Book Review: Into the Darkest Corner, Elizabeth Haynes.

I decided towards the end of last year that I was going to stop doing book reviews for 2 reasons;
1. Because I personally don't feel I'm great at expressing my love for a book without telling you the whole plot, which would be a complete spoiler for those that fancy a read! I occasionally read book reviews that are so much more descriptive and expressive, which puts mine to shame.
2. They don't seem popular with my readers so I kinda see it as why waste time and effort?

I am however, going to write reviews about books that stand out from the crowd, and this one really did for me.

As you all know, I'm a regular reader of chick lit, however I do try and come away from that and sample something else, because cute love stories tend to get a bit tiresome after a while. And although completely fiction, they're never great to read when you end up comparing your own relationship to that in a book - that's always going to end in disaster!

I was reading Kate's (from gh0stparties) reviews a good few months ago, and this book went it my 'to buy' list.

I started reading it at the beginning of the new year. Within 2 weeks I had completed this book (You're probably thinking '2 weeks for a book you claim to be amazing?!') But on average, a book usually takes me 6 weeks to read, simply because I only read a small amount each night before bed, and usually, I'm so tired that I can only manage a few pages!). However this book was a real page turner... I never wanted to put it down, and if it wasn't for having work the next day, I think I would have stayed up well into the early hours, because I just couldn't get enough.

I remember when I first started reading this I got very confused and a little worried that I would get lost in it. The pages flit between past and present, but this is made clear with dates before each 'entry'. Within a few pages the back and forth of dates began to make sense and a story began to emerge - A young woman 4 years previous, and the same woman in the present day. It showed you how an incident 4 years prior has changed her personality and outlook on life, and how a mental health disorder had formed due to the incident. It contains themes of domestic violence, sex and love.

Without giving too much away, I loved how the mental health disorder was portrayed. It really gave me an insight into how tiring it could be for anyone who suffers from it. The author gave so much attention to detail which enabled my imagination to go wild and really picture the scene, which is what I love from a book. I love to feel like I'm there, and involved.

Right from the start, every turn of the page left me wanting more. The incident in question which shaped this woman's life from then on wasn't revealed till towards the end of the book, which was both frustrating and exciting for the reader, and kept you in a great deal of suspense.

Usually, within a few days of completing a book I often forget book plots and characters, but weeks after finishing this and I still remember every detail quite clearly, and that to me, is a sign of a good book.... Go read!