This was a painful read because of the subject matter, but it was handled so beautifully, and the writing was captivating. Lexi and Annie are sisters with a deep bond due to circumstances in their childhood. Their father passed away and their mother, while with them, was absent, leaving them to fend for themselves. Lexi, as the older sister, became a stand in mother, taking responsibility for smoothing out the life of her younger sister, Annie. Their mother moved them to a religious cult and dedicated her life to a very cruel man. So, while she was now present, she was not protecting her children. Lexi regretfully left her sister behind to sort out a life for them, and by the time they were together again, irreperable damage had been done, and the younger sister was now an addict. Lexi continue to try to save Annie over the years, with no success. Annie now lands on her doorstep, pregnant and addicted. This is the story of how the lives of Lexi, Annie and her addicted baby were forever changed. So many times I wanted to throttle Lexi to within an inch of her life for her enabling and her martyrdom, but everything was done out of love...it was always a matter of doing the wrong thing, but for the right reasons. As stated, this is a tough subject, with no easy answers, but I applaud the author for her courage, her brutally honest depiction of a no-win situation, and for sharing something that personally touched her life.

This book was actually pretty good. It pulled me in from the very first sentence and kept me entertained until the very end.

Kelly Rimmer has absolutely outdone herself in her newest groundbreaking story - strongly worded, cautionary and honest to a fault. BEFORE I LET YOU GO is raw and unerringly truthful. Do not expect to put this book down until you get to the very last page. BEFORE I LET YOU GO is that compelling.
Pregnant and a drug addict – truly unbelievable and scorned by all polite society. And yet there is a chasm in our world that treats these issues as criminal and punishable. Annie is pregnant and a drug addict. Her world couldn’t be harsher and painful and yet it will. Lexie is Annie’s older sister. Pretty much a trivialized description of their relationship as Lexie has for years looked over her younger sister. They were a team. They hung on to each other as a lifesaver in a world that had become sad and scary. No matter what Annie did she could and would depend on her Lexie. And then Annie’s world dissolved into an unfathomable mess of tremendous proportions.
For several years now Annie has been on her own. Lexie moved on with her life and career, met Sam and they were planning on getting married. Both medical professionals with busy lives. Annie and Lexie have been estranged from each other and their mother and step father for years now. None of the Vidler women ever truly recovered from the bone chilling grief of their father’s death. It was that moment that would forever alter their universe. And this is the story told in BEFORE I LET YOU GO.
After their father’s death Annie and Lexie became members of a strict religious community with their mother. The compelling reason for joining this sect was to help their mother cope. No one could ever have realized the damage that would happen to this family. Silence is golden. Under the cloche of religion reality is skewed. There were three f’s that kept people in the community – fear, finances and family. This was the environment of the young Annie and Lexie. Together they managed until the fateful day that Lexie left behind Annie to escape the confines of a society that tethers girls to a strict moral discipline that crippled any source of imagination or ambition.
The story is told in narratives mostly by Annie and Lexie to clearly illustrate where their lives are now and where they had come from. Harsh but honest. Both Annie and Lexie talk about capitulating to demands. Neither of them are very good at that. The burning question is who is the stronger of these sisters. The brave foolish one or the one who goes along in the hellish situation these sisters found themselves.
Keeping the peace. Ah a noble goal. Tough not to take sides in this story. Each character sort of demands that you listen to their tale. Important though to not pass judgment.
The title of this book is somewhat prophetic. Which you won’t realize for quite many pages. Part of the writing talent and creative genius of Kelly Rimmer. Throughout BEFORE I LET YOU GO we are engaged in communication between several characters. In the beginning you think that we are in the past. Then the big ah ha moment and I will not spoil that for you.
But I will say that moment is jaw dropping. And again kudos to Kelly Rimmer. I am not surprised. That’s why she is one of my must read authors. I covet everything I’ve read by her and wait somewhat impatiently for the next great story. The next great group of characters. And she never disappoints. And in BEFORE I LET YOU GO Kelly Rimmer makes you stop and think. Think hard about the fact that she has hammered in a message here. One you won’t forget and perhaps leave you with something to chew on. Amazing and enlightening and entertaining and Kelly Rimmer at her best. That’s why she has garnered quite a following.

Well... that was a wild ride! The Reunion by Samantha Hayes was truly an addicting read. I may have sneaked in reading this at a birthday party I had to go to! I definitely tend to read a little slower on weekends because of the kiddo but I was determined to finish!

We get many perspectives in this story, which I’m a fan of but I know some of my bookish friends are not.

So, what’s it about? Right from the prologue we learn that in 1996, Claire Lucas’ little sister has gone missing. Claire and her brother, Jason, were in charge of watching Lenni while they had a fun day at the beach. Lenni has not matured much since she was eight so, the parents, Shona & Patrick Lucas make a pact that someone will always watch for poor Lenni, the baby of the family.

Flash forward to 2017 and Lenni is still missing. Shona and Patrick still live at the farm house never giving up hope of Lenni coming home. Claire also lives on the land right up the road. She’s married to Callum with two kids.

Sadly, Patrick has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and he’s slowly but surely losing it. Patrick was almost a second dad to Claire and Jason’s friends growing up. She thinks it will do him good if she sets up a reunion of her childhood mates. She hopes it will bring back memories for Patrick.

So, the gang all comes back to the farm house. We meet many characters and like I said we get their perspectives. Some you will like, some you won’t. You will be undecided on who to believe or what to think. In all honesty, I was unsure of this book until I read a certain perspective, then I was like omggggg. It was good y’all.

Right as the reunion starts sketchy things happen to Claire and she gets spooked. A LOT goes down in this book. Lies, drama, betrayal and possible triggers. (Message me if you want to be perpared) All In all I really liked it. I’ll give a solid 4. Thanks to netgalley and bookouture for a free ecopy for my review. I’m out.

Dr. Alexis Vidler is trying to live her best life. It’s far from easy. She left the pain of her childhood behind and all of the sacrifices that she had to make along the way no longer haunt her as they once did.

Her sister, Annie, however, would always be the exception to every one of her rules. So, when an early morning phone call turns out to be a cry for help, she knows she will do anything to save Annie regardless of the cost.

“Oh, what I wouldn’t give to make her life whole. What I wouldn’t give to see her thriving and healthy and functional. What I wouldn’t give to see her at peace.”

Annie Vidler could always count on her big sister. Lexie always had all of the answers and as her first love was medicine – Annie’s was finding something that would mask her pain. That search ended with her about to give birth to her first child while in the grips of a deadly heroin addiction.

Lexie must fight a vastly unfair justice system for the rights of her sister and her unborn child while Annie fight demons greater than anyone knows. And the odds are not in their favour.

“Because at the deepest levels of my soul, I don’t want to stay here, Luke. I don’t want to stay sober. I hate feeling like this – I hate how close I am to my pain. I hate how vivid the shame is. I need something between me and the rage, something to blur down it’s razor-sharp edges so that I can stand to look at it.
But now there’s Daisy and I want to see her and I don’t want the edges of her world to be blurred to me. I want to know her. I want to be enough for her. And I just don’t know how I can do it – with or without the smack.”

I became an instant fan of Kelly’s work after reading Me Without You a few years ago and now with this book, I simply stand in wonderment at yet another one of her stunning tales.

With poignant precision, Kelly made me question how someone could always make the wrong choices and then she made me furious at all of the injustices heaped upon the most vulnerable of the world.

But in the end, there is incredible strength and there is unconditional love. And Before I Let You Go is a shining testament to it all…

I loved this book and could not put it down. Very well written, sad, emotional - I read this with tearsfalling down my face on a plane but I could not stop reading!

Interesting story, well told..

What a breathtakingly beautiful book. From start to finish it’s mesmerizing. I’d give it ten stars if I could. Wow

This book was such an emotional roller coaster for me to read. Literally from the first page I could not put this book down, but I had no idea how emotionally invested I would become in all of the characters in this book. It was heartbreaking but beautiful! This is one of those books that the characters will pop into my mind for months to come. Highly recommended!!

A heart wrenching story of the love between two sisters and a realistic portrayal of drug addiction and its aftermath. It is beautifully written, a heartbreaking emotional story as one sister struggles with addiction while she is pregnant and her older sister does everything in her power to help. Readers won't be able to put this one down until they read the last page. Thank you Netgalley for an incredible tale.

I read this book in one day! The heartbreaking story about addiction and sexual abuse, can change and destroy a person’s life forever.
One woman that will do anything to save her sister’s life.
I highly recommend it.

Lexie has always been the one to clean up after her sister, Annie. But now, Annie has called her sister with the news that not only is she pregnant, she’s about to give birth. She wants Lexie to come and take the baby, if Annie goes to the hospital, she will lose custody of her child for sure and will almost certainly land in jail. Lexie reluctantly agrees to care for the infant, and while she loves the baby, it causes havoc in her life. she may lose her job and her fiance. But what put Annie on a path to self-destruction? Both women will have to face a past they don’t want to confront if they are ever to find a way to go forward. This was a difficult read for me because of the subject matter, but Rimmer handles it beautifully.