BBNYA Blog Tour Review: Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden

Hey everyone!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for BBNYA finalist Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden. I am excited to be sharing my review with you all!

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Book Blurb:

Lucas Findlay thinks he has struck gold when he marries Rebecca, but she married him for one reason only – to destroy him.

TRAUMA RUNS DEEP

When her past comes back to haunt her, Rebecca begins to disconnect from herself and the world around her. As secrets are unearthed, she begins to fear for her sanity… and her life.

TRUTH WILL OUT

With her world unravelling around her, Rebecca clings to her determination to make Lucas pay, whatever the cost.

FORGIVE HIS SINS

But someone must pay for the sins of the father…

A chilling page-turner from a sharp new Scottish voice.

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My Review:

*I received this book to read and review as part of the 2021 BBNYA competition and the BBNYA tours organised by the TWR Tour team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest.*

I wasn’t lucky enough to be assigned Sins of the Father in any of the rounds during BBNYA, but when it came to preparing for the blog tours for the finalists, I couldn’t wait to read it, especially after all of the great things I had already heard about it. I can honestly say that this wasn’t what I had expected, but it certainly didn’t disappoint.

The story begins with what is soon revealed to be Rebecca’s dream. It was a very unexpected way to start the story, and the dream itself is creepy, and at times a little terrifying. It was made worse for me personally as I often suffer from nightmares and sleep paralysis, which if you are also unlucky enough to experience, you will know just how horrific it can be. Because of this, Rebecca’s dream was made to feel so much more real to me. If you thought the dream was bad though, things didn’t get any better when she woke up. Rebecca awakens to find a dead man laid beside her. Who is he? How did he die? and why is she laid beside him? So many questions! This is an opening chapter that really sinks its teeth in, and has you hooked from the very start. I could tell straight away that this was going to be a difficult one to put down.

From here, we are then taken back to 2002 (which is 16 years earlier) to hear more of Rebecca’s story. 16 year old Rebecca was clearly a deeply troubled child, who was massively struggling with her mental health, and had subsequently found herself in a mental hospital. It was time for her to be discharged, but it quickly became very obvious that she still needed help, she was still hearing voices in her head, who are telling her that someone needs to pay. This just increased the number of questions I had about the story, and I needed the answers!

We are then taken back even further to 1996, to the story of a 10 year old Rebecca. This particular section of the story is extremely difficult to read. It’s very obvious where her mental health struggles stemmed from. Rebecca went through unimaginable trauma, witnessing and experiencing things that no-one should ever have to, and they clearly had a horrifically devastating effect on her and her life. She received every type of abuse you could think of, and the voices in her head developed as a coping mechanism, and to Rebecca they were all she had. It’s utterly heartbreaking to read, and I was so desperate for someone to just save Rebecca.

The second half of the book moves back in to more recent times, where Rebecca is married, has a great job, and appears to be doing very well for herself. However, the crack soon begin to show again, and on her mission to get revenge she begins to completely unravel. Rebecca isn’t the only person out for revenge, and things begin to tangle. Lucas Findlay initially seems to be a dedicated husband who is being domestically abused by his wife (Rebecca), but Lucas has secrets and a haunting past that will not let him go. This part of the story has you on the edge of your seat, as the intensity continues to grow with every page. I couldn’t stop reading! It also throws some very unexpected twists at you, that are absolutely jaw dropping, and the story culminates in a gut wrenching ending that is perfectly fitting with the rest of the book.

This book is certainly not for the faint hearted. It is serious, traumatic, and hard hitting from beginning to end. It’s twisted and chaotic, and I know that I will be thinking about this book for a very long time.

I give Sins of the Father a 4 star rating!

* TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child abuse (sexual), Dissociative identity disorder, Mental illness, Self-harm, Violence, Drug and alcohol abuse *

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About The Author:

She spends most of her spare time doing all things bookish, from reading to attending as many book festivals and launches as she can. She has been known to step out of her comfort zone on the odd occasion and has walked over burning coals and broken glass – but not at the same time!

YOU CAN FIND SHARON HERE:
Website, GoodReads, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube

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The sign-ups are now open for the 2022 BBNYA competition, be it for authors to enter their books, or for bloggers wanting to be part of the new panel, so to become part of the BBNYA panel you can find panelist sign ups HERE, and to enter your book in to the competition you can find author sign ups HERE!!

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group The Write Reads.

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