A brilliant, beautiful story from the bestselling author of A Single Act of Kindness
How far would you go for a perfect life?
Back in her troubled school days, kind-hearted Violet always dreamed of a life where she was happy.
Now it feels like she’s just about getting there. She has her dream job working with books, and she’s living with her handsome boyfriend, Lenny.
But when her relationship with Lenny falls to pieces and he moves out, Violet, hurt and alone, decides it’s time to really take her happiness in hand. With help from her new flatmate, Bella, she changes her image and takes control at work, ready to show the world that she doesn’t need Lenny
in her life. And when she meets magnetic author Casey, she begins to wonder if all she needed all along was a makeover.
But – with Bella – all is not as it seems. And Violet too has a secret, one that dates right back to her childhood, which could change everything…
IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW is a powerful story about friendship, trust, and taking control of your life while not being afraid to stand out. Perfect for fans of Shari Low, Milly Johnson and Colleen Hoover.
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled
widely.
Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines. She is represented by Darley Anderson Agency & Associates. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle
chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2020 one of her novels won the RNA’s Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award. Currently, Samantha writes uplifting, emotional
women’s fiction for Boldwood Books.
Facebook: SamanthaTongeAuthor
Twitter: @SamTongeWriter
Instagram: @samanthatongeauthor
Newsletter
Bookbub
My thoughts: This is not the easiest book to read, it is really good but it does deal with some things that might be hard for certain readers like mental illness, eating disorders and anxiety/panic attacks. So just be prepared if any of those are issues you can’t read about comfortably.
I really empathised with Violet, having a relationship end quite suddenly is very hard and when things go wrong at work on top of that it is easy to fall into less than healthy habits and behaviours to cope. Violet is on anti-anxiety meds and has panic attacks (both things I have dealt with) and that doesn’t help either.
She has a really great group of friends and colleagues but pushes them away because she thinks they’re trying to sabotage her, which is a symptom of how unwell she’s becoming but she can’t see it. Besides, new flatmate Bella says she’s doing great, dropping dress sizes and changing up her look is a good thing. Until it isn’t.
Like I said at the beginning, this is a challenging book to read at points but it also is full of hope. Violet’s real friends rally around her, support her, love her even when she’s being quite unpleasant and want to help her get better and move forward. It’s all very hopeful and once they open her eyes to the damage she’s done to herself, she needs them more than ever, to be there for her when she struggles. It’s a wonderful gift, friendship and the book is decidedly hopeful.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 