And when you think you’re at your lowest…

Synopsis

English teacher Izzy Cole wanted a fresh start.

A new town, a new home, a new school.

But when sixth former Nicky Stevens sets his sights on her, he begins to reel her in at a time when she’s most vulnerable. Soon Izzy is risking her family, her career and her life as she finds Nicky wants more than she ever planned to give.

My review

And when you think you’re at your lowest…

Izzy moved with her family to a new town. She wanted a new start, after seeing her daughter spending too much time with the wrong friends.
her first day as a teacher already starts with a bad omen, as she nearly has an accident with a guy who just chases off.

Big is her surprise when later that day it seems that the culprit was Nicky Stevens, a sixth form student.
Nicky shows his interest in her, which flatters Izzy. But soon their friendship develops in something more dangerous. And Izzy continues this dangerous path, even if this will jeopardize her marriage and her career.

This is a heck of a disturbing thriller!
Initially I thought Lizzy was just stupid. There is a strict line in the teacher – student relationship that may not be crossed. But slowly Lizzy pushes that line further away, allowing Nicky to get closer to her, to the point the line is just gone…
But the better we get to know Lizzy, the more we see she’s a troubled woman. She has suffered a trauma and is not over it. She is also facing anxiety, and has OCD. This puts her in a vulnerable position, making it easy for Nicky to make her his victim.

The first part of the story I did not have a clue where the story would take us. I saw Lizzy getting caught in Nicky’s web, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
The length of manipulation of Nicky was something I did not see coming.

This book disturbed me a lot, as I hoped for Lizzy that she could have the opportunity to get her life back on track after what happened to her before. But she finds herself in a downward spiral, taking one bad decision after the other, with the “help” of Nicky.
But Lizzy is also determined to not let Nicky dictate her life, so she is trying to figure out a way out. She evolves from a kind of pitiful woman to a woman fighting for her family and her career.

Reading this story disturbed yes, but also got me on the edge of my seat, trying to think together with Lizzy how to escape, gasping when situations got even worse than I thought. But also seeing silver linings when relationships are being reinforced again.