Vicious Cycle

 -by Jaime Parker Stickle

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing this arc. 

What a rollercoaster! I kept flipping between liking and disliking this book, it was exhilarating and frustrating and it was impactful yet weak. 

Now let me start at the start. This book is about a mother, Corey, who was once an investigative journalist but is now a stay at home mom. She has severe post-partum depression and OCD (and in my opinion she also has a little bit of PTSD after a previous assault of which no one knows) 

This seems like it could be big in the effect it can have on perception of these problems, yet the constant repetition and being stuck in her head only made me frustrated that the book wasn't continuing past this. Now it may be a me problem, but I felt that there could be better ways to induce thoughts and ruminations about these problems without causing the reader frustration to continue reading the book. 

I do want to praise the author however for some scenes where the OCD or postpartum is prevalent, we as the reader also feel the dread and the anxiety of Corey. I think her writing style is very nice and her ideas are superb. 

The main three problems I had with the book was: 

1. Corey had too many problems that seem unfixable and frustrated me more than having me feel for her or experience her emotions with her. I do personally believe the author wanted to convey/project the feelings of the characters onto the reader but I think this was a bit of a miss. Coreys problems, the whole mountain of them, made me hesitant to continue reading/getting into the book. They kept me feeling out of touch with the character and the wonderful writing. 

2. The book took to long to get to the proper investigative part. It feels more like a book about Corey and her life rather than a mystery and social commentary. (What I mean is that a lot of the important details and topics get lost in the myriad of ideas and chapters.)

3. The way the book ended felt rushed compared to the slacked pace of the previous portions of the book. Coreys problems are solved too easily for me as the reality is that it would take more time and patience to fix/mend that which has been broken. 

I do however want to list some positives as well:

1. Firstly the ideas and topics on which the book is based are very important and should be discussed at length and taken seriously as the author has done. 

2. Secondly I would like to say that I love the cover and the title of the book as they drew me in initially.

3. Furthermore, as I have already mentioned, the writer has a wonderful style and I think with a bit of refinement the author will become great! 

4. Lastly, I would like to call attention to the tact the author had when handling these hard issues and I must say I am very impressed with it. 

To all readers please check your TW before reading the book as it has some dark and upsetting topics at its forefront. 

Characters 2/5

Setting 3/5

Story 4/5

Overall 3/5