4*’s
Having enjoyed The Lies You Told Me so much I decided to read a previous book by author Jessica Ruston which was available through Amazon Vine. Although not quite matching the excellence of this later offering it was still a really enjoyable read
The Darker Side of Love spans the years from late 2007 to 2010 telling the tale of a group of middle-classed friends dealing with life. As the title suggests this isn’t a cosy story of how love can conquer all but rather how love can be dangerous when offered to the wrong person. A number of serious issues are covered in the book including, domestic abuse, grief, substance abuse and adultery to name a few.
As the book starts all the couples; Izzy and James, Harriet and Wills and Stella and Jonny are all settled in life. Caroline, James’ sister is single and feels on the edge of the group due to her status. The story unfolds and we see that none of the couples are quite as secure as first impressions suggested and secrets and lies test their relationships. Told in chapters covering the key times when the group are bought together such as New Year’s Eve the reader is left with gaps, this device moves the story along nicely without becoming bogged down with the minutiae of daily life.
This is the perfect book to get lost in, well written with a good mixture of characters and with a bit of a twist in the tail. Jessica Ruston’s next book The Lies You Told Me is even better, clearly an author to watch.
Cleopatra Loves Books 