Review & Blog Tour: The Promised World by Lisa Tucker |

PromisedWorld

Thirty-something Lila Cole is a successful professor of English. She is happily married to Patrick. Her life seems virtually perfect. Until her twin brother, Billy, the man she puts before all others (including her husband), dies as a result of suicide-by-cop. Lila learns that her “perfect” brother was actually estranged from his wife and accused of endangering the life of his young son. So, Billy took an unloaded rifle and pointed it at an elementary school.

In the weeks after her brother’s death, Lila falls into a very deep depression. Billy literally meant everything to her. Things she loved before, like reading, lacked the substance they once had:

“The characters aren’t real to me anymore. It’s like they’ve fallen to the floor and shattered into nothing but thousands of meaningless words. It’s like they died, but worse.” p. 49.

Patrick is desperate to help his wife crawl out of this depression. He soon learns that the childhood she told him about was completely false. When questioned by a therapist, Lila is unable to recall key parts of he childhood. All she can remember is the childhood Billy told her about, a promised world that cushioned them from reality. Lila must face this knowledge and reach back into her memory and be prepared to face what really took place.

The Promised World is a fast-paced, thrilling and emotional family drama. It isn’t until near the end of the book that you realize whose story you can trust. Tucker tells a story that you can’t bear to put down, you will want to finish this one in one sitting. The pain Lila experiences after her brother’s death and in the realization that her life was a lie, is so vivid and realistic.

There are several mini-plots that pop up throughout the book. This had the potential to confuse the reader and cause them to stray away from the key storyline, but Tucker did a stellar job of wrapping them al up in a neat package at the end. Tucker’s writing is beautiful and mesmerizing, and the characters will haunt you long after you turn the last page.

TLC
Thank you to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to participate in this tour. Following are a few of the other blogs participating in this tour: