Book Review – What’s Not Said by Valerie Taylor

Review & Giveaway

Kassie O’Callaghan’s meticulous plans to divorce her emotionally abusive husband, Mike, and move in with Chris, a younger man she met five years ago on a solo vacation in Venice, are disrupted when she finds out Mike has chronic kidney disease—something he’s concealed from her for years. Once again, she postpones her path to freedom—at least, until she pokes around his pajama drawer and discovers his illness is the least of his deceits.

But Kassie is no angel, either. As she struggles to justify her own indiscretions, the secret lives she and Mike have led collide head-on, revealing a tangled web of sex, lies, and DNA. Still, mindful of her vows, Kassie commits to helping her husband find an organ donor. In the process, she uncovers a life-changing secret. Problem is, if she reveals it, her own immorality will be exposed, which means she has an impossible decision to make: Whose life will she save—her husband’s or her own?

Details

• Book Title:  What’s Not Said by Valerie Taylor
• Category:  Adult Fiction (18 yrs +),  316 pages
• Genre: Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit
• Publisher:  She Writes Press
• Release date:   Sept 15, 2020
• Content Rating:  PG-13 + M. 
• Rated PG-13+M because of four F-words, moderate cussing, two explicit sex scenes, and a couple of implicit sex scenes.

My Thoughts

And You Thought You Had Problems?

This debut novel had no trouble catching my interest. The writing was good and the characters felt real.

Kassie, a 54-year-old whose marriage is suffering is faced with dealing with her husband’s emotional abuse. After 30 years of marriage and recently becoming involved with another man, she’s ready to have her husband served with divorce papers. But it won’t end up being easy, since the weekend before he is scheduled to be served, he is hospitalized. Can she go through with her initial plans when he is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness?

The characters felt real and the dialog believable. Taylor does an incredible job of portraying what each character might be experiencing.

The deeper I got into the story the harder it was to put down. Each character was complex enough to cause me to wonder about their reactions to various happenings.

All and all it’s a book full of emotions and real people. Something many will relate to.

What Concerned Me

Coincidences in the story might cause you to have to suspend disbelief to enjoy it.

What I Liked

The writing was very good. And the characters reflected emotions that helped bring them to life. This is an author that I’ll easily add to my watchlist. In fact, I just checked her website:

“And the sequel, What’s Not True, will be published by She Writes Press, as well, on August 24, 2021.“

My sincere thanks to @iReadBookTours and Valerie Taylor for the ability to take part in this tour and to review this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Giveaway!

CLICK to enter the giveaway.

Win 1 of 5 ebooks,  or 1 of 5 print copies of WHAT’S NOT SAID, or a $20 Amazon Gift Card (11 winners) (USA only) (ends Oct 23)

Rating

This is a good book that I would recommend to most, but it just didn’t quite make it to my 5-star list. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the author

Valerie Taylor was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. She had a thirty-year career in the financial services industry as a marketer and writer. After her divorce, she spread her wings and relocated her career, first to Boston and then to Seattle. When she retired, she resettled in her home state to be near her two grown children and granddaughter. She’s a published book reviewer with BookTrib.com and a member of the Westport Writers’ Workshop. She enjoys practicing tai chi and being an expert sports spectator. What’s Not Said is her debut novel.