About the Book:

Title: Journey to Dawn: Step One, Breathe

Author: Reily Garrett

Publication date: December 10th 2016

Blurb:

One out of six, Abrielle never thought herself a statistic until her idyllic life shattered one night in a dark and frozen alley. Assaulted and discarded to the street’s detritus, she fled the city in an attempt to outrun the horror and pain of humiliation. Her new existence consisted of fear, anger, and shame.

Through endless nightmares and cringing from every shadow, life continued to deliver difficult and exhausting lessons. The recovery process is not a linear transition, but fraught with triggers and mental minefields she must navigate to restore a semblance of normal life.

After two years of painstaking progress, Abrielle returns with her therapy dog to face the two men who’d loved her, praying they can all find closure and move forward with their lives.

This story revolves around one woman’s ascent from the hellish nightmare of sexual assault.

My Review:

This was a really quick read; I could not believe it was over so soon. To be honest before starting this review I took a look on what others think and to my surprise, the rating is somewhere between two or three stars. Well, I’m gonna go with four. Why? Because it’s easy to judge if you’re not in this position, easy to read about it and ask why did she leave her loved ones behind? Well shame, guilt, fear, disappointment and anger when seeing the pretty the other’s eyes make a pretty good motive.

One of Reily Garret’s strong qualities as a writer is her ability to capture feelings, to transmit beyond pages what the main character feels. For this book I believe she could have insisted more on how Abrielle ends up supporting other victims or at least a general idea of all the stages she went through.

I like the name of the main character. Not sure if this was the author’s intention, but it gives me the impression of something incomplete. Like the “G” that should form “Gabrielle” has been ripped away. I like how, after everything, her loved ones understood she needed space. She needed to face her demons alone, to get over at least to some small point. They did keep a close eye on her though, never entering her space uninvited. Last but not least, I love the fact that the main focus of the story is always Abrielle and her trying to get over the incident. The author did not get lost in the details of her relationships, always keeping a clean topic.

I could go on and on about it some more but I don’t want to spoil anything. I strongly believe this book sends a powerful message to victims and people close to them. It gives insight and I’ll dare say it can even be an encouragement.

Check out my other reviews of Reily Garrett’s books, “Carnal Obsession: His Heart’s Prisoner” and “Bending Fate: A Prequel to Carnal Whispers: Mind Stalker”. She is an amazing writer and definitely her books will give you some more sleepless nights! Enjoy and come back with your opinions J

About the Author:

Though her kids are her life, writing is the life after. You know, the one you also enjoy…AFTER the kids are in bed or AFTER they’re in school and the house is quiet. This is the time she kicks back with laptop and lapdog to give her imagination free reign.

In life, hobbies can come and go according to our physical abilities, but you can always enjoy a good book. Life isn’t perfect, but our imaginations can be. Relax, whether it’s in front of a fire or in your own personal dungeon. Take pleasure in a mental pause as you root for your favorite hero/heroine and bask in their accomplishments, then share your opinions of them over a coffee with your best friend (even if he’s four legged). Life is short, cherish your time.