At first I thought this was going to be a book that’s shocking for the sake of it, that has very little storyline and lots of cringy moments…buts it turns out I was wrong!
I hated Frances! She is self centred, selfish and creepy! But then we learn more about her and see she is a very damaged person with a hell of a lot of issues!

The story is quite farfetched but it does make you question what makes us who we are. Frances gave me vibes of Joe from You and a bit of you feels sorry for her.

This book was laugh out loud funny. Deliciously dark and so captivating. I enjoyed the pacing and found the narration very easy to follow. What a wild ride!! So absurd and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of the audiobook!

The premise of this book is so promising! Frances is sick of her girlfriend Elaine who simply wants to have sex all the time. She’s also facing mounting pressure from her drug dealer who doesn’t appreciate the debt she’s racked up. She plans to sedate Elaine to give her a bit of space to pull together some money.

Unfortunately this book just did not really deliver for me. I was expecting far more hijinks! Cahoots! Shenanigans! Frances has obviously been through it in her life but she’s also just an asshole? Which would be fine and fun but she is very unforgivably a boring asshole. I’m on Elaine’s side honestly.

The narration, however, I thought was really great and I would be happy to listen to more books read by Marisa Calin.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the advance audiobook.

The story is centred around Francis a depressed, alcoholic who has also had her fair share of heartbreaks; both in romance and general life.
I will say I didn’t feel anything for either of the main characters, but that was because they were both so annoying in a very real life sense. I cringed a lot during this book; and it was from the beginning not even part way through.

The story is quite weird and I found it paced inconsistently so there were very slow parts and also areas that needed more justification.

I enjoyed the narrator Marisa Calin; and found that that was what was mainly getting me through the book.

I did want to stop a few times but am glad I had a conclusion to the story.
I’m not sure who I would recommend this to and also how I would go about recommending it.

I enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book. The book outline caught my attention:. an absurdist way of dealing with all your problems - sedating your partner. As psychotic an idea as the different story lines the author brings together. I found the dark humour I hoped for, the absurdity in the sedating and its consequences and the interactions with larger than real characters to amuse. Always at the back of my mind - absurd, but could someone really do this? But underneath the cover Dawn Winter, the author, brings a story of the crippling mental emotional roller coaster, from the main character’s fall out from rejection, and of trying to fill the void and lose the pain with untruthful words ‘I love you’ said to others and herself. Thank you to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

It took me a while to get into this one. Frenetically paced in parts and in tone, it held my interest although I couldn't really see where the story was going. I am glad I stuck with it because while it took a while to hook me, there were some genuinely funny parts and the ending was satisfying. I was more interested in Frances as a character than Elaine and overall the unevenness in the pace left me a little bored at times.

Some flashes of brilliance and others of monotony . A mixed reading experience but the narrator was excellent.

I am torn with my rating on this one.

3 stars overall is probably fair .

Francis, depressed at the end of the relationship she thought was forever, finds herself in a rebound relationship with Elaine, an individual from a rich background who floats through life in the way only the privileged can. For her, every day is fun and everything is trouble free. Francis on the other hand lurches from disaster to disaster, in debt to her drug dealer she ‘accidentally’ invites Elaine to move in with her when in order to cover the rent when she intended to split up with her. No romantic intentions here, she needs her rent paid. However soon Francis has got to that point in a flailing relationship where even the sound of her girlfriend breathing makes her contemplate either murder or suicide. Francis loves her flat, the peace it offers her but Elaine is big in every way. Physically, emotionally, she’s so loud and so very needy. So Francis comes up with the idea of sedating Elaine.

An interesting read which like so many contemporary books I’ve read recently covers mental health and loneliness. The adult behaviours being attributed childhood trauma and parent/child issues. A protagonist in self destruct mode seemingly oblivious to the affect on those around her needs to come to terms with past issues or implode. The writer cleverly captures the frantic pace, it’s urgency and panic so you are soon swept up on the rollercoaster of life for Francis. In spite of the topics covered; death, abandonment, drugs and money issues this is a relatively easy and short read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bolinda Audio and the author Dawn Winter for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book came with quite an interesting concept.
I understand the need for Elaines pockets but the element of sedation felt a little too far fetched.
Overall it has been written well and I love the exploration of the main characters thought process.
But I didn't necessarily find the book comical- perhaps more sad.
I would recommend to someone who is interested in quite a basic plot.

I listened to this audio version, brilliantly read by Marisa Calin. It had me snorting with laughter and staring open-mouthed at the action.

I'd never heard of this debut even though it seems to have been out a year. I cannot think why because Dawn Winter definitely has a way with words and a vivid imagination.

Sedating Elaine tells the story of Frances who is a broken-hearted she'll of a woman for more reasons than most. Her mother is "gone", her father has died, her new girlfriend (Elaine) is driving her mad and her ex is constantly on her mind. But to really top things off, she's in deep with Dom the very unfriendly drug dealer whose bill she cannot pay and has promised a visit from the vicious Betty who does agonising things with household objects to those who can't cough up what's owed.

If that doesn't get you interested then maybe I can entice you with the good writing, the honest characterisations and a healthy dose of pathos.

This is not an elegant novel, it's very in-your-face. Thankfully the audio really enhances the words. I really enjoyed listening to it although anyone anywhere near me might not have enjoyed me sniggering away to myself as I listened.

Recommended if you like a debut author whose writing pulls no punches. Thanks to Netgalley (and Bolinda).

This is one of those 'What am I reading!!' books and I loved it.

The storyline is told from Frances point of view. She's struggling with life and finds a lot of things overwhelming, and she's far from thinking straight.

It's quite dark and disturbing in parts, then funny and totally crazy in others. The ending was beautiful and uplifting.

The narrator captured the voices of Frances and Elaine perfectly. I always love it when a narrator goes that extra step to bring the story to life. I don't think I'll look at the monkey bars again without hearing urangu-fran!!!

Great, quirky read which brought a smile to my face

I am utterly perplexed by this book. I don’t know if it’s me? Dark humour? I missed any humour at all. It just didn’t work for me at all. I can usually find some way to empathise with the protagonist even if they’re unlikeable. I couldn’t. In fact I despised Frances. She was an abhorrent character. The storyline was a bit all over the place, and I kept wondering if I had missed parts. I couldn’t even tell if the actual writing was awful, yet it couldn’t have been, the last 45 minutes or so were actually very good. It was almost like the ending was written by someone else. A real shame actually, and I hate giving a bad review the whole 2 stars are for the ending. The narration was ok.

Is it just me? Is this actually some form of literary genius that I’ve been unable to understand?

Thank you to NetGalley and Bolinda audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.