Releasing 10: young love that blossoms into a deep bond but can it survive the tests of life

Releasing 10 is the sixth book in the Boys of Tommen series by Chloe Walsh. Lizzie Young has always been “too much.” Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age, she never really fit in anywhere. Not her family. Not her community. Not with her friends or in school. Like any child, she just wants to be accepted and loved, with very few on her side, she carries her secrets alone. That is until she meets a kind boy on the school bus and everything changes. Hugh Biggs is a young man beyond his years with a sharp mind and a firm code of ethics, he finds himself drawn to Lizzie with an intense sense of protection. Lizzie finally finds a group of friends and a tenuous sense of belonging. With a bond that grows through their teen years, Lizzie and Hugh’s chemistry grows with a potent love and a connection that goes soul deep. However, their love is shaken by forces and circumstances beyond their control. Can their love within stand the tests that most adults would buckle under? 

I love the Boys of Tommen series and while the series tackles serious topics like childhood abuse, sexual abuse, self-harm, mental illness and suicide, these characters are worth reading such hard topics. Hugh and Lizzie have been on the sidelines since the beginning with little tidbits as to their story, Releasing 10 dives deeper into their history and how they got to where they are when readers first meet them. My heart broke for Lizzie as she struggled with mental illness. My heart also broke for Hugh as he tried to be strong for Lizzie while longing to be a regular teen. I am looking forward to reading the continuation of their store. While the book is categorized as a young adult fiction by the publisher, the topics covered in this series are not suitable for readers under the age of 18. If these topics are too sensitive for you, I do not recommend reading Releasing 10 or the rest of the series. However, if you can handle these topics, I highly, highly recommend Releasing 10. 

Releasing 10 is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Echoes of Family: a story of one family's path to recovery

Echoes of Family by Barbara Claypole White is the story of a group of people who are a family bound by a common thread and reliance on each other. Marianne Stoke is a woman who suffers from bipolar depression and is reeling from a deadly accident she was involved in. Blaming herself, she flees her husband, Darius Montgomery, and almost-daughter, Jade Jones, and heads home to England. Back to her home village where she runs into Gabriel Bonham, a ghost from her past. When Darius and Jade catch up with her, she has a manic episode where she is hospitalized and meets another lost soil, Emj. While in England, she tries to confront the past and discover why bad things seem to follow her wherever she goes. Will Marianne learn the truth about these tragic events? Will she be able to forgive herself for her part?

Echoes of Family is an excellent and in-your-face story of one woman with bipolar disorder. The delicate balance of a bipolar sufferer’s life is touching and the reader feels for Marianne as the reality is she will suffer with it for the rest of her life. The manic episodes are described with such detailed that the reader feels as if he or she is a witness. The pain and sometimes helplessness of Marianne’s loved one cuts deep to the reader. Echoes of Family is filled with drama and pain but it is also filled with funny moments and wisecracks that can only come from people who are as close as family. I highly recommend Echoes of Family!

Echoes of Family

is available on Amazon

in paperback and Kindle

as well as

on Barnes and Noble

in paperback and audiobook

The Accidental life of Greg Millar: loving someone with a mental illness

The Accidental Life of Greg Millar by Aimee Alexander is a story about love and life with a mental illness.

Lucy Arigho meets Greg Millar with the worst possible first impression. Soon his charming smile wears her down and she begins to date him. He is a writer, a widower with two small children and he begins to help her recover from her own tragic loss. The two become inseparable and Greg soon proposes marriage. After much consideration, Lucy accepts and begins to enter other areas of his life. She is met with opposition. Greg’s daughter, Rachel, doesn’t like her while his son, Toby, is slowly warming up. The long-time nanny, Hilary, treats her with open opposition. Lucy joins the family on their vacation to the south of France, where Greg’s behavior is increasing erratic and seemingly on a roller coaster of ups and downs. Lucy is soon in the middle of taking care of the children while trying to figure out what is wrong with Greg. On the advice of her sister, Lucy convinces Greg to seek help. The answer throws them for a loop. Will Greg be able to beat the demons in his life? Will Lucy be able to help him hold his family together? Will their love survive such a test?

The Accidental Life of Greg Millar is a wonderful story with heart wrenching moments. Moments I cried. Moments I seethed with anger at the events unfolding. There were moments I wanted Lucy to run and save herself from the madness that Greg seemed to be falling into. Then I begged her to stay because the children were left with no idea what was going on. In the end, I cried as family must deal with the stigma that exists in our world about mental illness. I feel Ms. Alexander portrayed Greg’s illness in a realistic light without sugarcoating it or making light of life with a mental illness. I highly recommend The Accidental Life of Greg Millar!

The Accidental Life of Greg Millar

is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com

in paperback for $14.96

Kindle Unlimited for free

and Audiobook for $9.99