Scan barcode
mbfeeney's review
5.0
I've recently got to know Carrie Elks via Facebook, and we're both attending the Second City Signing in Birmingham. I really can't wait to meet her. I'd never gotten round to reading one of her books, so I grabbed this one on release day. I was so glad I did because as soon as I started reading, I fell in love. With the story, the characters, the setting, just everything.
Centering around Beth, we have chapters set in the present, where Beth is married to Simon and working at a childcare facility for a drug rehab clinic and is pretty content with life. Then we have chapter set nine years previously, when Beth was at uni and was a bit of a wild child. She's a habitual drug user and parties hard with the arty set, Niall in particular.
Elks drip feeds us Beth's past, which is pretty traumatic and makes the reader really connect with her, and understand her choice of career, one which Simon, her husband, isn't happy with her having. Then she meets Niall again.
I wouldn't say all hell breaks loose, because it doesn't, but seeing him again not only dredges up the past, but makes Beth reassess her life currently. It's painful in it's realism, and I'm sure many will be able to relate.
The entire story, interwoven with Beth's involvement with a little girl, Allegra, and her drug addict mum, is written in such a sensitive way that you can't help but be sucked into the story from the moment you begin until you finish the very last page.
I will certainly be reading more of Elk's works, and will be first in line at her table at the signing next year.
Centering around Beth, we have chapters set in the present, where Beth is married to Simon and working at a childcare facility for a drug rehab clinic and is pretty content with life. Then we have chapter set nine years previously, when Beth was at uni and was a bit of a wild child. She's a habitual drug user and parties hard with the arty set, Niall in particular.
Elks drip feeds us Beth's past, which is pretty traumatic and makes the reader really connect with her, and understand her choice of career, one which Simon, her husband, isn't happy with her having. Then she meets Niall again.
I wouldn't say all hell breaks loose, because it doesn't, but seeing him again not only dredges up the past, but makes Beth reassess her life currently. It's painful in it's realism, and I'm sure many will be able to relate.
The entire story, interwoven with Beth's involvement with a little girl, Allegra, and her drug addict mum, is written in such a sensitive way that you can't help but be sucked into the story from the moment you begin until you finish the very last page.
I will certainly be reading more of Elk's works, and will be first in line at her table at the signing next year.
maggiemaggio's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Last year I read and loved Carrie Elks's Fix You and I'm not quire sure how I missed that she had another book come out since then. Fix You was an epic book that covered 10+ years of its characters' lives in a very epic love story and in some ways Coming Down is like that and in other ways it's completely its own story.
Beth (for some reason she never seemed like a Beth to me) works at a drug rehabilitation clinic and is married to the older, wealthy Simon. In her college days she fell in with an artistic, drug-loving crowd and a close friend ended up overdosing, something she feels responsibly for even nine years later. When her friend overdosed Beth was kicked out of school and spent the next few years of her life lost. She started at the rehab clinic as a way of doing penance for her friend's death, but she quickly fell in love with the clinic, especially the kids of the addicts who she mostly works with, and the job becomes her calling in life.
Sadly her husband, who knows Beth didn't marry him for his money, but still wants Beth to be a bit of a trophy wife, disagrees. When the story starts Simon is often angry at Beth for how many hours she puts in at the clinic, the situations she puts herself in (which he perceives as being dangerous), and for becoming too involved with one family in particular, a poor heroin-addict mother and her daughter. Shortly after the story starts Niall, Beth's boyfriend from her college days, the guy who gave their friend the drugs he overdosed on, reappears in Beth's life. Niall is now a successful artist and he's showing at the gallery owned by Simon's daughter. When Beth needs an art student to teach art to kids at the clinic Simon's daughter recruits Niall, something he's obviously overqualified for, but Beth is both excited and terrified to spend time with him again.
The crux of the story is about Beth's relationships with Simon and with Niall and adultery is part of the story. At first Simon is more of a victim, it's obvious that Beth didn't marry him for money and that even though he doesn't want a wife with a career like Beth does has he also doesn't want a pretty face with no brain. But then Simon becomes kind of a bully and it was difficult to reconcile that Simon with the Simon from the beginning of the story and, eventually, the Simon at the end of the story. Niall, on the other hand is less complicated. He clearly is still interested in Beth and it's also clear that while it wasn't easy, he's been able to move on from what happened to them in college in a way that Beth hasn't been able to.
Beyond the romance this is really a story about Beth, a woman who, at 29-years-old, is still trying to figure herself out, something that a lot of people can relate to. After her drug-fueled days in college, the death of her friend, and being kicked out of college her life became frozen. She manages to move on with a career and a husband, but she did it by completely closing off her old self. Some of that deserves to be closed off, spending her days smoking white widow and her nights popping ecstasy probably isn't the best idea, but there were other parts of that person that were great and as the story goes on she begins to realize that and let those parts of her come out.
And that transformation is great for Beth, but not always great for the people around her, which is what the story is about. As she asserts herself more with Simon he continually tells her that they're better when he's allowed to make all the decisions. Even when she reconnects with Niall she knows she can't just fall back into her arms and forget everything else and she sets the terms of their relationship. With Daisy and Allegra, the mother and daughter she grows to close to, she even becomes more assertive, which is both good and bad. Even with her friend Lara she seems to speak her mind more as the story goes on.
Carrie Elks is great at coming up with interesting and stories and interesting characters, but her biggest strength might be her ability to show how characters change and grow over time and how that affects their relationships. For someone like Simon where the change all happened in the course of the story it didn't necessarily work as well, but for Beth and Niall, and even the characters back in Fix You, she knows how to make those transformations work.
Bottom Line: If you asked me which Carrie Elks book to read I would probably recommend Fix You over Coming Down, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy Coming Down quite a bit. Beth is an interesting, complex character and reading about her transformation was fascinating. At times the story was predictable, but the great characters easily made up for it and I can't wait to read more from Carrie Elks.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Last year I read and loved Carrie Elks's Fix You and I'm not quire sure how I missed that she had another book come out since then. Fix You was an epic book that covered 10+ years of its characters' lives in a very epic love story and in some ways Coming Down is like that and in other ways it's completely its own story.
Beth (for some reason she never seemed like a Beth to me) works at a drug rehabilitation clinic and is married to the older, wealthy Simon. In her college days she fell in with an artistic, drug-loving crowd and a close friend ended up overdosing, something she feels responsibly for even nine years later. When her friend overdosed Beth was kicked out of school and spent the next few years of her life lost. She started at the rehab clinic as a way of doing penance for her friend's death, but she quickly fell in love with the clinic, especially the kids of the addicts who she mostly works with, and the job becomes her calling in life.
Sadly her husband, who knows Beth didn't marry him for his money, but still wants Beth to be a bit of a trophy wife, disagrees. When the story starts Simon is often angry at Beth for how many hours she puts in at the clinic, the situations she puts herself in (which he perceives as being dangerous), and for becoming too involved with one family in particular, a poor heroin-addict mother and her daughter. Shortly after the story starts Niall, Beth's boyfriend from her college days, the guy who gave their friend the drugs he overdosed on, reappears in Beth's life. Niall is now a successful artist and he's showing at the gallery owned by Simon's daughter. When Beth needs an art student to teach art to kids at the clinic Simon's daughter recruits Niall, something he's obviously overqualified for, but Beth is both excited and terrified to spend time with him again.
The crux of the story is about Beth's relationships with Simon and with Niall and adultery is part of the story. At first Simon is more of a victim, it's obvious that Beth didn't marry him for money and that even though he doesn't want a wife with a career like Beth does has he also doesn't want a pretty face with no brain. But then Simon becomes kind of a bully and it was difficult to reconcile that Simon with the Simon from the beginning of the story and, eventually, the Simon at the end of the story. Niall, on the other hand is less complicated. He clearly is still interested in Beth and it's also clear that while it wasn't easy, he's been able to move on from what happened to them in college in a way that Beth hasn't been able to.
Beyond the romance this is really a story about Beth, a woman who, at 29-years-old, is still trying to figure herself out, something that a lot of people can relate to. After her drug-fueled days in college, the death of her friend, and being kicked out of college her life became frozen. She manages to move on with a career and a husband, but she did it by completely closing off her old self. Some of that deserves to be closed off, spending her days smoking white widow and her nights popping ecstasy probably isn't the best idea, but there were other parts of that person that were great and as the story goes on she begins to realize that and let those parts of her come out.
And that transformation is great for Beth, but not always great for the people around her, which is what the story is about. As she asserts herself more with Simon he continually tells her that they're better when he's allowed to make all the decisions. Even when she reconnects with Niall she knows she can't just fall back into her arms and forget everything else and she sets the terms of their relationship. With Daisy and Allegra, the mother and daughter she grows to close to, she even becomes more assertive, which is both good and bad. Even with her friend Lara she seems to speak her mind more as the story goes on.
Carrie Elks is great at coming up with interesting and stories and interesting characters, but her biggest strength might be her ability to show how characters change and grow over time and how that affects their relationships. For someone like Simon where the change all happened in the course of the story it didn't necessarily work as well, but for Beth and Niall, and even the characters back in Fix You, she knows how to make those transformations work.
Bottom Line: If you asked me which Carrie Elks book to read I would probably recommend Fix You over Coming Down, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy Coming Down quite a bit. Beth is an interesting, complex character and reading about her transformation was fascinating. At times the story was predictable, but the great characters easily made up for it and I can't wait to read more from Carrie Elks.
This review first appeared on my blog.
my_books's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
amburhostyn's review
5.0
Loved it!!! I first found Carrie Elks through fanfiction and I was thrilled when I heard she was working on her own books that she would be self-pubbing! I've been eagerly awaiting Coming Down and it completely lived up to and even surpassed my expectations! Beth and Niall were amazing and I just loved every minute of their story!
Full review to come! :D
Full review to come! :D
More...