#BlogBlitz | #BlogTour | #BookReview | BECAUSE OF YOU by Hélene Fermont @helenefermont (1st April 2019, Indie Published #IndieAuthor @botbspublicity)

Welcome!! This is our stop on this Blog Blitz Tour for BECAUSE OF YOU by the wonderful Hélene Fermont.

I would firstly like to say a rather big thank you to the amazing bobby dazzler that is Sarah Hardy @ BookOnTheBrightSide and of course the awesome Hélene Fermont who gifted me an early copy of BECAUSE OF YOU. I am forever grateful and promise that the review below is 100% honest and of my own views.

To kick off, we have the “blurb” for the book;

How desperate are you to get the one you love?
When Hannah and Ben meet at a friend’s party, he knows she’s The One. But Hannah’s in an intense relationship with Mark and planning to return to her native Sweden to embark on a teaching career.

Desperate to make Ben fall in love with her, rich spoilt heiress Vanessa sets in motion a devious string of events that ultimately changes the course of four people’s lives indefinitely.

Hannah is the love of Ben’s life, yet Vanessa will stop at nothing to claim the man she is convinced is her destiny.

Because of You is a dark, morally complex and cross-generational story of enduring love, fate and destiny.  

So, you want to know what I thought??

I’m always eager to try new authors so when an opportunity to read Because of You came up and I read the Synopsis I was quick to sign up.

Set over 36 years BECAUSE OF YOU is based on the life of Hannah Stein. It starts with Hannah setting out to London to embark on a gap year before heading back to Sweden to finish a degree in teaching. Hannah’s maternal grandmother lives in London and sets Hannah up to live with a close friend of hers. Hannah and Ella bond straight away and Ella quickly becomes a huge part of Hannah’s life.

As Hannah struggles to adjust to life in the city away from her close family she tries to integrate herself into the community to enable her to meet new people and make friends. She eventually finds herself hanging out with Sanna and Rosie who take her out to nightclubs and dancing. On one of these trips she meets Mark who sets out to win her heart. As they begin a turbulent relationship Hannah finds herself fighting against all who love her and dislike Mark as well as her own head. She eventually meets with Mel who tries to match make her with Ben who falls instantly in love with her.

This book jumps from year to year and I did find it a bit of  a mission to keep track of what was happening when, but you do get the gist of it and events as they unfold. I’ll be honest and say I don’t think it needed quite as much of an “introduction” as was included. I think the book would have worked just as well starting from about half way. That being said I understand what Helene was trying to achieve by writing throughout Hannah’s whole life, you sort of get more of an insight into who Hannah is and the decisions she makes.

I did struggle to like Hannah at times. She seems adamant to destroy her own happiness. I found her really frustrating and wanted to just knock some sense into her, especially decisions she makes in regards to Ben and Linus. If Linus was acting the way he was with somebody, I just don’t think you would keep him hanging around. However there were other times that I warmed to her and did feel sorry for her, I think she was just very naive when she arrived in London and people took advantage of that. Mark was very unlikable and I was happy when Hannah got rid of him, just a shame it didn’t happen sooner. I would have also liked less characters, we seemed to get introduced to someone then they would disappear for years but I did grasp who was who later on in the book and it got a bit easier but it would have been more enjoyable if there were just 2 or 3 that the book concentrated on.

Obviously being set over 35 years there are lots of events happening throughout this book. The book has every emotion you could ever have, there are deaths, friendships, happiness and sadness. There are so many different themes that i’m not really sure what genre you would put this into, there are definitely no boring bits.

I did struggle to get gripped by this book if i’m honest but after about 50% I found myself invested in these characters and eager to see where their path would lead. I was definitely more gripped by Hannah’s later years than the start of the book. 

Definitely one to preserve with if you struggle at the start, the last half is definitely worth it. I’ll be interested to see what else Hélene has to offer!!

About Hélene Fermont;

Hélene Fermont writes character-driven psychological crime fiction with a Scandi Noir flavour. Known for her explosive, pacy narrative and storylines, she has published three novels – Because of You, We Never Said Goodbye and His Guilty Secret – and two short story collections – The Love of Her Life and Who’s Sorry Now? Her fourth novel is due for release in the summer of 2019.

After 20 years in London, Hélene recently returned to her native Sweden where she finds the unspoiled scenery and tranquillity a therapeutic boost for creativity. Enjoying a successful career as a Psychologist, when she’s not working her ‘day job’, Hélene spends her time writing, with friends and family, or playing with her beloved cat, Teddy. All three novels can be purchased via her website helenefermont.com/books/

Links: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helenefermontauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenefermont

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenefermont/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/helenefermontwriter/

BECAUSE OF YOU is out now and can be purchased at the following outlets;

Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Amazon (US)

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Be sure to check out the other blogs who participated in this Blog Tour. See below for further details and be sure to follow all of the action across Twitter!