Book Review | Idle Hands #20booksofsummer20

Another deviation from my list, I’m not surprised, I’m a mood reader so I should know better that I’m very unlikely to stick to a set list when reading. Anyway on to my second book of the challenge…

You can call me Ella. You generally assign me a whole host of other preposterous monikers. I think the least imaginative name I’ve heard is “the devil”, but I’ll answer to it if I must.

After making the courageous decision to leave her abusive husband, Perdie and her three young children start over and finally find the safety and love they deserve. But years later, when tragedy strikes, Perdie is left wondering if the choice she made to leave has led them to this moment.

If she were given the opportunity to take it all back and stay, would she?

In a frantic bid to protect her family, Perdie makes a deal to do just that. But in a world where the devil pulls the strings, can Perdie really change the past?

Brimming with enlightened observations and brilliant voice, Idle Hands is a haunting examination of grief, resilience, and what we’d give to spend another moment with the ones we love.

Amazon | Goodreads | Hive

Idle Hands will be published digitally on the 23rd July 2020 and in paperback on the 20th August 2020.

I’m not going to lie it was the cover that first caught my eye with this book, there is something that makes it both a little menacing and inviting, I hadn’t realised that this type of polarity would extend to the story as well.

I’m not even sure where to begin I feel at the same time utterly devastated and enlightened, the feelings that I am feeling at the hands of this book are raw but in a way that makes me hopeful. Honestly this is the kind of story that will not be easily forgotten, I will be carrying Perdie and her family around with me for days, probably even weeks.

We are introduced to Ella, the adversary or more commonly thought of as the devil, first and her narration is interspersed throughout the story, explaining her role within human lives and her thoughts on our choices. I loved this element of the book, all the philosophical ponderings and questions it brought up.

I liked that this is a stark reflection of the flaws of human beings and the reliance to assign blame to some ‘other’ rather than be accountable for our own actions. I think her narration also added that sense of foreboding, which actually made me a lot more invested, I felt emotionally charged before getting to certain events which only heightened my experience of them.

This story is something to be experienced, I don’t want to say too much because it would ruin the impact that it will have on you reading it, but it is the type of book where the repercussions of everything that happens will keep coming back to haunt you. The writing is phenomenal too, the imagery is a joy to read and the author is able to weave together the atmosphere of every scene with each word.

Idle Hands is a unique read, it is at the same time captivating and devastating and will play with your emotions, well worth reading.