn out for her.
As well as having to go through the horrific ordeal of being raped, she also receives absolutely no support from her family and I just found this heart-breaking. She is left alone to deal with the aftermath of the attack, which is something nobody should have to deal with alone. Luckily her best friend Ari is there for her, but even so, she should have had way more support than that. What made this story even more wrenching is that her father is around but he chooses to focus on his political campaigns rather than caring for his daughter. He is too concerned about his reputation and how he can use his daughter's attack to gain more supporters. And her mother is away in "rehab" although it sounds more like a holiday to both myself and Mia, and apparently has she has trouble getting away and still hadn't put in an appearance six weeks down the line at the end of this story.
And, as for the end of this story, another heart-breaking and gut-wrenching twist, although it was fairly obvious that it was going to happen. But that didn't lessen the impact of the ending in any way. But, as this is the first in a series of six novellas following Mia after the attack, there is a cliff-hanger ending, so do be warned. But I for one can't wait to pick up the next novella to see what happens next for poor Mia.
Summary - A story that will leave you feeling a whole host of emotions, not many of them good. But this is an important story. One that needs to be told and one that needs to be read so that more awareness can be gained about what rape victims have to endure every minute of their lives after the attack. A story that is very well told despite the difficult subject matter, and even though it was an emotional ride, I just couldn't stop reading. A very good novella that I highly recommend.
Other books in this series:
1. Broken Beauty
2. Broken World (Due for release November/December)
