Saturday, November 7, 2015

Marley by Lesley Jones


Synopsis:

From the author of Carnage 1&2, comes this follow up novel. Marley tells the story of Carnage from Marley Layton’s POV. It will give you the missing years. Marley is a companion novel to Carnage 1&2 and both of those books should be read first.
Want to know what really happened in that hotel room in Paris?
Want to know if the rumours of Marley, Sean and their sexploits were true?
We got to watch Georgia fall apart but what was Sean going through in those four years they were separated?
Marley will give you the answers but he might just break your heart along the way.
"‘So, they want me to write a book? They want to know about my band, my life, my loves and my losses. But they have no idea what they’re asking for. If I give them what they want, they’ll get so much more than the sex and drugs and the rock and roll they’re expecting. They’ll get the secrets that I’ve kept for so long, they’ll get an insight into the person I really am, or at least was. They think they know my story, they know nothing.
If I do this, if I write honestly and give them the ugly truth, people will get hurt. People that I love, people that have already suffered in the worst possible ways.
Do I do this, or do I walk away? Taking my secrets to the grave."
Marley is an adult contemporary romance. It contains content suitable only for grownups with an open mind. There are scenes of group sex which include m/f/m a little bit of f/m/m and even some f/f/f/m/m/f/f/f. There is drinking and drug taking involved. A lot of swearing, some Essex slang and some very high emotion. Please don’t complain after reading this book that you weren't warned.
And yes, of course you’ll need tissues.
 






This is the story from Marley's POV and it fills in some missing gaps and answers a few questions.  It is told both in the present, 2014, and in the past, 1985 to 1989.  Seeing it from both the past and present, you can still senses the pain and guilt Marley has.

I have been waiting on this story and was so glad I got the chance to read it.  I was scared that I would be torn out of frame with this book as I had been with Carnage, but that was not the case, until the end.  We learn the secrets Marley has kept all this time and about his heartbreak from losing Georgia to losing his best mate in more than way, Maca.  As Marley said, we get the ugly truth and if those around him knew, they would be hurt, so deeply hurt.

Marley does not simply retell the story of Carnage 1 or Carnage 2, it is Marley's story.  There are bits and pieces from those books but for the most part, this is a book all of its own.  I have read a few other books that are companion books and it is usually the same book just the quotation marks in different places but that is not the case with this one.

The years that Maca and George were apart were hard to bear when we read Georgia's side.  However, seeing what Maca went through and the band as well, was just as hard.  Seeing the distance and strain that it put on the relationship of Maca and Marley was hard too.  It also gives a new look at the heartache of Maca.  In Carnage we only saw Georgia's perspective but to learn what really happened from the inside......go read it and you'll see.

Seeing what truly happened and the reason for the break up with Maca and Georgia was difficult.  I wanted to strangle Marley but could also see his reasoning.  He was young, dumb, and looking out for himself.  In fact most of this book I wanted to throttle Marley.  But in the end, he knew his screw ups and felt guilty.  The most gut wrenching part of Marley's story,

When Georgia was brought out of surgery, I volunteered to be the one to tell her what happened. I brought Maca into her life that sunny August day back in 1980 and I'd be the one to take him away on that bitterly cold December day in 1999.

That is when I needed the tissues.  Marley brought Maca into her life, Marley is part of the reason for the four year split (dear ole mum is also to blame), and Marley would be the one to take him away.  How heart wrenching is that?!  That is why I love Lesley Jones!  She makes no excuses for her characters actions and makes you feel so deeply for them.  You can love them and hate them at the same time. Want to ring their necks and comfort them.  Lesley destroyed my heart with Carnage but Marley helped to piece it back together.

5 STARS  or Carnage Hearts
    







http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marley-Carnage-Novel-Lesley-Jones-ebook/dp/B017AUJFXU/
http://www.amazon.com.au/Marley-Carnage-Novel-Lesley-Jones-ebook/dp/B017AUJFXU/
http://www.amazon.ca/Marley-Carnage-Novel-Lesley-Jones-ebook/dp/B017AUJFXU/

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