Book Description:
Sometimes you have to reach the end of the road before you can start over.
Kerry is perfectly happy with her life. She gets up at the same time every day to deliver post to the winding lanes and little villages around where she lives, stopping for a chat at some of the houses along the way. Once a month she has Sunday lunch with her sister Beth’s perfect family, to eat roast chicken while Beth tells her why she should want more out of life.
Beth thinks Kerry is kidding herself. She thinks Kerry needs to move out of the horrible little apartment converted from the garage in their parents’ garden, find a better job, and maybe even meet a man. And now their parents’ house is up for sale, Beth is going to make sure Kerry gets a life… whether Kerry likes it or not.
Kerry knows something Beth doesn’t, though. She knows the happiest of marriages can hide dark secrets, and that even the people you love most in the world can betray you. She’s known that since she was seventeen years old, when she learned her father’s secret.
It’s far safer not to get close to people…
Isn’t it?
A brilliantly emotional novel about moving on and learning to live that will make you laugh out loud and cry buckets. Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Matt Haig and Mike Gayle.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Kerry Tucker Learns To Live' by Louise Voss.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Louise Voss, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 6th October 2022.
This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read 'His Other Woman' which I would highly recommend.
I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing cover, synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that that this book is 'A brilliantly emotional novel about moving on and learning to live that will make you laugh out loud and cry buckets. Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Matt Haig and Mike Gayle.' I am a huge fan of Matt Haig and the so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Louise and if this book is half as good as' His Other Woman' it's guaranteed to be a page turner. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture 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 42 chapters and an epilogue. 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 based in Wiltshire, England, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are partly or fully set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited and gone on holiday in England on many occasions so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Kerry Tucker. The benefits of third person perspective 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.
'Kerry Tucker Learns To Live' 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 Louise discusses/includes alcoholism and sexual assault.
This book is beautifully written and filled with vivid descriptions that really set the scenes for the reader. The synopsis, cover and title suit the storyline perfectly.
This is the first book I have read that is actually set during lockdown plus the fact that the main protagonist is a post last it definitely makes this book a unique read!! The storyline is an absolutely captivating rollercoaster ride of emotions. It is filled with love, loss, excitement, adventures, sadness, grief, secrets, twists and much more. There is tension and suspense throughout!!! The main subject of this book is isolation, be that due to lockdown or out of choice it is easy to see the effects loneliness can have on a person even when they don't realise it themselves. There was so much going on that it kept me turning the pages until the absolutely beautiful ending which was most definitely needed after the heartbreak and sadness throughout. I was completely invested in the storyline which kept me turning the pages until late at night. There were a few twists and turns in there that I was definitely not expecting!!! Louise covers a range of topics that definitely need discussing more in books in order to help readers and although they are tough subjects such as depression, alcoholism and sexual abuse Louise does a fantastic job in weaving them into a page turning story. An absolutely compelling and heartbreaking read, get the tissues out at the ready!!
It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.
I was completely invested in all the characters and felt that each character was unique with their own pros and cons. My heart completely went out to Kerry as it seems nothing she did was going right. She has gone through so much and then it all starts piling up for her. However, at the same time there were moments when I wanted to scream and shout at her to look at what she was doing and what could happen is..... My heart also went out to Timothy but I can't go into any more detail than that really as it will give too much away and spoil it for future readers. I wasn't a huge fan of Beth at all and her attitude really annoyed me. She only seemed to care about herself which reminded me of someone I know which didn't help!! Beth could have been so much more supportive to Kerry which could have helped her and prevented certain events. There were certain characters who made me absolutely sick including the very aptly named Nasty Nigel, Jeff, Lee, Mutt and Chris. However, you can't get on with every character or it wouldn't make the storyline as addictive as it was. All of the characters were well developed and strong along with being realistic.
Make sure you read on after the story has ended for the first four chapters of 'His Other Woman', another heartbreaking page turner by Louise.
Congratulations Louise on an absolutely gorgeous book that left me turning the pages late and hunting down the tissues!!! Looking forward to your next novel!!!
Overall an emotionally packed compelling page turner that will have your heart in your throat.
Genres covered in this book include Romance Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Literary Fiction, Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance and Domestic Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, Nicole Trope, Kerry Fisher, Oliphant is Completely Fine, Matt Haig and Mike Gayle.
344 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) and £8.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@LouiseVoss @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Over her twenty-year writing career, Louise Voss has published books via pretty much every publishing model there is, from deals with major traditional publishing houses (Transworld and HarperCollins), to digital (Thomas & Mercer and Bookouture) and self-publishing. In 2011, she and co-author Mark Edwards were the first UK indie-published authors to hit the No.1 spot on Amazon UK. Louise has written thirteen novels in total, seven solo and six co-written, across psychological thrillers, police procedurals and contemporary fiction.
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Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0B7S9H2D3social
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