In the Best Interest of the Child by Lilly Llewellyn is a book that will make you rethink about jumping into any serious relationship without getting to know your partner first. Your heart will be pulled into so many different directions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Troubador Publishing Limited and Lily Llewellyn for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells of the battle between a mother and her abusive ex over their daughter Rosie. The stress and fallout from the relationships cause both Rosie and her mom Isla health issues.

Isla could have made it easy for her and Rosie and taken a way out by ending their lives, but as a mother, she stayed strong for her daughter and chose to fight. Isla was in an abusive and manipulative relationship when she fell pregnant with Rosie. For Rosie and her safety, she decided to leave him and went to stay in a shelter and try and build a new life for her. That was until Richard found them and decided to take her to court citing that she was a bad influence on their daughter. This led to a long lengthy process of court visits, social workers, health professionals as during this we see that Isla is not only fighting a dangerous disease herself but that her daughter Rosie at only 2 has a truckload of health problems and at one point it was touch and go for Rosie. Reading this my heart yearned for Isla as she was trying to do everything for her daughter's safety and because her husband was a manipulative male, he is seen as the victim, not her. This was a hard book at times, and I just wanted to scream at the lawyers and social workers and the judges as Isla and Rosie could not get a fricking break. I did love that after all their journey, they did prevail and all I can say is that if Isla were a "real person" she would be my ideal mother figure as she fought with tooth and nail to save the only person she knew was important - her daughter despite her medical issues. In the best interests of the child is a compelling story that shows indeed what a mother's love is and the lengths they will go for their children. I now have the author's book Kind on my kindle, but not sure if it will measure up to In the Best Interests of the Child as this will be a hard book to beat.

I really wanted to love this book. The premise is that there is a mother fighting to keep her child safe from an abusive father. I found the the fact that the story being told through multiple medical reports to be very tedious and repetitive. In fact most of the story was repetitive as it was a series of preparing for yet another hearing. The ending when it finally came seemed rushed. I tried very hard to have empathy to the main character but found her to be more whiny than strong. I would have enjoyed this more if it would have been presented less clinically.

I felt like I was reading some type of research project or court papers. I did not enjoy this book at all. Very boring and dry.

I found the stats at the beginning of the book startling and deeply depressing. Possible moreso because I almost found myself in a very similar situation a short time ago. This is an important book which highlights just how badly the system is failing women whose primary concern is for the safety and well-being of their children. I’m unsure of the situation elsewhere but in Scotland new legislation is being introduced very soon which will account for the less physical aspects of domestic abuse, so there is some hope. This is a brave book and one which will undoubtedly offer comfort and support to others in similar situations.

First, I want to thank Lily Llewellyn, Madador, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

In the Best Interest of the Child by Lilly Llewellyn is a book that will make you rethink about jumping into any serious relationship without getting to know your partner first. Your heart will be pulled into so many different directions for a few different characters and I guarantee you will loathe one too.

Warning this book contains the following topics that may trigger some readers: domestic abuse, mentions of self-harm, substance abuse, panic attacks, manipulation, emotionally abusive, psychologically abusive, controlling spouse, and nasty custody battle for an innocent little girl.

This book interested me right from the prologue however I was hooked by the first chapter!! Lilly really jumps into the story and brings you into it! She obviously was very passionate about the characters and the storyline as it came out in each character. However, I saw it more in Rosie and Ilsa. It was these two characters that pulled on my heart strings for so many reasons. I wanted to leap into the book and give them each a hug!

One part of the book I could relate to was when she kept having GI issues due to stress. With the amount of stress she was under I can see why she would have a flair up. I get massive migraines and stress can be a trigger. In the book there are letters back and forth from her doctors and other authority figures about this. Sadly, even little Rosie inherited her GI disease.

This book is dedicated to Lilly’s daughter who has been a light in her dark. She also wants to thank her friends and family who have helped her remain sane.

I couldn't finish this book. There were too many mistakes in the book. It was off-putting and distracting. I would really have liked to read it, as I had a real interest in the subject matter.

In the Best Interests of the Child is a heart rending court procedural which reads more like a documentary than a novel. The story is told exclusively from the point of view of Isla who is fighting to keep her abusive and seemingly manipulative ex-partner away from their baby daughter, Rosie. Both Isla and Rosie are battling numerous adverse health and emotional conditions which are exacerbated by the endless professional assessments required, as well as the tortuous court proceedings. This book highlights the traumas that many families endure for the love of their children. Thanks to Troubador Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book reading when I could.i felt real empathy with the main character,brought back some memories from long again.i like the references to the court system and the children’s acts etc.i think I would have tried to move house numerous times and maybe changed my name,but as the main character was I’ll herself this wasn’t possible.i couldn’t understand why they they believed her ex and not her.good read I was hoping he would drop down dead etc before the end of the story.good holiday read.

This is a true to life story, I did enjoy it, I found it to be a little slow at time. But it was a good read. Anyone who has been through a bitter break up of a relationship will be able to relate to some of the things in this and you will find yourself talking out loud about it (or maybe thats just me lol).

Sadly this book was not for me. I really wanted to get into it but I found I was unable to connect with the characters.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Troubadour Publishing for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Absolutely fantastic book explaining and describing the implications and effects of physical, emotional and sexual abuse that can continue on from relationships, even after leaving through professionals and courts. How people (not just mums but dads also) can be controlled by using their children as pawns to exert more pain and suffering. The book describes how Iris and her daughter manage to get away from the ex partner/father abuse but actually 5 years later they are still under control by professionals and courts he has tried to command. He then applies to court to try and take away the daughter, get direct contact and completely pull apart the mother through telling lies to everyone - saying she is an alcoholic, druggie, irresponsible, making up about her daughters illnesses. The heartbreak, the worry, the long term effects for both mother and child unfolds. The story details the process of separated parent course, whereby parents are told bed wetting and distress is normal when contact occurs and they have to force their children into contact whether they want to or not. It explains what CAFCASS does, through a good worker and a bad worker, where they try and take over everything and always side with one parent. It explains the financial burden of fighting court with solicitors, barristers. Overall it shows the upset at every letter, email and even knock at the door. It really took over their whole lives and when the professionals say don't let it... how can it not?! I really hope this is not a true story for the author but sadly know many that have gone through the same thing. A change is needed to put children first, not the abuser or the court judges or cafcass but to really listen to the children. Great book. Look forward to reading more. Will definitely recommend. Thank you Lily for writing this book.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, as the premise seemed to be one that I would enjoy. However, I had to force myself to finish this one. I thought the plot just drug way too much and I didn't care for the characters too much.

Richard is seeking custody or visitation with supervision of Rosie.He is making false accusations of Rosies mom isla.”miss Murphy consistently abused alcohol,prescription drugs,self harmed,placed herself in unsafe surroundings and issued threats of personal safety. She harassed myself by text and phone ,damaged property and made threats of suicide.” Isla didn’t feel safe with Richard and does not want Rosie being around richard.I was wrapped up in seeing if Richard would receive supervised visitation knowing how hard that would be on isla and Rosie with her health problems . I was hoping isla and Rosies health would get better.I liked reading through all the medical and legal notes.I liked following along the multiple hearings.

#in the best interests of the child #netgalley

I wanted to enjoy reading this book, even though the subject matter is very painful.

However, pain is all that I felt in attempting to read this stream of consciousness first person narrative of a woman who had allegedly suffered domestic violence (and I say allegedly because while I did believe Isla, the narrator) I was so repulsed by the boring nature of the book and its remarkable use of repetition as a literary device that I could not force myself to read more than 25% of it.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.