Without Alice

Without Alice

D.J. Kirkby

Have you ever had a secret? One so important that it feels as if it will tear you in two? Stephen’s got one. He’s also got a great job, beautiful wife and an adorable son. Outwardly his life seems perfect but it means nothing without Alice. Read ‘Without Alice’ and meet a man who you will love to hate until you learn to love him.

When I got this book in the mail I wasn’t sure what to expect, but thought what the heck I will give it a try especially as it had come all the way from England to me.

The first thing I have to say is that if you are not used to british english there are words that may cause you to go hum, these are words that you don’t read and hear in Harry Potter.

The book opens with three different births, Alice, Stephen and Jennie. It then moves on to Jennie giving birth to a beautiful son, the father of whom is Stephen. From the very beginning of this book Stephen is a royal ass. But you know that there is more going on with him, just not what. One thing is very clear however he is not happy.

Jennie drove me nuts from the very beginning. The way that she acted whenever Stephen wanted to hold the baby, made me want to reach into the book and slap her. I got it she was the one that had given birth to the baby, but she wasn’t the only parent. Also the way that she was a doormat for Stephen, she kept brushing his attitude off, instead of recognizing that there was something wrong.

As the book continues you discover that all is not what it seems between these two.

Then there was Alice, a character that I liked from the very beginning. She had had a rough go of it but was back on her feet and beginning to live. In fact happiness was just around the corner for her when once again her world crumbles.

When the secret that Stephen has been keeping is revealed my heart literally ached for him, and I wondered just how everything was going to be resolved. Resolved it was and very beautifully I might add.

For a debut author DJ Kirkby does a wonderful job of creating a character that we can very justifiably hate, and yet want to know more about. For me reading this book, it wasn’t about Jennie and how unhappy she was, nor about Alice and how her life could ever be the same again, it was all about Stephen and why he did the things that he did, and how he was going to get his happy ever after, because well that is the reason that I read books. By the end of the book I was completely understood everything that Stephen had done and why. It all made perfect sense.

This is one of those books that once you start reading it you can’t put it down.

Grade B+

You can purchase the book here.