SOCIAL MEDIA

Thursday 2 May 2019

Crushed By Kate Hamer





Hello lovely people!

I'm currently sat with a sprained ankle and a torn knee ligament. So bloody annoying! But today I'll be reviewing Crushed By Kate Hamer published By Faber & Faber Books. This book is out today so make sure to grab your copy!

Here's the Synopsis:

Phoebe stands on Pulteney Bridge, tights gashed from toe to thigh. The shock of mangled metal and blood-stained walls flashes through her mind as she tries to cover her face so she won't be recognised. It wouldn't do to be spotted looking like this. She's missing a shoe. She feels sick.

Phoebe thought murder and murder happened. Thoughts are just thoughts, they said. Now she knows they were wrong.

At home, Phoebe arranges the scissors and knives so they point toward her mother's room. She is exhausted, making sure there's no trace of herself - not a single hair, not even her scent - left anywhere in the house. She must not let her thoughts unravel, because if they do, there's no telling who might be caught in the crossfire, and Phoebe will have to live with the consequences.
 


My Thoughts:


Crushed is my first Kate Hamer novel but I will definitely be picking up her 2 previous books, The Doll Funeral and The Girl In The Red Coat as I had an amazing reading experience with Crushed. Crushed is a dark and atmospheric novel which mainly revolves around 3 teenage girls, Phoebe, Orla, and Grace. The story is narrated by the 3 friends. 

Phoebe is a strange and mysterious girl, I actually felt like she was a psychopath. She is constantly demeaned and controlled by her narcissistic mother. This leads her to believe in Witchcraft and that she is able to make things happen by just imagining them. Orla is a character I almost fell sorry for until a twist in the story. It's not really a twist, it's just the truth of what happened in towards the end (trying not to give away any spoilers as I don't want to spoil your reading experience if ever you pick up the book) She's basically the girl who has everything, her family's support and especially her mother's love. Orla is also in love with Phoebe and this is what Phoebe the psychopath, in my opinion, takes advantage of, causing Orla to have mixed feelings of hate and love for her. On the other hand, is Grace. Grace spends most of her time taking care of her needy and ill Mother. Her parents are separated, so she's left alone, weighed down by the responsibility. Grace constantly dreads the thought of any authorities separating her and her Mother. Grace is the character I actually felt very sorry for in the end. I don't think she deserved what had happened and especially not a friend like Phoebe.

YES, I HATE PHOEBE, SHE CAUSED THIS WHOLE THING TO HAPPEN.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style, it was captivating and engrossing. I was literally hooked a few pages in. The characters well developed and there was a constant theme of Macbeth throughout the book. 

Although Crushed was a fascinating read, I did feel like the blurb was a bit misleading considering that that part of the story happened at the very beginning of the book. I felt like there was no follow up regarding the murder of that man and how it was related to Phoebe. I also wish that there was a bit more to the story. I was about 300 pages in (my proof copy was only 395 pages long) and nothing had happened yet. I found myself pushing through the last few pages and in the end, I wonder what the main point of the story was.

Crushed is definitely an unusual tragic story of love, friendship, and murder but I feel like it could have been BRILLIANT if the story had been a bit clearer. 

Nonetheless, I definitely enjoyed this book. It did keep me company while I was trying to deal with the pain. 

My Rating: 3.5 / 5 STARS ★★★


A HUGE THANK YOU to the publisher for kindly sending me a review copy.

If you want to give Crushed a try, grab your copy here and definitely let me know your thoughts and we can chat about the story!










1 comment :

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