I did promise you all another Kelly Rimmer post and, even though I’m a bitter than I would have liked (sorry!), I am delighted to share my review of ‘Before I Let You Go’. Huge thanks to Anne Cater for the blog tour invite, and Headline books for the proof copy. Here is my review:
As children, Lexie and Annie were incredibly close. Bonded by the death of their beloved father, they weathered the storms of life together. When Lexie leaves home to follow her dream, Annie is forced to turn to her leatherbound journal as the only place she can confide her deepest secrets and fears…
As adults, sisters Lexie and Annie could not be more different. Lexie is a successful doctor and happily engaged. Annie is an addict – a thief, a liar and unable to remain clean. When Annie’s newborn baby is in danger of being placed in foster care, Annie picks up the phone to beg her sister for help. Will Lexie agree to take in her young niece? And how will Annie survive, losing the only thing in her life worth living for?
What does TWG think?
Oh wow, Ms.Rimmer has done it again!! ‘Before I Let You Go’ is a devastating, eye-opening novel which made me feel things I had never thought before – and no, just to clarify, that isn’t a bad thing at all.
Annie and Lexie used to be extremely close before the big, wide world made its mark on them as human beings. Their earlier life was full of love from their mum and dad, as well as typical sibling rivalry. But, when one night changed their lives forever, the sisters knew that they needed to support each other even more, especially when a certain man walked through their door.
It’s clear that Annie’s past plays a big part in the outcome of her current life and the decisions she had made leading up to ‘now’, however the author doesn’t let us into the finer details all at once, instead being drip fed pieces of information as the storyline progressed. Whilst there was a part of me deep down which had a feeling about certain events once Lexie had left her childhood home, the black and white truth sent shivers up and down my spine. Annie is an addict and, seeing as she is living in a state where addictions whilst pregnant is a felony, her luck isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
It may seem as though the storyline is governed by Annie’s situation and bad decisions, yet Lexie’s character and her relationship with fiance, Sam, also get their fair share of the spotlight. Let me just say that people aren’t always as they seem – both Annie and Lexie prove that throughout the book.
‘Before I Let You Go’ has such a serious theme running through it, and once again Kelly Rimmer has shown just how versatile her story telling is as she highlights a topic which, whilst may be seen as ‘taboo’, is a subject which could be a lot more ‘popular’ than people may have thought. It was very easy for me to sit and judge Annie, even though I didn’t know her full story, purely because of her being an addict. It’s shameful on my part to an extent, but my reaction just proves that addiction is extremely serious illness and without knowing the full facts or how to deal with addiction, feigning ignorance will get us nowhere.
This book blew me away, and not just because of the addiction situation. There is a lot more to this book than that – I’m just refusing to give anything away! Kelly Rimmer is a phenomenal author who delivers storyline after storyline in such a majestic, poignant and seriously beautiful manner. I’m probably not conveying my opinions of the book properly, so please forgive me, just trust me when I say that the emotion in the storyline is raw, solid, yet incredibly tender. Feelings which magnified my whole experience of the book from start to finish, a book which I will NOT be forgetting in a hurry.
Spellbinding, heart breaking, and absolutely breath-taking, ‘Before I Let You Go’ will put relationships to the test, making even the simplest of decisions the hardest of them all. Outstanding!
The Writing Garnet 
Thank you Kaisha xx
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I remember this book I cried a lot after the read
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