A Mother’s Choice

This is the heartbreaking story of a dysfunctional family. A father, a mother, The son Kevin and the daughter Rachel. I held my breath as Rachel describes the abusive acts her father committed against her mother, her brother and herself. No one was brave enough to resist until one day when Rachel and her mother left leaving her brother behind. A decision that would haunt both of them for years to come.

Rachel is now grown with a family of her own. All at once troll dolls start appearing everywhere, her home, her husband’s car, her husband’s office. Rachel is sure her father has found her because he troll dolls were hers as a child. She can’t tell her husband he thinks her father is dead and her mother is dying in the hospice center. She doesn’t know what to do.

Then she finds out her father is dead and her daughter is missing from her bedroom. She knows it has to be Kevin, he was mean to her as a child, has he grown up to be like her father? Will she find them in time to save her daughter?

This book is filled with suspense start to finish. I would recommend it.

Thanks to Nicole Trope, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for an honest review

I began this book with anticipation. That quickly waned as I found it difficult to follow and keep my attention. It was halfway thru the book that I could even begin to figure out what was going on. It goes back and forth between the heroine, her husband, her life as a child, her mother, her father, and her brother. It is difficult to really tell who is who in some of the posts and I found it tedious reading. Toward the last quarter of the book it all started to come together. The characters are well developed but the action was a little too scattered for me.. Each character had an extensive opportunity for their side of the story but they all had a positive ending in the end. Almost too positive for a book that was based on horrible acts of domestic violence and its effect on all the family.

I really liked this book. Some of it was hard to read, due to the subject matter, but it dealt very well with the issues of domestic violence and forgiveness. I found it a little frustrating that the couple did not communicate with each other, but other than that, it was an engrossing book. It was a ‘couldn’t put it down’ book, which I always enjoy. Great ending too. Highly recommended.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into crime/thriller books and even psychological thrillers too so I am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I’ve read all of Nicole Trope’s books, so I was super excited to read an advanced copy. The Life She Left Behind is my new favorite book of hers. Page 1 I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down. I love the way the book is told from different characters and different times. This book deals with a lot of hard issues- marriage issues, family sickness, childhood issues, and a ton of domestic abuse. The author did such a great job of weaving together mystery & drama to create a story that was so enthralling.

The Life She Left Behind, by Nicole Trope, is a good book that keeps you guessing right up until the end. I think other readers will like this book because of the author’s talent for creating a life like story with believable characters, circumstances, and events.
Plot: The beginning starts with a brief clip about the mother running, with determination, to get away from someone. She is definitely fearful for her life, and she is not alone.
Chapter 1 then starts off in the setting of the new home that she and her husband had recently purchased. They haven’t even lived there long enough to unpack yet. Although it is the idealistic home they dreamed of, it is located in a somewhat remote area because construction hasn’t started yet for the houses on the land plots near theirs. Her husband has been working late to try to keep up with competitors in the market and within his own building because the new house has a much higher mortgage than the rent they paid at their previous apartment. He is concerned about whether or not he can perform as well as younger employees at his company, and is fearful about losing his job. He doesn’t want to worry his wife about the possibility of him being laid off from work, so anytime she asks how work was he gives a vague answer. He feels that it’s easier to keep his anxiety about his job a secret from her than it is to tell her since they finally have the house they’ve always dreamed of. He has somewhat always felt that he married up by marrying her because he believes that she could’ve done much better than him so he tries his best to make sure she is happy.
Although she is used to him working late into the night, nothing had prepared her for the unexpected late night entry into their house. She became aware of someone being in the house because she could hear the noises of an individual stumbling around and knocking into the boxes. Although the sounds were muffled, she knew that if it was her husband he would’ve been aware of where the boxes were, would’ve called out to her, or would’ve made different sounds with his movements. She rushes to her daughter’s room and frantically calls her husband in a panic. He is still at work so he urges her to call emergency services. While on the phone with emergency services she can hear the intruder in the hallway just outside her daughter’s room and becomes aware of them trying to turn the doorknob that she locked to get in there. When the police arrive she rushes downstairs to greet them and fumbles for words to make excuses saying that she overreacted, and that it must have just been an animal outside making noises that were unfamiliar to her. By this time her husband had arrived home too, and for the first time he could tell that his wife was acting a bit off. What he didn’t know was that the small item left at the top of the stairwell inside their house proved that there had been an intruder, and that it was a warning sign meant for her. If she hadn’t been keeping secrets from her husband and lying to him from the beginning of their relationship she could’ve possibly explained everything to him and the police, but since her past isn’t what she’s been telling everyone, how does she go about telling the truth all these years later?
She has always had a relationship with her mother that was so strong and close that it seemed like they could sometimes communicate without even talking. When her mother first learned that she had cancer, her daughter was by her side through everything. When they received the great news that she was cancer free, she felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted. Now they are living in the new house, her mother’s cancer has returned and she’s close to dying, and someone deadly is following her and leaving behind small mementos of her past. How did he even find her, and what should she do? She hears the words of her promise never to tell going through her mind as she remembers back to her past the reasons why she left and the lifestyle she lived in hiding with her mother.
The story is told in alternating viewpoints of the mother, father, “Little Bird,” and an individual in a psychiatric institution. Any additional details would be spoilers, but it is a good book with twists of betrayal, lies, secrets, and revenge.
Thank you Nicole Troupe, Bookouture, and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading The Life She Left Behind. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinions.

This is my third book by this author and they have all struck gold!

How is it possible that people can be charming but turn into monsters once they come home? How is it possible that they can live with themselves? How can they sleep at night?

Everybody has already hurt someone either mentally or physically, but more often than not it's accidental. It's very hard to understand that you can deliberately hurt someone you love at the same time and even enjoy it!

Children are born innocent. It's their entourage that influences them and turn them into someone decent or someone despicable.

The author is a great storyteller and she enchanted me with this beautiful and at the same time disgusting book. As soon as I picked it up, everything around me faded to grey. Loved it! 5 stars.

Thank you, Nicole Trope and Bookouture

Another fantastic book by Nicole, I was captivated all the way through this book, definitely 5 stars from me.

I didn't find this an easy read, it was superbly written and brought the horrors of physical and mental abuse out into the open. My stomach churned as I imagined the horrors that they were going through and the fear that was inbeded and the need to not tell. Well worthy of 5*

The chapters of this book are told through the eyes of the various characters: Rachel a young mother and wife, Ben her husband, "Little bird" and an unnamed character who is in a mental hospital-you will later find out who this is.
Rachel and Ben having a great marriage and young daughter but does Ben really know much about Rachel's past life? Rachel has kept much of her horrible past from Ben to protect their family. But when incidents begin to happen in their new house while Ben is at work at night Rachel might have to relay her past to Ben.
I felt some frustration that Rachel kept everything hidden from Ben who might have been able to help when their family was threatened by the "Unnamed character" ... Also the chapters written by "little bird" are difficult to read as they convey much mental and physical abuse .

Thank you to Net Galley & the publisher for an ARC of this book. It Is not an easy read due to domestic violence so just a warning on that because there is a lot . I did enjoy the book but did find myself clinching my stomach for the poor young woman trying to have a life she wanted with a husband & daughter.

Oh my....this was literally “un-put-downable”
The author, Ms. Trope, did such an amazing job of building the story throughout the entire book. This was not a book 8 could read chapter by chapter and take breaks in between, I NEEDED to keep going! I highly recommend this book- but beware there are some potential triggers in the story (domestic abuse).
I will definitely add this author to my “must follow“ list.

I am so thankful I had the opportunity to read this ARC, and be introduced to a talented author, In exchange for an honest review. I know I will be thinking about this story for days.

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!!

Rachel is enjoying her perfect life with her loving husband, Ben, and beautiful daughter, Beth. Except that she has a secret about her past which she has keep perfectly hidden.

But now twenty eight years later, the secret which Rachel promised she would never tell anyone refuses to stay buried. She comes to realize that no matter how far you go, you can never outrun the past.

Now she has to decide what to do, now that everyone she loves, everything she cherishes, is in harm’s way?

This an amazing and well written book about how a small girl witnesses her mother being abused daily by her father and disrespected by her elder brother. In order to protect themselves, mother and child escape, only to be living in continued fear of being found and subjected to the abuse again.

It was an emotional read and I was engrossed right from the first page and I absolutely loved the ending!!

Highly recommended!!

This was an easy read.
It picked up pace just as I was beginning to think to myself that the book was dragging a bit. Not a big mystery book because it was easy to figure out what was going on.
Rachel left her past behind and had succeeded in building a new life when boom her past is back and her family is in danger. At the same time, her mother who is her confidante is dying from cancer in a hospice. Rachel finds her life spiraling out of control with nobody to turn to I did not understand why she could not tell her husband what was going on as soon as she figured out they might be in danger.
This deals with mental health and domestic violence. It is difficult to imagine that people live under such horrendous conditions.
3.5 stars .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Hard topic to read but so well written. First I've read from this author and won't be the last. Was such a great storyline and read up to the very end.


Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an early release of this book.

This was sadder than I expected, and if you are triggered by violence, domestic and child abuse you may want to skip this one.
The plot was well-written, the characters well developed, and it was a good story. If you’re looking for an upbeat book, keep looking.
You want to help these people but there is none forthcoming. I didn’t find the characters particularly likable, though the children were innocent up to a point. Stories like these rile me, angered at the circumstances yet I finish it to get through the train wreck.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book and will read more by Nicole Trope. The style of writing was engaging which easily and smoothly carried me through the story from beginning to end. I liked the chapters alternating between various character points of view and periods in time. I was invested in every character and sympathized with each in their own right although some I was definitely more angry with than others! I zipped through this book wanting to see how the story unfolded and how everyone fared. Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Nicole Trope for the ARC in return for an honest review!

The life she left behind didn’t really do it for me to be honest, it wasn’t what I expected from the description, I felt the emphasis on the physical and emotional abuse overshadowed the real storyline and was rather repetitive! However this book demonstrated the power of a mothers love, forgiveness,and understanding that we don’t always make the best decisions in times of need!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

The Life She Left Behind really is a page-turner. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective - Rachel (the main character), Ben (her husband), Little Bird (Rachel as a young child), and an unnamed character (who you figure out later on in the book).

This is a thriller that’s not too intense. You do want to keep reading to find out what’s going to happen, though I don’t think the point is to figure out who is causing the incidents. If it was, I figured it out very early on.

There was one small thread that wasn’t tied up at the end. It was not a major plot point but could have easily have been addressed in the epilogue.

Trigger warnings include a great deal of domestic and child abuse.

I did enjoy this book and would read more by the author, but don’t go into it expecting an intense thriller.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was a dramatic and insightful novel about the power of a mother׳s love . The characters were depicted in a believable manner, and the story kept me on my toes. Highly recommended.