Review Of In The Garden Of Discontent

Woooooow. Lily White did it again! She is one of those are authors who outshines herself with every new book she releases, taking the bar even higher and continuing to deliver with same quality. This book is no exception. What a crazy ride from start to finish. The terms- crazy, deal and phrase - expect the unex suits her books the best! When I reach a stage where I believed things can't gets worse for our protagonists, she adds a scene that takes the darkness factor a notch higher and there is no coming down from it. This story is of Noah and Ensley and it's not just story - it's their live's tragedy from which they manged to grow beautiful garden - The garden of discontent that grew from the ground where all their dark, torturous secrets lay buried. It's a befitting tittle for a beautiful yet tragic love story. I won't go into the details of the story, but I did see a lot of parallels between this story and 'Five'. Of course the way the love story developed and the circumstances surround Ensley were different from that of Five but in a twisted way it lead to similar tragedies and both the female leads went down the same path. Though overall I liked Five better than this, it doesn't mean it lacked the charm or darkness or even novelty for that matter. It has tons of that and even more... The story switches between present and past and though earlier I was more curious about things would unfold in the present, my attention shifted more towards the tragic yet unexpected twists in the past. The present comparitivley didn't have as many surprise elements as that of the past and all the meetings in the present seemed inconsequential without adding anything new into the mix. But they did lend a hand in getting Noah and Ensley close again in the present. Their chemistry is explosive and painful to say the very least and yet there got together so perfectly. The sheer love and dedication these two had for one another brought tears to my eyes. Coming to the past, it was so tragic and dark that it was almost scary. Tammy - Ensley's mom putting her through so much torment is unbearable. It's so ugly yet it's this realistic and unfiltered take on things that makes this book standout from the rest and shine. As much as I empathized with Ensley, it was Noah that won my heart right from the start and held on to it till the very end. I loved them as a couple. No doubt about it. This story though tries to play with the whole whodidit trope, I think it can be enjoyed more just as Ensley-Noah love story. Though the mystery element did make it all the more fun, it resolved a little too easily towards the end for my liking. Again, there were quite a few contrivances to ensure the story ended on the note it did. It was far more convincing in five than in this book, but overall it doesn't take away the interest or fun from the story. The last part could have been better but the epilogue and the way it was written made up for it. I would go with 5 stars for this spine chilling read.