Thursday 6 October 2016

Review: The Thunder Beneath Us by Nicole Blades

To the world, Best Lightburn is a talented writer rising up the masthead at international style magazine James, girlfriend of a gorgeous up-and-coming actor, and friend to New York City’s fabulous. Then there’s the other Best, the one who has chosen to recast herself as an only child rather than confront the truth.

Ten years ago, on Christmas Eve, Best and her two older brothers took a shortcut over a frozen lake. When the ice cracked, all three went in. Only Best came out. People said she was lucky, but that kind of luck is nothing but a burden. Because Best knows what she had to do to survive. And after years of covering up the past, her guilt is detonating through every facet of her seemingly charmed life. It’s all unraveling so fast: her new boss is undermining and deceitful, her boyfriend is recovering from a breakdown, and a recent investigative story has led to a secret affair with the magazine’s wealthy publisher.

Best is quick-witted and headstrong, but how do you find a way to happiness when you’re sure you haven’t earned it—or embrace a future you feel you don’t deserve? Evocative and emotional, The Thunder Beneath Us is a gripping novel about learning to carry loss without breaking, and to heal and forgive—not least of all, ourselves.


Paperback, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 25th 2016 by Dafina 
Genre: Women's Fiction 

Kristine's Thoughts:

**I received an advanced readers copy from Kensington via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**

This entire book felt like a waiting game to me. I was waiting for the good stuff, the full picture...basically the guts of the story. It felt like it was there hiding on the next page but it wouldn't quite come. Needless to say, it left me quite frustrated. Instead there were a lot of characters who confused me that I didn't care about and a plot that was all over the map. I craved a deeper and more meaningful story that I think this book was definitely capable of but didn't quite succeed in delivering.

Don't get me wrong, there were valuable lessons and personal growth with Best throughout the story but they were not as defined and fleshed out as I would have liked. There were many rabbit trails and it was partly because of this that I found the story kind of dull. As an avid reader I like when I can get lost inside a story but this one just left me lost in a not so satisfying way. A little less Grant and a little more about Best's past would have gone a long way.

Although this book was personally not for me, I think that it might appeal to some. Don't take my word for it. I encourage readers to form their own opinion. Perhaps I was just having a bad day when I read it.






About the Author

Nicole Blades is a writer and journalist who has been putting her stories on paper since the third grade. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, by Caribbean parents, Nicole moved to New York City and launched her journalism career working at Essence magazine. She later co-founded the online maga­zine SheNetworks, and worked as an editor at ESPN and Women’s Health. Now a freelance writer, her features and essays have appeared in MORE magazine, Cosmopolitan, NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, MarieClaire.com, SELF, BuzzFeed, and BlogHer. Coming October 25th: THE THUNDER BENEATH US.

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