Sherry & Narcotics by Nina-Marie Gardner

Sherry and Narcotics by Nina-Marie Gardner. Her book is a sexy and gripping story about an American graduate student in London who embarks on an affair with a well-known poet from Manchester. Both of them are deeply flawed and dishonest with each other and their relationship is doomed to explode. The writing is fresh, quirky and disquieting. Gardner beautifully delivers an unflinching and real glimpse of alcoholism, isolation & love addiction in this debut novel.

What I Can Tell You: 

I received an advanced reading copy of this book and finished this book this morning! Watching Mary, the main character was heartbreaking. Watching her make mistake after mistake in life and love was hard to read. It was like watching a train wreck, you want to look away but can't. Mary is an editor who likes to party sometimes to excess. She spends 3 weeks corresponding with Jake by email/txt when she runs out to meet him getting an apartment nearby, waiting on his every email/txt/phone call and falling deeper and deeper into despair as this ridiculous unhealthy relationship plays out. 

You, the reader see she is heading for disaster. Her obsessive, masochistic personality is the most devasting part of the book. I wish I could grab her by her shoulders and shake her into realization, but even if you could she would fall!

Nina-Marie's writing is devastatingly real which is scary. When you are so far in, you can't see how wrong things are. Outsiders see it 100% and can talk until they are blue in the face but you will continue on the road of disaster until the relationships swan song when you realize how ridiculous you were. The signs to the exit were flashing in bright, white, lights and you never saw them! 

Great read!  Very edgy!

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy for my honest opinion.