Forgive Yourself

Author: Allie Sager
ISBN: 9781419695162
Publisher: Booksurge


Forgive Yourself is a novel about a woman named Samantha. Sam has been having an affair with Conner because her husband Rich does not show her love. Rich grew up differently than Samantha and has never had the family closeness that Samantha had. The result ends up in a difficult marriage. Their marriage has been long and faithful until the affair, but Sam has always been lonely. To add to the marital issues, Sam harbors deep regret and secrets of her past. She has been torturing herself over these secrets. Conner, who is also married, has a secret life outside of Sam. It is a twisted and perverted life. As the story unfolds all the secrets and all the lies are revealed. Each of the characters in the story will go through hurt and pain only to free themselves and learn forgiveness. The story is guided by Samantha’s dead grandmother, who reveals herself in spirit and helps Sam forgive herself once and for all.

Forgive Yourself is a short novel. While it doesn’t take long to read, it is taxing on the reader. The novel is devoid of substance and repeats it self time and time again. While the novel is full of drama and intertwined stories, they are short. The novel is extremely twisted and disturbing. It is written in a narrative style by an unrelated character. The story is guided by and happens due to Samantha’s dead grandmother, Mamie. Mamie, who visits from the other side of the moon, has intentions that are pure and simple. She wants to help her granddaughter forgive herself and move on with her life. While that moral is good, the rest of the story is twisted and overwhelming. Everything is linked together at points by Mamie and Samantha.

I did not enjoy this novel. I was unprepared for what the novel really represented. I felt the synopsis could have been better preparing for the reader when choosing if this book was for them. The books narrative style works well, but the sentences are short, making the reader feel they are reading small statements one after another. The novel repeats itself, sometimes adding a little more to the story. By the time you arrive at the end you are well aware of all the pieces to the story, but read them over and over again in each characters confession. The novel was part erotica, part fiction. The description of the novel did not prepare me at all for what I read. While I commend the author for writing a book, this novel was not for me. I would not be able to recommend this book to others based on my experience.

*Reviewed for http://www.bookpleasures.com/*