The Other Girlfriend by Alex Stone
Genre: Psychological thriller, Psychological drama
Read: 27th July 2022
Published: 28th July 2022
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
She loves him…
Lizzie Green once loved Tom Murphy with a passion that bordered on obsession. All she wanted was his love to be returned. Then one night something terrible happened and Tom left Lizzie broken hearted. She swore she would never let him hurt her again….
She loves him not.
Now, ten years later, Tom turns up on Lizzie’s doorstep still as charming as ever. Lizzie knows he still has the power to break her heart and destroy her life again. But Lizzie can’t say no to him….
Can she?
MY THOUGHTS:
Lizzie and Tom had been best friends since childhood. They grew up together, played together, went to high school and uni together. Until one day, Lizzie realised that she was in love with Tom. There was just one problem...he already had a girlfriend in the gorgeous and wealthy Hannah. Her mask slips one day and Tom, who has always been able to see right through her, realises that she is in love with him. He confides in her that he loves her too but he must stay with Hannah for the time being because he envisions a dream job with her wealthy father...and Hannah can make that happen for him. Lizzie reluctantly agrees but as time goes by Tom is still with Hannah and showing no signs of breaking up with her, long after he has secured a job with her father. But Lizzie is devastated. All she wants is for her love to be returned.
Her friend Rebecca suggested that she needs a getaway to forget about Tom and Hannah, and she has the perfect opportunity with her and boyfriend Luke heading to Durdle Door. But then Luke inadvertently invites Tom and Hannah to join them. And so Lizzie ends up being the fifth wheel and odd one out between two couples. Then one night, a terrible tragedy occurs changing their lives forever. And to make matters worse, Tom leaves leaving Lizzie brokenhearted. For the ensuing months, Lizzie couldn't function; couldn't eat; couldn't sleep; couldn't leave the house. She had lost everything, but most of all she had lost herself because she had lost Tom. Without him, she was nothing.
Ten years have passed and a knock at the door leaves Lizzie, who now goes by Beth, reeling. She is not expecting anyone. She likes order, routine, structure. She opens the door and it is Tom. He has come back for her just as he always said he would. It's all she has ever wanted, all she has ever dreamed about. But Lizzie is not the same woman she once was. However, none of that seems to bother Tom as he moves himself in "just for a week or so" and makes himself right at home. Although it what she has wanted for so long, it feels somewhat disconcerting. Her home is her safe place...and now it has been invaded, it seems. Lizzie struggles with her feelings as to whether this is really what she wants or if it is just a dream she fantasised about for so long? And more than that, Tom's reappearance is bringing back up all those memories which she has buried for so long.
But can she trust those memories? Are they real? Or are they false memories? Is anything real?
THE OTHER GIRLFRIEND is not a bad read but it's not the greatest either. I wouldn't call is a psychological thriller...more like a psychological drama without the twists. There are secrets, lies, deception, manipulation, gaslighting and lots of questionable decisions. Our narrator, Lizzie, is somewhat unreliable and even a little naive at times. She borders on obsession when it came to Tom which lead to some pretty questionable decisions on her part. She could be incredibly irritating at times and I saw right through Tom and didn't trust him one bit. In the end, I wasn't really bothered by what happened to either of them.
The story unfolds through Lizzie's narrative in alternating chapters between the present and the past, as the incidents leading up to the tragedy and beyond are drip fed to us. I do like this style of writing and the short chapters, so that was always going to be a definite plus for me.
This is my second read by this author and I'm still not entirely sure whether her books are the right fit for me. I enjoy them to a degree but I do find their build a little slow and once they reach that point where everything starts to come together, I wonder if it was worth the ride. By the time Lizzie grew a pair she'd already made her impression on me.
I wanted to like this book far more than I did but the slow burn and unexciting story left me a little disappointed and even a little depressed. But I am giving it 3 stars because I did enjoy...even if it was to a degree.
I would like to thank #AlexStone, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheOtherGirlfriend in exchange for an honest review.
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