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N. N. Light
Aug 30, 20183 min read

The Victoria Lie (The Butterfly Effect, #2) by @SarahMarieGraye #literaryfiction #womensfiction #sag


Title: The Victoria Lie (The Butterfly Effect, #2)

Author: Sarah Marie Graye

Genre: Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction

Book Blurb:

WHEN IS A LIE A LIFELINE?

...To Tori lies are everything. ZOE wants to end her life. But she can’t just leave a note. She needs to say goodbye to boyfriend JAMES and best friend ALISON. TORI is waiting in the wings to fill the space ZOE will leave behind, wanting to claim both James and Alison for herself. But with ZOE still alive and Alison's childhood friend RUBY now on the scene vying to fill the gap, TORI realises she has her work cut out. Just what lengths is TORI willing to go to in order to claim Alison and James for herself? And what does any of this have to do with BETH and FAYE? The Victoria Lie is perfect for fans of Gail Honeyman, Maggie O'Farrell, Patrick Gale and Elizabeth Strout. Note from the publisher: The Victoria Lie (The Butterfly Effect Book 2) is a standalone story and can be read without reading The Second Cup (The Butterfly Effect Book 1) first.

My Review:

After what happened in The Second Cup, Zoe’s certain she wants to end her own life. But instead of just ending her life, she wants to say good-bye to her boyfriend and her best friend. Tori is ready to take Zoe’s place, but things don’t go according to plan and now Tori doesn’t know what to do. Will Zoe’s diagnosis change her outlook and thus thwart Tori’s efforts or will Tori lie her way into this group of friends’ lives?

This is a continuation of The Butterfly Effect series with the return of Zoe, James, Alison, Beth and Faye. No, you don’t have to read book one first but it’s helpful for context. It has the same poetic prose which draws you in from the first page. It also has the same dark issues surrounding planned suicides, mental illness and taking your own life.

The addition of Tori gives this story added depth and perception I didn’t see coming. What makes a liar tick and why do they lie are just two of Tori’s motivations explored here.

While The Victoria Lie is a microcosm of what it means to live with mental illness, it’s the glimpse into the relationships of those dealing with mental illness is what makes this a must-read. Graye doesn’t shy away from the conflict, anguish, torture of those who love a mentally ill person. Instead, she thrusts the reader inside the black hole of emotions those left behind and those pleading with their suicidal loved ones are living in. I found myself crying while reading. A emotional page-turner.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

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Author Biography:

Sarah Marie Graye was born in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 1975, to English Catholic parents. The second eldest of five daughters, to the outside world Graye’s childhood followed a relatively typical Manchester upbringing... until aged nine, when she was diagnosed with depression.

It’s a diagnosis that has stayed with Graye over three decades, and something she believes has coloured every life decision, including the one to write a novel.

Graye wrote The Second Cup as part of an MA Creative Writing practice as research degree at London South Bank University – where she was the vice-chancellor’s scholarship holder.

First published in July 2017, The Second Cup was: longlisted for the Book Viral 2017 Millennium Book Award; a finalist in Read Freely’s Best Indie Book 2017; a finalist in the 12th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards; a semi-finalist in the Online Book Club 2017 Book of the Year Award; and a "distinguished favorite" in the 2017 NYC Big Book Awards.

Graye was diagnosed with ADHD in November 2017... and published an extended edition of The Second Cup in February 2018 so she could diagnose one of her characters with the same condition.

Graye's second novel, The Victoria Lie, was published in August 2018, and explores what it means to be neurodiverse as an adult, looking at both high-functioning Autism and ADHD.

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Reviewed by: Mrs. N

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