Having read a mother’s confession by the same author and loving it I was delighted to get my hands on copy of her latest book . This is a story of the bond between sisters . Beautifully written and sometimes heartbreaking this is about Annie and Lexie, one a succcessful doctor , the other a drug addict . My only criticism and hence my 4.5 stars rating is that some parts just felt too drawn out .

I received a digital ARC of #BeforeIletYouGo:agrippingNovelAboutTheUnbreakableBondBetweenSisters by #NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is told in two different perspectives. Lexie tells the present day story whilst Annie tells of what happened in the past, in the form of journal entries to her counsellor.

Initially I had no sympathy for Annie whatsoever. I mean she's lived a life on drugs, with numerous failed rehabilitation attempts, and even finding out she was pregnant didn't stop her from taking heroin right up until she was around 8 months gone (which means the baby will now go through withdrawal once it's born). She hasn't been taking care of herself at all - she hasn't seen a doctor since getting pregnant as she knew her urine sample would test positive for drugs. And then she's moaning because the state of Alabama want to revoke her parental rights and put her baby into foster care until she has completed a rehab program and she is off the drugs. Well yeah! Wake up and smell the coffee love! They're not just going to hand the baby back over to you so you can get high and neglect it now are they?!

However when you read Annie's perspective through the journal entries to her counsellor you begin to understand the tough life she has had, and how everything has lead her to where she is today. Don't get me wrong it was still her choice to take the drugs and to leave rehab early, but certain things (mainly Robert) have impacted her life and influenced her choices and the person she has become. She was broken down over a number of years until she believed she was worthless and deserved no better.

Before I Let You Go tells the heartbreaking story of drug addiction, and the unbreakable bond and unconditional love that two sisters have. Kelly Rimmer portrayed the harsh realities of drug addiction really well, whilst also dealing with some complex family issues. This is such an emotional read - I don't think I've ever cried reading a book before, but the last few chapters of this book I was in tears.

As with some of the ARCs I have read, there are some spacing errors and occasional spelling mistakes that I assume will have been corrected before publication.

This is one of the most moving books I have ever read. Basically it is about drug addiction and its effect on a pregnant single girl, Annie. You are taken behind the scenes through her diary as she relates her memories, hopes and dreams as she struggles to rehabilitate. Raised partially in a restrictive, controlling religious sect she leaves them and tries to put her life together, failing over and over again. Her sister, Lexie, a doctor and her fiancé Sam support her. I don't have a sibling so I was very touched by the bond between the sisters. The relationship between Lexie and Sam is not entirely perfect because Lexie suffered effects from her father's death and the sect's indoctrination. She's apt to shut people out. It made me think that there's a fine line between support and control regarding Sam's behaviour at times and during Annie's treatment. I was also appalled by the religion's rules and regulations (control again) and even more appalled by the criminalisation of drug abuse and how the system operates in Alabama. It made me wonder how this situation would be dealt with in the UK. I agreed with Mary Walter's philosophy and admittedly the future of the child must be tantamount but not in the unfeeling, insensitive way it is done. The lack of compassion is horrifying. I was fascinated and horrified in equal measures over NAS. I have never heard of it except I knew that using drugs during a pregnancy can harm a baby but not how. I didn't know either that withdrawal is actually physically painful. In other words I learnt a great deal from this book. To be honest I did suspect addiction was perhaps a weakness of character but I shall need to rethink that after reading this book. Very emotive. Thank you to NetGalley and Headline.

Wow! This is the third book I have read by Kelly Rimmer and she has written another powerful, moving book that will have you gasping in disbelief. It is an emotional rollercoaster read - shocking and sad in parts and heartbreaking in others.
Highly recommend. 5*****

Now I do sometimes struggle with what’s known as ‘women’s fiction’ and more so when a book has a message, this falls into both categories but despite some reservations, there was lots to enjoy and think about.
Lexie and Annie are sisters, and in the middle of the night, after two years with no contact Annie rings Lexie asking for help. Annie is an addict and she’s pregnant. Annie is also very ill and needs to go to hospital but if she does she could be charged with child endangerment because of the drugs she’s taken.

Here lies the message with the author urging the reader to see that this isn’t the right approach for the law to take over addiction, which we are reminded frequently, is an illness and therefore if helped the women can turn their lives around and care for their children. Personally I think this is a far from black and white issue but I will say no more on the subject, if you want to ponder on this further, this is the book to make you do so.

That off my chest the book takes us back to the girl’s childhood which includes loss and moving to a cult. This part is told through Annie’s eyes in a journal she writes to her therapist and it’s not only incredibly moving, expertly creating a whole world of confusion for the young girl which felt realistic. Through Annie’s journal which we read excerpts from throughout the novel we learn more about her descent into drugs, this too with no personal experience of the matter also felt highly authentic. Kelly Rimmer knows how to tell a story convincingly and I defy anyone not to have their heartstrings pulled by Before I Let You Go.

Lexi is a doctor, the older sister who had the same upbringing but her approach as a child was different and of course even siblings do not necessarily have the same reactions to each other. Lexi had always cared for Annie and the bond between the two is again created in full technicolour.

Before I Let You Go is an emotional read and I have to admit even though I despised the choices she made, in many ways I felt far more of a connection with Annie than Lexie. Lexie was just a little too perfect for me and I could see how being her younger sister would cause some ‘issues’ To make matters more complicated Lexie is planning to marry Sam, another doctor and someone else that had good person running thorough his core like a stick of rock. Lexie’s need to be independent causes issues between the couple, and if I were Sam I would probably have stated my case far earlier and more strongly than he did.

So a book about relationships in the main those between siblings and their parents viewed through the interesting angle of life in a cult. As much as I struggled with the message at times, I would have ripped your arm off if you’d tried to remove this book from my hands before I’d finished it. In the world of books it can be good to read a book that arouses strong emotions, even when they aren’t positive ones, and believe me, I was irritated by all the characters more than once!

I love Kelly Rimmer's books and this latest story didn't disappoint. What an emotional journey reading this book was, a superbly written novel with an intriguing plot. My heart went out to the characters for different reasons.

Before I Let You Go is compelling and heartbreaking and will leave you racing through the story. A brilliant powerful story! Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
Wow, this was a great read! Heartbreakingly sad at times, the bond between the two sisters was wonderful, Annie and Lexie had a traumatic childhood and both chose different paths in life to cope with their trauma. Lexie, a successful doctor had to distance herself from Annie when her addictions had almost ruined both their lives. However, when Annie is pregnant and ill, Lexie knows she has to help her.
I was surprised to read about how some states in the US criminalise addict mothers and jail them rather than help them when they are drug dependent during pregnancy. What a cruel way to treat people. This book was quite an eyeopener, so well written and moving. The reader could empathise with both sisters and I detested their mother!
A very enjoyable read, I would definitely recommend.

This is the story of two sisters, Lexie and Annie. They grow up with a bond that nobody can break, until their father dies. Their mother struggles with her grief until she meets and marries Robert, who takes her and the girls to live in his community, and their lives will never be the same again.

Fast forward to when they are adults, Lexie is a successful doctor who has everything to live for and Annie, who has hit rock bottom and is a drug addict, the girls haven't seen each other for two years since Annie cannon balled into Lexie's life, caused havoc and then left. Now she's back and in trouble again, this time she is pregnant, still hooked on drugs and in trouble with the law. How many more times will Lexie drop everything to help her little sister and what happened in their childhood to turn Annie to drugs?

Kelly Rimmers' books have a way of penetrating my heart and squeezing it till it feels like it's going to burst and this one is no exception, I'm not afraid to admit that I cried on more than one occasion during this story. It is heart wrenching but, at the same time, beautiful and depicts the love between these two sisters perfectly. How far will Lexie go to help Annie this time and at what cost to her own career and life?

I would like to thank Headline for approving me to read this author's latest book and will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon. Can't wait for the next one!

Grab the tissues! Emotional wreck trying to write a review. An amazing read and so well written. I can't recommend this book enough.

Well I am completely and utterly speechless, I'm going to attempt to review this book but I'm pretty sure I won't do it justice as there are just no words to explain how amazing beautiful and emotional this book is.

I absolutely loved this book, the story was so heartfelt and emotional, I just could not put it down.

I loved how the story was told by the two main characters Lexie and Annie, as it really gives the story depth and different viewpoints. You truly got a feel for both of the characters, seeing how they coped and the experiences/events they had to go through. 

It was all very well written throughout, the story was addictive, making you want to turn those pages quickly to see how things would develop and what would happen next. I totally developed a soft spot for Dr Sam, I completely fell in love with him.

There were moments throughout the story that bought tears to my eyes, but it was at the very end when I needed the tissues, there was tears of sadness and happiness. Just so beautiful and so heartfelt. 

I've always believed that if reading parts of a book brings tears to your eyes then it is one of many signs of just how outstandly breath taking a book is and how talented the author must be to cause that to happen.

If you haven't read any of this authors books yet, then don't delay. I can't recommend this book enough.

A truly traumatic read. So cleverly written. An absolutely heart wrenching tale of a completely fractured family. Let down by their mother Lexi and Annie make their way in life. Lexi so successful with an upcoming wedding to the man she loves, Annie has completely decended into the dark side. A story of a baby in the middle of the two sisters. This book changed a lot of perception about addiction with the story leading to the downfall. At times I was so frustrated at some of the characters but this shows the cleverness in covering this subject and how each family member was affected. Another stunner from Kelly Rimmer.

I have read several books by Kellt Rimmer, which I have really enjoyed, but this one really was fantastic. The story of Lexie and Annie, told in separate chapters, was upsetting and difficult to read when it come to reliving the childhood, but the detail really made you feel like you could understand why Lexie behaved the way she did and why she couldn’t get out ofnthe difficult cycle she had got into. The story of Daisy and her traumatic first days was heartbreaking to read. Although painful and upsetting to read, I absolutely loved this book.

I loved this book - it was so well written. It felt true and believable, the characters were so vivid - and emotion poured straight from the page, and my eyes!!

Her best so far in my opinion - well done Kelly.

Oh my. What a beautiful, heart wrenching and moving story this is. It is really hard to put into words why but I'm going to try. This isn't as emotionally charged as perhaps Me Without You or A Mother's Confession, both of which I will openly confess made me cry. However, that said, it captures you in a different kind of way, manipulating a different set of emotions, and you cannot, as a reader, fail to be moved by Annie and Lexie's story.

The story begins when Lexie receives a call in the middle of the night from her sister, Annie, begging for help. Annie is pregnant and nearing childbirth when she develops a complication, one which puts her and her unborn baby at risk. Lexie hasn't seen her sister in two years and has no idea about the baby. Annie has caused her untold problems in the past and yet Lexie does not hesitate over helping her, no matter the problems that Annie brings with her. Because Annie is a junkie, a heroine addict whose need for drugs nearly cost her sister everything.

What follows is Annie and Lexie's story, both past and present, exploring how the two sisters came to be so very, very different, from their humble and yet contended beginnings as the daughter's of a fireman, through to their polar opposite circumstances now. Add in another layer of jeopardy - in the state of Alabama, Annie's addiction can see her face charges for child endangerment which could see her face jail time - and you are set for a tense, sometimes shocking and altogether emotionally charged tale.

Now I don't want to go into the story much further than that. You really need to read for yourself. And if you read the author notes at the end of the novel, you will understand the very personal inspiration which drew Kelly Rimmer to the story in the first place. Now I would not claim to have any first hand knowledge on the subject of addiction - the closest I have come is an infatuation with food containing chillies - but every part of this book rang true to me. The presentation of Annie's condition, her lack of willingness to take charge of her addiction or to go to group therapy. Her mistrust of others. As you learn more of her story you will understand why and understand how a young girl, who once showed so much promise, went right off the rails. 

In contrast you have Lexie, a woman who has pushed to get herself out of the situation that she and Annie were thrust into. There are key reasons for the difference in their fortune, and they are shocking, gut wrenching ones which seem almost inevitable. The way in which Kelly Rimmer expands upon Lexie's character, her conflict over protecting her sister and the growing love she feels for the baby, even how defensive she is over her relationship with her family and the anger she feels towards their mother, it all rings true. It is perfectly pitched and very well written.

There are so many moments in this book that I wanted to cry for the two sisters. For everything they lost and everything they could have been. The ending, although I could see it coming, was no less heartbreaking to read. To think that things could have been so different, that one decision, one change of routine for very beautiful and positive reasons could lead to so much heart ache. That the keeping of secrets too dark to share could cost a family so much. This was such a moving and well written story that it will likely stay with me for some time.

Kelly Rimmer's books have a habit of doing that. Don't believe me, read one for yourself.

This was a very hard book to read as the subject matter was drug addiction.

Lexie and Annie are sisters, Lexie is a happily engaged doctor who appears to have everything while Annie is a pregnant drug addict who is living in squalor. The sisters have had no contact for two years until one night Annie calls Lexie asking for help.

The story is told by both sisters, Lexie in the present day and Annie through a series of journal entries detailing why her life has spiralled into drug addiction.

A tough thought provoking story which Kelly Rimmer does so well, it is an emotional and heartbreaking rollercoaster which was hard to put down. Highly recommended.

The story in this book was just amazing. So sad. 5 big stars from me

What an emotion read this was. I loved this and for me this is Kelly Rimmer's best book yet. The book was a total eye opener for me as I didn't realise the heartbreaking way pregnant drug addicts are treated in some US states.
The story starts by introducing us to two sister, one sister has it all, the other is drug dependant and pregnant. How far would you go to help someone you love? Alexis has always been there to pick up the pieces when her sister Annie is high and causing chaos. One night Annie asks for help and Alexis can't say no to helping her sister and her soon to be niece.
This is such a through provoking roller coster of a ride, Kelly Rimmer knows how to place emotion into every chapter thats raw and real. Her characters are flawed yet beauiful and I found myself blow away on how well she writes.

WOW what a story. You really feel like you get to know the characters so well and Annie’s addiction is heartbreakingly sad.

This was a really hard book to read yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. A book about a baby, two sisters and addiction. The bond between the sisters is portrayed so well and the ending is amazing. A great read.