When you think you have found the perfect man, but have you really?

Synopsis

How do you know if you’ve married the wrong person?

It was a whirlwind romance and we had the perfect relationship.
He was my dream partner, loving, caring, attentive… until the day I married him and things became toxic.
I spent my wedding night in A&E with an ‘unexplained’ broken wrist – but I knew what happened….
My romantic illusions shattered. My fear of the future heightened.
The man I had fallen in love with wasn’t the man I married.
And that was just the start of things to come.
Quickly things escalated. He isolated me from family and friends, and with no one to turn to, he began to control every part of my life.
I tried to escape, but he watched my every move.
Until one day he went too far, and I found my strength to fight back.
I no longer wanted to be a victim.
I wanted to live.
I wanted my life back.
But at what cost?
In sickness and in health and till death us do part…

** Perfect for the fans of Louise Candlish and Adele Parks**

My review

Sophie truly believed that she has found the love of her life with Jay. Even if her previous relationship and engagement aren’t that long ago, with Jay she feels ready to take their relationship to the next phase.
However, she didn’t expect to spend her wedding night in A&E with a broken wrist, caused by the man who she loves.
From the moment Sophie and Jay said their ‘I Do’, the perfect man turned into a nightmare.
Jay starts to isolate Sophie and control every step she takes. But his abuse isn’t only psychological, but also physical. Sophie has no one else to turn to, confide in or ask for help.
But she realizes that she has to fight back for her not being a victim anymore…
However, will Jay just let her walk out? 

While the blurb already is a terrifying one, I was intrigued by it. Not only did I want to know what Sophie had to endure, but I also wanted to read how Jay was able to separate her from her loved ones. And of course I wanted to see how Sophie would escape from her nightmare. 

I have to admit, beside the abuse itself, there were moments that I didn’t like. Like how Sophie allowed Jay to play his tricks, or how quickly her own family walks away from her, and even her best friends don’t appear to be the most caring kind.
But of course, this is all part of Jay’s scheme, which is truly a real nightmare! 

I was astonished reading how quickly Jay turned from a caring (although, was he ever truly a caring person?) man to a jealous, vindictive, abusive, controlling bastard…
Even if I tried to comprehend him somehow, his reactions were of a psychotic person… 

And my heart went out to Sophie…
Not only did she get her heart broken by her ex – fiancé, but by wanting to find happiness, she ends up in a real nightmare.
It gave me goosebumps to see how this once strong and confident woman was turned into a shell of her former self.
With Jay gaslighting her, controlling her and even more hideous things, she starts to doubt herself and her memories. 

It is a terrifying thought yet unfortunately it’s also a reality that someone who claims to love you, is set out on hurting you, playing you, making you look like an unstable fool.
So I was glad to see how Sophie found the strength to fight back (not literally), to get not only her freedom  but also her sanity back. 

Obviously things don’t go smoothly from the first time, and I was again flabbergasted to see how easily people can be put against the victim.
I realized myself that for Sophie to be truly free from her nightmare, there would be only one possible outcome…
And even then things didn’t go as presumably planned, how horrifying! 

This for sure isn’t the kind of book you want to read to pass time easily. It shows us the worst kind of people, who are set up on breaking those around them.
But it’s also about the resilience victims, but also people just in general have. Because even at their lowest moment they are able to find the strength to fight back, and have a determination to succeed to gain their freedom back…