Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Wow I was rather worried after the first forty or so pages that it wasn’t going to be for me! The description of Rachel and her descent into mental illness, a severe case of post natal depression, Great 5 star read

A Whirlwind of a Book

Hayley Mitchell writes a fascinating story, it ended just when it became creepily good. The tale is that of two couples: Rachel and David's marriage is on the rocks. Rachel is depressed, has been ever since the birth of her second child and, David just doesn't get it. Then there's Julie and Adam: they're pretty stuck too. Adam is stuck in the past, in obsessive routines, Julie has left him in the dust. Rachel and Adam are old friends, who lost touch but they find each other and a source of happiness on Facebook. They are lonely, their days are no longer meaningful unless they exchange a message daily... Or maybe, eleven. Is their newly kindled friendship healthy? Everyone has secrets, can they trust one another?

The online messages exchanged between them, slowly venture towards dangerous territory- veering off course: from just friends to uncharted waters.... Can they be each other's 'something more?' With every message sent, comes the question: will the other reply or does this cement the end?

This was a brilliant story, if a little slow at times and a little de-motivating. Mitchell has a talent in writing a feasible story designed to capture your attention and suck you into a world that can only end in disaster. I didn't particularly enjoy the virtual sexual chats but I am quite the prude, I felt it better to skip that but otherwise this book really was incredibly emotive.

I received this book through NetGalley

Because I was lonely started off pretty slow for me. The first half the book is mostly getting to know the characters and their issues. The second half is of Rachel and Adam messaging (sexting) each other. Annnnd, this is why I don’t do online dating lol. Many thanks for copy via netgalley.

I initially enjoyed this book in particular how it was told from different perspectives with the voices of each character coming through. I did find, unfortunately, that the middle of the book, around the time with all the text messages a bit drawn out and it did lose my interest somewhat. However, I would be interested in reading further books by the author as I felt they had a good style of writing.

Oh my goodness this book was amazing. The twist and turns kept me invested without that feeling of knowing where this story was headed. The book is divided into two parts. In the first you get to know the characters. In the second you see the Facebook obsession developing and escalating. All the characters are well developed and the obsession plays out naturally. Mitchell introduces her characters and then has chapters from each individual character's point-of-view, which makes it much more difficult for the reader to start the blame-game against the spouses who initially seem unsupportive and impatient with their partner's illnesses. The novel is well written and the tension mounts as the obsession escalates. Mitchell certainly shines a spotlight on the dangers that can lurk when using social media. Great book that is entirely relative for today

This book! Has all the emotions of what married partners feel when they are lonely or misunderstood. The author also takes us on a very believable ride on what happens when two individuals embark on an emotional affair on line. The primary relationship gets completely shut out and the online one takes over. Like an addiction. When a depressed Rachel and a traumatized Adam rekindle their friendship on Facebook and then begin months of flirting online in an exchange of messages, the pair feel as though they finally have a partner in which they can rely on. So wrapped up in each other they even resent their partners in real life. What could possibly go wrong? Are online affairs really a life line or a dangerous escape for the unhappy? This book is 4.5 stars. Special thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advanced copy of this brilliant read. I wasn’t ready for this book to finish. And that ending!!!!

Oh my. I'm not quite sure what just happened, but I'm quite certain I enjoyed this book!
Rachel clearly has some severe Postpartum Depression and overwhelming grief.
Adam has a bad case of PTSD and overwhelming grief.
David - Rachel's husband - gave an effort. He tried to get her help, but he's kind of half-cocked about everything he does it seems.
Julia - Really tried to help Adam and then just went back to putting herself first.
Everyone kind of wants to image of the perfect marriage, perfect life. No one is getting what they ultimately want. AND then....It freaking ends with an eyebrow-raising what-does-that-mean moment.
So good. Great character development. Fantastic read.

Rachel and Adam were friends and then lost touch. Rachel married David, and had a wonderful relationship, until David began pulling away from her and their family. Rachel is a stay at home mom...and stuck in the monotony of daily life.

Because of modern day technology, Rachel and Adam reconnect via Facebook and rekindle that long lost friendship, affecting their daily lives.

This is a modern book. We all have those lost loves that we want to reconnect with and this is a good example of ....why we shouldn't? These are depressed people, looking for an out. You see it in your own friends list. High school lovers reconnecting, leaving their current spouse to rekindle that innocence....or, at least, I see it on mine.

This book was well written and engaging but as mentioned, I see this drama played out in real life, so reading it felt a little TOO familiar. Still, it's a difficult topic and Hayley Mitchell does a great job at covering lonely people.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow, wow and wow again!
Absolute winner and maybe my favourite book of this year. Certainly a must read for any fan of this genre.

Because I Was Lonely by Hayley Mitchell is a recommended domestic thriller about four people/two couples and their unhappy marriages.

Rachel is suffering from postpartum depression and sleep deprivation. She's unable to cope and gets little reprieve from taking care of the kids 24/7. She also never had time to properly grieve the loss of her mother. David is married to Rachel. He's tired of her inability to cope. He's taken her to the doctor. Now he wants to come home to a clean house, clean kids, and a wife who has bothered to take a shower. Of course it's not helping that he's sleeping in his study and eyeing the barmaid where he stops off after work to avoid going home.

Adam is also depressed, suffering from severe anxiety, and trying to mentally recover from an accident that killed his parents. He blames himself for their deaths. Adam is unable to hold a job and currently stays home, taking care of the house. He is has developed strict routines and rituals to help him through his day. Julia is Adam's wife. She is currently supporting the family by working away in the city during the week and comes home on weekends. While she is ambitious and can be critical, Julia also wants Adam to get better, She knows his routines and flaws.

Rachel and Adam used to be friends years ago in school and have recently renewed their friendship on Facebook. Adam spends his days following his routines and part of that is chatting with women on Facebook, a little flirting, sometimes more adult content, but all removed and from a distance. Adam and Rachel are thrilled, but cautious in their reunion on Facebook. They are both very careful to not share what is really going on in their lives for quite a while. Both David and Julia know that their spouses are conducting some kind of secret chat/sex talk on Facebook, but feel it is not serious. They have their own responsibilities to attend to and frankly are glad in some respect that the two seem to be getting a bit better, even though they are secretive about what is going on.

The book is divided into two parts. In the first you get to know the characters. In the second you see the Facebook obsession developing and escalating. All the characters are well developed and the obsession plays out naturally. Mitchell introduces her characters and then has chapters from each individual character's point-of-view, which makes it much more difficult for the reader to start the blame-game against the spouses who initially seem unsupportive and impatient with their partner's illnesses. The novel is well written and the tension mounts as the obsession escalates. Mitchell certainly shines a spotlight on the dangers that can lurk when using social media.

I'll have to admit, however, that I'm rather surprised at the number of high ratings Because I Was Lonely has received. Certainly there is suspense and building tension in the plot, but, while I liked it, I didn't love it. I also could have lived my whole life without reading the explicit Facebook messages Rachel sends to Adam. From the description I wasn't expecting this novel to head quite so much in the adult direction. I also would have preferred a definite conclusion, with all loose ends tied up.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of RedDoor Publishing via Netgalley
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/11/because-i-was-lonely.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2195755709
https://www.librarything.com/work/20699284/reviews/148544780
https://www.facebook.com/shetreadssoftly/
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/934866362777948162

This isn’t a typical genre that I normally read, but I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This story is about two people who are in the throes of having a mid-life crisis. The story is told through the eyes of four people/two married couples.

We are introduced to Rachel, who is married with two small children. She has had a tough time becoming a mother, which has caused her marriage to begin to fall through the cracks. Her husband, David, hasn’t been able to handle this and begins pushing away from her. We are also introduced to Adam, who is married with three grown children. He was recently in a car accident, which killed his parents, and he hasn’t been able to cope since. This has caused him to lose his job and become confined to his house in fear of driving. Because of this, his wife Julia, has had to become the breadwinner of the family and take a promotion which causes her to work long distance and be away from her family every week.

One day Rachel signs up for Facebook and sees her old friend Adam’s profile. After they become friends on there, they start to message each other and things escalate quickly. An online affair begins, and the rest of the story is about the consequences of this affair and where it leads to.

I mostly enjoyed this book, it was interesting to read how other people handle difficult circumstances that we may all come across in life. I could relate to Rachel in the beginning, how becoming a mother is very intense and can take a lot out of you. Unfortunately for her it never eased up and she went a bit crazy from it. I felt like her husband should have stepped up and helped. It was interesting to see how people’s perspectives are so different. For example, when I was in Rachel’s head I wouldn’t like her husband David. But then when I was in his head I could also see his point of view.

I didn’t really like the ending to this story. I understand what the author was doing, but I like to know conclusions. It did intrigue me enough that I probably would read the sequel if she ever did one, but I don’t know if that was the purpose or not. It seems like it was written that way so that the reader would come up with their own conclusion. Overall, the story was interesting and was an eye opener to the affects of mental illness and the consequences that affairs can have on everyone involved.

I would like to thank Hayley Mitchell, NetGalley, and RedDoor Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

This was actually a frightening book, not because I was scared.....but because in reality I can imagine this scenario happening a bit.

Rachel has been suffering from postnatal depression since the birth of her second child. This was most likely exacerbated by the death of Rachel’s mother prior to his birth. Her husband David has been distancing himself because he can’t cope with her moods/depression. His effort to help her is to take her to the Dr! And he’s also attracted to the younger barmaid who works at the local pub that he’s been stopping at on his way home.

Adam is suffering from PTSD and obsessive behaviours since his parents were killed in a car accident four years previously. He blames himself as he was driving but it wasn’t his fault. Since then he has stopping working, he stays at home to look after their teenage kids while his wife Julia has taken a job in Edinburgh to make ends meet and she returns home for the weekends.
Adam has dabbled in online flirtations through Facebook and Julia is aware of these and she believes their harmless (he does it because he’s bored). But things take a much deeper turn when Adam and Rachel reconnect through Facebook. Loneliness and despair, finding an old flame on Facebook, then the wish for something that may or may not have been years ago and suddenly the road is taken to the destruction of a relationship, especially when sexting begins and the obsession of messaging takes hold. Obviously the respective marriages weren’t great but I can’t say that I really liked any of the characters, especially Rachel. I felt she was the one pushing Adam past his usual flirtations. I could sense him hanging back with the realisation they had a lot to lose.

As I mentioned before, what’s frightening is that I’m sure this happens all so readily in real life today with the constant need for social media and virtual friendships. Think of it as a little reality check.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy to read and review.

Because I Was Lonely starts off introducing every character in great detail, with a chapter entirely dedicated to each of them in Part 1, giving the reader a sense of intimately knowing the flawed and very human characters before the story starts moving along. This in-depth character detail did slow down the pace of the book however, and I had to encourage myself to push through, but I'm glad I did as the book kept getting better and better the further along I got.

The disturbing truths of post natal depression is significantly highlighted when it comes to the story of Rachel and David - how lonely it can be without the required support system as well as how it impacts each person in a marriage. We get to see both Rachel's as well as David's point of view, which was an eye opener for sure.

Then we also have Adam and Julia's story, with Adam still suffering the consequences from a tragic car accident, with his marriage suffering as a result.

Around halfway through the story, the pace picks up in part two, when Adam and Rachel ( once old friends) befriend each other via Facebook. Their relationship and feelings begin to escalate, causing the reader to flip each page a little faster in order to discover how this will turn out.

The conclusion however did have me feeling somewhat dissatisfied, as I'm not a fan of loose ends and unanswered questions, I'd much rather prefer all the loose ends tied up in a pretty little bow. Perhaps a sequel is on the cards?

Overall a tense, eye opening read, with incredibly believable characters, shedding light on important topics of mental illness and the hidden dangers of social media that had me thinking about it long after I had turned the final page.

Many thanks to the author, Netgalley and RedDoor Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

This book had me hooked from the off. I found myself relating quite a bit with Rachels story and feelings of lonlieness with a relationship. Would recommend to friends as i was eager to find out how the story ended and foumd the book gripping, it highlights how social media plays a big part in modern relationships. Thabk you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review.

I really liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I found Rachel really relatable and became immersed in the story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.
I really enjoyed this book.
I thought it was original, disturbing at times and well written.
I would definitely recommend this book.

This was a perfect look at how social media can influence, disrupt, and corrupt a marriage even when people believe it's a harmless distraction from the realities of everyday life. Take two marriages, four discontented adults, and throw in Facebook and watch the tension escalate! I loved how the author showed the once-innocent flirtation take on an ominous tone as both Rachel and Adam--initially only friends--begin an online relationship as Rachel shows signs of depression after being a stay-at-home mother to two children who is sleep-deprived and lonely. She has no idea how her obsession will blossom as she begins to rely on Adam as an outlet for her revelations and urges. Both get caught up in the whirlwind virtual romance that is bound to spiral downward as neither realizes the consequences of their actions on each other or their spouses. This novel is relevant and a roller-coaster ride of social media nightmares waiting to happen!

This book was full of so many mixed emotions right from the start. I really felt for Rachel she has been through so much and all she needs is for her husband to be there for her and support her she but it seems like he does not care about her at all.
It was like David does not care about anyone except himself, Rachel needs him so much, she has lost her family, has two young children and as suffered with depression. All she wants is for her husband to care and give her some help.

So when Rachel finds an old friend called Adam on facebook who has been through alot himself and is also married to someone who does not seem to care, they both turn to each other for company but as time progresses they become closer and closer.
Rachel starts to rely on Adam more and more and wants them to leave their partners and live together but Adam is not as sure he really does not know what or who he wants his wife or Rachel.

This book is full of mixed emotions and really makes you think about your life and that you want RacHel to be happy. A really emotional book just amazing.

I really enjoyed this book. Excellent storyline and great main characters. I would recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and RedDoor Publishing for allowing me to read this in return for my honest review. As a debut novel I found the author gripped my attention from the very beginning and left me wanting more.

Hayley Mitchell addresses the issues of post-natal depression, stay-at-home parents, loss of family and relationships within two unhappy marriages with realism and clarity. Most people reading this will see something they can relate to in this novel even if not their own life then somebody close to them.

The online relationship which develops between two of them, who were at college together, shows how these flirtations can spiral out of control and become an obsession especially if one person is dangerous.

The ending was class. Highly recommended.