Outreach by Shelly Berry
Published: 28th September 2019
Publisher: Book Guild Publishing Ltd
Pages: 320
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 4/5
Blurb
When Emily was offered a new job in
London, she was sure that her life was about to change – new friends, a career
in the big city and the boyfriend she always wanted.
Her new life turns out to be more complicated than
she expected. Her flat mates don’t understand her. Her colleagues mock
everything about her. Even her father doesn’t support her. The only person who
offers her any encouragement is David.
He’s married. He’s her manager. To Emily it’s clear
that they have something special. As their relationship develops, everyone
seems to want to sabotage their chances.
But some things are meant to be...
Review
After reading the blurb I was sure I would enjoy this book
as I love a good romance, and this seemed to hint at something forbidden
between Emily and her boss David. What you get instead is a much deeper story
where every action is analysed.
Emily’s not a character I liked but she does make an
interesting central character and one which I was compelled to find out more
about. Shelly Berry has done a great job of unravelling Emily and showing us
how her mind works. I don’t want to give anything else away about her character
as its what makes this book work.
Emily’s job as a support worker for Drug and Alcohol Action leads
her to some very vulnerable people and Shelly Berry’s previous work in this sector
shines through as she has job a great
job of portraying their lives accurately as every struggle is shown and how
small seemingly insignificant things can lead to massive repercussions is
someone’s life. Something perhaps Emily needs to learn.
Outreach was like nothing I’ve read before and although didn’t
gel with any of the characters I found them an interesting bunch. Something
about this unnerving story kept me reading as its one of those books that just
simmers away quietly until something boils overs. I was expecting more of a “bang”
at the end of the story; but I did find the epilogue fitting in a way.
Thank you so much to the publishers and Shelly Berry for
inviting me to review this book and to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting
me to be part of the blog tour.
About the Author
Shelly Berry lives
in Waltham Forest, London. Having gained a BA Joint Honours Degree in Visual
Art and Sociology at Keele University and a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling,
she has since worked in the public sector with vulnerable adults and children –
including those affected by mental illness, drug and alcohol misuse,
disability, criminal behaviour, homelessness and domestic and sexual abuse.
During this time, Shelly developed and nurtured her love of writing. As well as
writing fiction, she has previously written for a number of blogs and now
writes for the Waltham Forest Echo.
Social
Media Links – twitter @ShellyBerryUK
Purchase Links
Giveaway
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