Would you give up on your family? Lexie has a loving fiancé Sam who will do anything for her even looking after her addict sister. But does Annie want to change this time or will it be like all the other times? Lexie knows that she can't turn her back on Annie, she loves her sister and she has always carried the guilt of leaving her behind. Lexie is pregnant and still doing drugs and the courts want to take her baby away as she can't stay clean but can Lexie be strong enough to look after the baby until she is better? This new situation puts a big strain on her & Sam's relationship as she seems to be making decisions without speaking to him first. He loves her but she just can't make life changing decisions without thinking of what impact it has on their relationship. Will Annie get better this time and be able to be a Mom to her daughter Daisy or will she forever be a lost child? Lexie is about to learn what happened to Annie after she left and how badly the cult life destroyed her life. Will they ever be able to leave that life behind, it made them become different young girls, their whole world just changed in a moment and they never really had a normal childhood. Lexie just wishes that she could have looked after Annie sooner maybe things would have been different and Annie would have not given up. Can Lexie & Sam take care of this little person and be her parents no matter what? A heartbreaking read makes you realize how badly life events can effect you later in life. The love that Lexie has for her sister is amazing even though she makes so many mistakes she will always be there for her. Just wish that their mother had opened her eyes sooner. Poor Sam he has a hard time as Lexie is a stubborn woman who at times doesn't always include him. And we have little Daisy she ties everyone together. I really enjoyed this book even though it made me cry. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Kelly Rimmer has 5 previous novels and a very loyal following. This is the first of her novels I’ve read and I’m divided in my feelings about it. Lexie and Annie’s story is one of dealing with a difficult start to life. Lexie, the older sister, managed to overcome this and is living a happy and fulfilling life as a doctor, engaged to the very supportive Sam. Annie, the younger sister, has had even more to deal with and is a drug addict.

The sisters’ story is heartrending and dealt with in a plausible way. I was moved to tears on several occasions. The difficulty I had with this novel is with the writing style. It’s very “wordy” and “talky” and the first third of the novel felt like one huge mansplaining session. I got explanations about things I really didn’t need to have explained to me. The author also seems to want to make the most of all the medical research she did and tell us all about the various drugs used in addiction therapy, but it really adds nothing to the story. I almost didn’t keep reading, but I’m pleased to say things did improve.

Another device which doesn’t quite work is that Annie’s side of the story is told as diary entries, addressed to her therapist, Luke. This is a way for the reader to hear about Annie’s history before anyone else does, but the style is very “explainy” as well. It also contains complete transcriptions of quite lengthy conversations between people, which you’re really never going to see in a real diary.

I did find Annie’s segments easier to read than Lexie’s as Lexie’s are written in a first-person “as it happens” style (As I bring the phone to my ear I brace myself for one thing...) I don’t like this style and I think it makes for a more wordy style of writing because the character telling the story has to explain absolutely everything to the ready. Here we have the explanations again. It was really all too much for me and sometimes I just wanted everyone to stop talking.

This is a good story, told well, but I really didn’t like the writing style, so it affected my enjoyment. 4 stars.

Trigger Warning: non-consent, drugs, cult

I received this book as an ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I didn't think that I was going to cry with this one, but indeed I did.

This is a story about two sisters who go from being best of friends, to barely speaking. A story about familial love, no matter what stands between them. A story about someone who would do anything to save her sister's life.

"Forgive me, Annie. I love you."

Before I Let You Go is told from two points of view - Dr. Alexis Vidler, and the journal of Annie Vidler as she goes through drug rehabilitation.

I was mainly annoyed at their mother for nine times out of ten not realising when her daughters were hurting. Especially her youngest, Annie. Personally, I think that their mother should have realised that Annie wasn't coping in Robert's house and tried to help her. I may not have children, but I'd like to think that that is what I'd do for my child in that scenario.

"How hard would those three little words have been to squeeze into our last conversation? Love you, Annie."

Spoilers!

When Annie began talking about Robert, I called it that the non-consent was probably going to happen.

I may have called it, but it doesn't make it any less painful to read or the tears about it any less real.

End Spoilers!

This book makes you realise that although this is a fiction book, things like this do happen every day in reality. What I also took from this book, is that there isn't any switch that you flip to suddenly make you an addict - you can fight it and you can also not realising it's happening, but drug addiction is a slow process.

"I see myself through her eyes - and as I read about those early years in the community, I'm no longer the sister who failed her, but the sister who saved her."

I totally enjoyed this book about two totally different sisters. Their hearbreaking stories. I felt the frustration of how the system let Annie down. Great story :)

Very thought provoking. Very enjoyable defiantly recommending.

If a book is written through multiple perspectives I'm usually in. This book worked well in tying the past to the present and showing how Lexie and Annie became who they are.

I enjoyed reading this book but felt frustration with both Lexie and Annie. Lexie for pushing everyone away and having to fix everything herself and Annie for her incredible manipulation so she could get high in anyway possible. The characters are definitely flawed but they're also relatable. I can definitely imagine people acting in these ways in presented with the situation the characters are in.

I am not much of an Adult/Women's Fiction reader but I really enjoyed this book and how it didn't follow that usual formula that so much women's fiction tends to do.

This book is very different from the style I often read, but I really enjoyed it.
A classic family drama that had heart. I actually had tears in my eyes as I read part of this book, Rimmer knows how to make you cry.
This book is split between two characters, Lexie, in the present day, and Annie, writing in a journal about her past experiences as a young girl.
I loved Annie's part of the story, Rimmer wrote the intricacies of addiction with heart and was never preachy, she showed that often addiction is a disease that stems from a variety of things that isn't something you can just switch off. I loved Annie's story and the journey she went on through this novel.
I found Lexie a bit harder to read, I often found myself getting a bit bored in her part of the story, and some areas probably could have been a bit shorter.
Either way, for a genre I don't often read, I enjoyed this and I would definitely pick up another book by Kelly Rimmer again.

disclaimer: I got this book from Netgalley for an honest and true review

I am going to be honest here but this book surprised me. Was it a life changing experiencing type of book? No, it was not. It was a easy read where at times you just wanted to scream at the characters or just give them advice to sort their problems.

It depicts the story two sisters Lexie and Annie. As children they are incredible close, but a family tragedy leads their family into a situation where the childhood is ripped from them.

The present day perspective is written from the point of view of Lexie, the "successful" sister who went and accomplished her dreams, became a doctor, is engaged to another doctor named Sam. The flashbacks are written by Annie's perspective, which I found incredible important. These flashbacks really help you understand how Annie ended up how she is. Annie is an addict - a thief, a liar and unable to remain clean.

Honestly, I liked Annie much more than Lexie. Annie, while a troubled soul she was much more likeable I found. I just found Lexie at times very annoying and for a someone who is a doctor (and you would think would be high logical) did not show that logical side at all.

3. 75 stars

I was immediately drawn to the story and characters in this book. Even though it touches on some very sensitive and troubling themes mainly drug abuse, it was well executed to show two sides of the coin. One of drug addict and also the family affected. I found this a honest and realistic portrayal and the two sisters at the core of this story really touched a nerve, the bond and then the destruction of that bond was heartbreaking, I was impressed how the author managed to really capture the topic in such a tender and non judgemental way in showing that drug addiction is a disease and the addicts themselves need understanding, care and ultimately unconditional love but sometimes even those things just aren’t enough, by the end I was literally reduced to tears, but I was not sad I read it. I highly recommend this book but just have some tissues on hand..you’ll need it.

Lexie always bails her younger sister Annie out of trouble. When Lexie receives a phone call in the early morning she knows that her life is once again going to be turned upside down. Lexie feels a deep sense of responsibility for her sister since their father’s death. Annie is a drug addict, she’s destructive and usually moves through Lexie’s life like a hurricane, can Lexie really help her this time?


Annie’s character was convincingly written, her endlessly fascinating diary entries detail her history and transform a character that you may have very little sympathy for, to a character you understand. Rimmer does a fantastic job of capturing the mindset of an addict and explaining how someone could come to make the questionable decisions that Annie makes in the book.
Lexie is the perfect sister, however she is written as a flawed individual and it comes through in her sanctimonious dialogue, her often judgemental recounts and her interactions with the other characters.

Poignant and emotional, this book sat with me well after I’d put the book down. Rimmer expertly pulled an emotional reaction from me in several instances in the book. A must-read for any reader looking for an emotional story about how deeply a family’s love can run.

Once I started reading this novel I was hooked and I read it in one day. I found that the intertwining of the voices of the two sisters worked really well and the poignancy of the Gordian knot of Annie's and Lexi's co-dependent relationship was well-nuanced and beautifully written. #before I let you go

Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer is the story of two sisters. Lexie is a GP, engaged to a surgeon, living the life she had always dreamed. Annie is a heroin addict, living in a trailer, heavily pregnant. After 2 years of no contact Annie calls Lexie in the middle of the night, desperate for help. What happens is heartbreaking and yet an utterly addictive tale.

Told in a combination of real time from Lexie's perspective, and Annie's diary entries of the past as well as present, it attempts to unravel the complexities of addiction and family and love.

Lexie, Annie and Sam are powerful characters. They are real and relatable. They aren't perfect and don't profess to be.

Before I Let You Go is one of those wonderful novels that make you think. Who are these laws meant to protect? What assumptions do we automatically make towards those addicted to drugs? Those people who are someone's daughter/son, brother/sister, mother/father. Rimmer humanises those we tend to ignore or stereotype. Annie isn't just an addict. She is Lexie's sister. She is a daughter. She is a mother. She is a flawed and damaged individual. Yet tales like hers happen everyday. They are everywhere around us.

An incredible read.

Well it's nearly 2am and I have to get up early, but I couldn't not finish this tonight. Powerful, painful and thought-provoking, this is not an enjoyable book, but it is absolutely worth reading.

Sisters Lexie and Annie lost their happy childhood at 11 and 8 with the sudden death of their beloved father, and subsequent depression and then remarriage of their mother to a cruel domineering member of a religious cult. Lexie leaves as soon as she can, managing to get to university and a successful medical career, while Annie falls into drug addiction which destroys her life. While Lexie has helped and supported her sister at every turn, it was never enough, and two years prior, Annie's actions forced Lexie to give up on her. Lexie has met a wonderful man and is planning their wedding and renovating their comfortable house, when she gets a call in the middle of the night - Annie is in trouble again, begging for help - but this time, everything is different, because Annie is pregnant.

The book alternates chapters between the sisters, Annie writing in the first person present, which I normally dislike, but this works well and is necessary for the honest emotions and illogical actions that she undergoes - this would be lost in a past tense narrative. Lexie's chapters are entries in a journal, addressed to an initially unspecified person called Luke, describing her view of events and explaining why she has made such a mess of her life.

The hardest part of this was enduring the frustration with both sisters, Annie for her continual self-sabotage, selfishness and immaturity - even though you know it's not really her fault. Lexie's behaviour is almost as bad as she lets down everyone around her in her desperate need to first parent, and then save her sister. A classic enabler, you just want to shake her and point out how unhelpful her behaviour is - which the calm and sensible, but usually helpless counsellor does, and she does at least gain some insight. I sort of related to Lexie's feelings about addicts, as a GP, but fortunately have not been in her position personally.

The ending is realistic, predictable and inevitable, but also ultimately optimistic. An excellent book, highly recommended.

A powerful and emotional read, made me feel a lot of differing emotions. Wonderful writing and kept me wanting to read, finished it in one sitting!

What a beautiful story of sisters living such different lives who keep coming back to each other. Kelly Rimmer has captured the complex relationships between sisters, fiancés and mothers and the way our pasts impact our presents. Once started it was difficult to put the book down as I wanted to find out how each person dealt with their situation as well as understanding what bought them there. If you like the Jodi Piccoult style of book - multiple points of view (this one has two) and a real life premise that is much more difficult to be judgemental about once you know the person involved - you will enjoy this story. I recommend this book to others wanting a good read.

I received a pre release copy of this book for an unbiased review from Netgalley.

A thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this novel.

I expected for this book to be monumental and life-changing for me. This did not happen. Instead, I was frustrated by so many of the characters and how some of the plot points were wrapped up at the end.

This story is about two sisters - Lexie and Annie. Lexie has a seemingly perfect life, whereas Annie struggles with her drug addiction. After a couple of years without communication, Annie reaches out to Lexie to tell her that she is now pregnant. The story goes from there.

Overall, I felt like this book was a one-way blocked road. I know that this is meant to be realistic to society with it delving into difficult topics such as drug addiction. However, I was hoping for some sort of light to shine at the end of the book and although there was a light, it was not what I was expecting at all.

My main issue with this book was my frustration with the character Lexie. Although Annie is also an infuriating character, I could sympathise with her as we delved more into her backstory and saw what led her towards addiction. With Lexie, I found it difficult to sympathise or even empathise with her and some of her thoughts.
Her mother also frustrated me. I also felt the plot-line with Robert was wrapped up too conveniently and unrealistically.

In terms of what I did like, I believe this book is important to many in how it addresses drug addiction, pregnancy and the way the justice system can impact and inhibit individuals such as pregnant women dealing with addiction. It opens up issues that I believe are not really discussed in the open in society. The relationship between Annie and Lexie I also found to be incredibly complex.

On that note, I would definitely recommend this novel as I believe many will resonate more with the characters and be impacted more by the story than I was.