May 14, 20236 min read

Dear Diary, It's Me by Lucinda Lamont. Review.

Book Description

Can you keep a secret?

Alice is a young, budding professional, on a seemingly slippery slope. Struggling with life and drinking excessively, she doesn’t want anyone to know how bad her problem is becoming.

Power couple Hannah and Craig can’t conceive, which sends them down separate paths of betrayal.

Ollie has been bullied all his life, and neglected by his mother. When a new girl, Sky, starts at his school, could she be everything he has been looking for?

Disgraced PE teacher and now local pub landlord, Phil, lives a sordid life. No one knows what lengths of depravity he will go to, to get his kicks out of life.

Can Alice break the cycle of destruction she is on?

Will Hannah and Craig destroy their relationship for good?

Can Ollie get the peace he craves in life?

Does Phil get exposed for who he really is?

Lucinda Lamont's 'Dear Diary, It's Me' is a dark psychological thriller where poor choices have serious consequences.

This book contains adult content and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Dear Diary, It's Me' by Lucinda Lamont.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Lucinda Lamont, Next Chapter Publishers, and ZooLoos Book Tours.

Publication date 9th February 2023.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Next Chapter. I have yet to read a book published by Next Chapter that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 13 diary entries and 24 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Alice, Hannah, Ollie, Phil, Sky and Craig. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.

'Dear Diary, Its Me' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Lucinda discusses/includes adult content and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that captivates the readers attention and places them right in the centre of the action. The cover and synopsis suited the storyline perfectly. Lucinda writes in such engrossing and engaging way that I become completely absorbed in the storylines.

I absolutely loved this fascinating and unique book!! I have never come across a book that has been laid out in this way and I thought it was an absolutely fantastic concept! The reader starts of with diary entries from Alice's diary as she struggles to firstly admit that she is an alcoholic and then continues as she struggles with the ups and downs of trying to quit. We then move on to the chapters "section" which takes us through the perspectives of the characters Hannah and Craig, Phil, Ollie and Sky and Alice and we get to know each of them and discover what is going on their lives. I loved how we got to meet them all individually and then gradually their lives and stories start to link together. It is filled with so many different subjects, emotions and problems. Lucinda takes us on a journey with the characters filled with secrets, heartache, loss, love, happiness, alcoholism, despair, tragedy, twists, shocks, repercussions, drama, grief, consequences and so much more. Lucinda had me laughing one minute, angry another, crying the next and just on a complete rollercoaster ride of emotions!!! The storyline was very fast paced and I kept turning the pages until I finished it in one sitting. Every time I told myself just the one more chapter it ended in a way I just had to know what was going to happen next and this just kept happening over and over until before I knew it I had completely devoured the book in one sitting!! This book is ram packed with drama, tension, lies, secrets, suspense, action, romance and absolutely everything you could ever ask for in a gripping psychological page tuner!! It is one of those thought provoking books which really shows the consequences of badly made choices and how things can change with just one moment in time. It shows the dark side of human nature and deals with some disturbing elements and themes. The characters were all realistic, unique and all of them came to life before my eyes. they all had their own chapters which really helped the reader to get deep into their minds and see how they ended up making the choices they did. I loved that there was such a mix of characters and how I felt differently about each one of them. I lost count how many times I was shouting at the pages to Alice to stop drinking, wanted to run over Phil and Craig with a bus and wanted to protect Ollie from the horrible kids we all hated in school!! Some of the characters were relatable, some hateable and some lovable!! Regardless of how you feel about each of them I was completely invested in their storylines and lives and was fascinated to see which path each of them chose and where it would lead them to in the end. This is one of those books that doesn't stop when you have closed the last page as it leaves you thinking about it and the characters long afterwards!! It really is a page turning, fascinating, dramatic and addictive deep book that will suck you in from the first page to the last!!

This may have been the first book I have read by this fantastic author but it most certainly wont be my last and I am looking forward to getting my hands on more of her books!! Keep up the amazing work Lucinda and here is to your next success!!!!

If you are looking for a book that will suck you in and keep thinking about for days after then pick up this unique page turner today!!! What are you waiting for???

Clear your schedules before picking this up as you will not be able to put it down!!!

Congratulations Lucinda Lamont on an absolutely fantastic action packed book and this is why I want to welcome you to my top 5 female author list!! Looking forward to your past and future books and hers to your next success 🥂

Overall a heart racing, page turning, addictive and unputdownable fast paced crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Genres covered in this book include Crime Mystery, Psychological Literary Fiction, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Crime, Thriller & Mystery Adventures, Psychological Fiction, Thriller, Women's Writers & Fiction, Suspense, Crime Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense and Mystery amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer, P.J Tracy, Kerry Wilkinson, Ross Greenwood, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine and any fans of nail biting, edge of your seat psychological crime thrillers.

200 pages

This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle and £11.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio

Lucinda is 35 and lives in Hampshire. Born in Aberdeenshire, she spent the early years of her life in a small fishing town before relocating with her mother to the South Coast.

She is the middle child and only girl with four brothers.

Lucinda began her higher education in studying Performing Arts and then began a degree in Law (but dropped out). She is a qualified hairdresser but the arts always drew her back in and she took up an interest in writing, alongside an established career in software sales.

Mother of one to a young son, she spends her spare time soaking up the Hampshire countryside and plotting her next stories.