Come Undone by Jessica Hawkins review

 

I have spend the majority of my Sunday eating, reading and relaxing, this nugget made my day ~

COME UNDONE
by Jessica Hawkins ( Cityscape #1)


She's come undone and it's just a start

I'm usually the horror reading gal, romance and hot stuff isn't my usual fare but once in a while I will fall prey to a good cover and I do enjoy other genres, a lot. Somehow Come Undone looked spicy enough so I took the plunge and requested this off NetGalley and then I attempted to read it. Yes attempted.... I absolutely hated the beginning, from the awkward syntax to the strange dialogue that never told me who was really talking I was cursing the way this was written but to my dislike there was that kernel inside of my mind that was curious as to what this whole shebang was about so I kept on reading. Somehow this book evolved organically on its own and the characters were able to emerge from within the pages and take me by my hand on their journey.

The title itself is very telling, Olivia Germaine is a woman who though that she knew she had the right guy in her life as she was doing all the correct things off her checklist, she was someone who was busy with her work and toying with the idea of getting a house when suddenly she was served with a dose of reality, her feelings weren't as grounded as she believed. It's pretty scary when you're interlocked with another human being for years through social layers of what has to be done when out of nowhere your world starts to feel like a high-rise ledge and there you are, faced with your responsibilities and commitments to other people while your heart is beating furiously in the opposite direction. Olivia certainly felt that high wind beating her face, she followed the rules yet here she was, more miserable day by day while her thoughts and dreams were haunted by another man, someone she didn't have the rights to claim as her own and who wasn't supposed to come between her and Bill. No one can ever own another human being, not to their core at least, Olivia was suddenly wrenched from her world and thrown into a wild game of pursuit with her judgment telling her otherwise. Once I had time to sit down and read this I had a good time with this wicked little story and the writing improved and fast, it felt as if the author found her soul through crafting this and it cradled the action nicely. Olivia and her friends, Lucy and Gretchen were a hoot, I enjoyed reading about their trials and tribulations, their highs and lows while she had to figure out what she really wanted out of life and what really made her happy. Do you stay with who you think you love or do you dare to imagine a different storybook ending? Sometimes happiness takes risks and doing scary things, not coasting safely behind a veil wondering why nothing moves us anymore; numb comfort is not what life is about.

It's interesting how initially Come Undone enraged me, I was annoyed how Olivia started to see flaws in her husband after she simply locked eyes with a handsome stranger at a ballet intermission but I stuck with the story, it was amusing, its errors made me feel all smug until I started to care. And then somehow the book took off like a wild horse, it tasted that night air and freedom and it dove for the gut and was great ever since. This is a real kicker, and there is a ton of buildup which can feel like a setup from the start but I'm very happy that I stuck with it, I know that writing isn't easy but I don't owe every author out there a shoulder massage telling them that yes, they did good if in fact I wasn't moved and inspired but this picked up its droopy drawers and put on some hot panties and made for quite a read! I won't divulge the plot, I went into it with very little knowledge and it was just perfect that way, too many reviews take pride at spoiling the plot, I can understand how keeping that in can be challenging with such an intricate story that is still on a roll at the end of book one that it would be a shame to ruin the twists and surprises. There's some hot stuff going on here so be prepared to tell everyone around you to be quiet when you're trying to concentrate on your, ahem, book...

- Kasia S.