Review: The Other Face of Love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2014
This book evoked many emotions from me that being of anger, fear, love and hope. This story is heavy on mental and physical abuse, following the conflict and struggles of Stephanie Wilcox/Barnes. Steph had a difficult life living with unloving and abusive parents, her father was the aggressor whilst her mother was no better and remained silent in the shadows, never coming to her rescue. I absolutely hated her father because he created the seeds of self-doubt within Steph, which controlled her life, her resolutions and shattered the dreams of a future with Eric the man she adored and made her happy. I wanted to scream at her selfish parents who held no love for their daughter, they added further insult to her emotions by tearing her away and making her feel all alone in the world. Travis’s treatment towards Steph was hard to read, especially when one can empathise to the story. It’s so easy to say Steph get out leave him behind, never look back, you deserve better, but when the fear and guilt sits with you it holds you back from making that one move that would literally save you, until you reach breaking point. Travis was lost in his own world, not addressing his issues about his upbringing and his parents, if he had counselling or even opened up to Steph that would have been a start and may have led him confront his inner demons, where anger, control, mistrust kept him locked unleashing it all out on Steph the woman he loved. I wanted to say Steph was a strong character but for me she wasn’t, her actions and how she dealt with Travis’s breakdowns had me screaming at my kindle. I didn’t want to see her follow in her parent’s footsteps, I felt every pain and struggle as she tried to fight to have Eric in her life and breakaway from Travis’s mental hold on her, who loved her but ultimately destroyed his own marriage. I loved Eric because he was the hero, so sweet, gentle and affectionate, showing Steph where she truly belonged. An emotional read which I did enjoy I can’t wait to see what comes next!