Friday, March 1, 2013

"Hang On" by Nell Gavin - Blog Tour/Review


Goodreads Synopsis:

In 1973 "crazy" Holly unexpectedly falls in love with Trevor, a roadie for a famous English rock band. From the moment they meet, dreams of marriage, children, and a normal life are suddenly - finally - within Holly's grasp.

Trevor takes her with him on tour and introduces her to the very "un-normal" backstage world of Rock and Roll. When she steps onto the band bus, she walks into a colorful, exciting adventure in a world completely different from the life that awaits her back home, where she chases cockroaches with a shoe, works at a low-paying job, and sleeps to escape the hunger. 

Unfortunately, Holly has a secret. Plagued by panic attacks, periodic rages, and depression, she needs to learn why her mentally ill mother committed suicide, long ago, so she can save herself. Thus far, she has found no answers. She must conceal her symptoms from Trevor in order to keep him, but as their relationship becomes progressively more serious, her illness becomes increasingly more difficult to hide.

HANG ON won the silver medal in the Living Now Book Awards under its original title, ALL TORC D UP. It was also chosen by Red Adept Reviews as a "Red Adept Select" title, voted "outstanding in its genre."

Caution: Some strong language.

Nell Gavin is also the author of THREADS: THE REINCARNATION OF ANNE BOLEYN.




My Take:
5 Stars
Holly's mother committed suicide when she was 4 yrs old, and was sent to live with her crude Grandmother who also suffered from mental problems, just like her mother. The Grandmother just beat on Holly's psyche terribly. She was brought up being told she was no good, ugly, pathetic, and I could go on. She was never taught self-esteem. so Holly grew up with none. She was a loner at heart, and could not even accept her own beauty. 
One day she meets a friend at a new job, and life begins to blossom for Holly. 
Although so many new things start for Holly, depression and a fight to suppress some strong emotional feelings, she knew something was wrong with her which she fought to understand. She knew she had to fight it, but wanted to know what it was. Wanted to know why her mother committed suicide and why she fought her own demons.
She met weekly with a Psychiatrist, and I thought it funny in a part where she says she doesn't understand why she does, but at least it gives her someone to talk to.
As I said, after meeting this new girlfriend at work, she started to make more and finally meets Trevor who is a roadie. They go out on the road together traveling from place to place. The longer they are together the harder it is for her to hide her problem - whatever it was.
This book was very engaging to read - instantly, from the moment I started reading it. The pages just flew by faster than I could hit the button on my Kindle. The writing was spectacular and I enjoyed reading this book very much, but it left me feeling strange, and I did not like that, however, the author meant for her writing to do just that. 
This author has TALENT! She made us really 'feel' what every character in this book felt. She made us feel each moment, each event, each emotion impeccably. 
I highly suggest reading this book. It will take you on a journey of mental illness, but perhaps it teaches us to be more accepting of it as well. This is a great book to get you to feel what mental illness truly feels like. It's not what you like to feel, so go for a ride with this book and really FEEL what it's like. Perhaps it will change your mind if you are very judgmental of people who have these issues. Perhaps you'll learn exactly why you stay away from them, or maybe you'll just see your own fear that 'this could be you' come out in this book. As I said, this author will make you FEEL it. 
An outstanding novel. 
I received this book for FREE from Red Adept Publishing in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. “Free” means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.



About the Author: 

"Threads: The Reincarnation of Anne Boleyn" was inspired by a stint of working for Renaissance festivals when I was in my 20s. Writing the book was also a way of unloading the stress of my job at that time. I would come home and dump it all onto the page! Prior to that, I had no real aspirations to write, but I couldn't sing or play an instrument, and I was miserable at sports, so writing was my only release. That book was a finalist for best novel in the William Faulkner Creative Writing competition, so it was effort well-spent. And, like I said, it helped enormously with the stress of my job.

I also had a stint as a roadie girlfriend, traveling on the band bus for an English band that was very famous at the time, but is virtually unknown now, except to Rock 'n Roll historians. "All Torc'd Up" was inspired by that, and I included some (not all) of my favorite stories. It won a silver medal with the Living Now Book Awards. Afterward, I changed the cover and title. It is now "Hang On." 





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