A Thousand Cuts

Cell Block C

By: Melissa Toppen

Narrated by: Emry Mika

I used to believe in fairy tales.

But then I grew up and I realized that life isn’t like the books I once loved so much.

There are no princes riding in on their white horses.

No magic wands or fairy god mothers.

And no happily ever afters.

Ryland Thorpe taught me the hard way that good doesn’t always win and sometimes the people we trust the most are the ones that can hurt us the deepest.

At 15, my world began and ended with him.

He was my older brother’s best friend.

He was my protector.

He was the boy I had loved since I was old enough to understand what loving someone meant.

And he was a liar....

It’s been five years since I’ve seen him.

Five long years and the memory of him still haunts me like it was yesterday.

Only he’s not just a memory anymore.

Prison has hardened him, changed him, altered him in ways I never expected. But beneath it, all I can still see a glimmer of the boy I used to love.

When lies are exposed and secrets are revealed, I find myself questioning everything I thought I knew.

They say the first cut is the deepest.

They were wrong....

©2020 Melissa Toppen (P)2020 Melissa Toppen

A good listen

Ainsley and Ryland's story is a hard one. Ainsley grew up with Ryland who was her brother's best friend and feels betrayed by him in the worst way. There are a lot of feelings at play here as they reconnect and find the relationship they had before Ryland went away.

Ms. Toppen always writes an emotional read and this was no different. There were all sorts of emotions at play here from all of the characters involved. It was a good falling in love with my brother's best friend book.

I thought the narrator did a good job, but I would have enjoyed hearing a male doing Ryland's voice more. She didn't change her inflection much so some chapters, I didn't know if Ryland or Ainsley was speaking. It would have been more enjoyable to get the change in voice.

Complicated Feelings

I liked this book but admit to having very complicated feelings about it. The book offers a storyline that is smartly crafted and contains a blend of deep emotions, drama, angst, tension, suspense, danger and heat. The characters were a split decision for me and here is were my feeling begin to get complicated. Ryland was wonderful. He was definitely one of the good guys and I thought he had a heart of gold. Unfortunately, he also had an almost terminal case of good intensions and we all know where those lead! In my opinion this made him way too self-sacrificing and forgiving. Ainsley, I wanted to like but could never really get there. I did feel sympathetic towards her in regards to some things but, and it is a big BUT, the slack you can cut a teenager is much more than the slack that an adult deserves. At some point, you're supposed to wake up, wise up and see things as they are and not simply as you would like them to be. Plus, as an added bonus she came this close to falling into the TSTL category. So yeah, I was not her biggest fan. Even though I did not care for her, I did like these two as a couple and the brother's best friend trope is one of my favorites. The narrator's voice was pleasing to listen to and the performance was solid.

Wonderfully Angsty

Ryland. *swoon*
He's a rare breed. Life didn't deal him a good hand and he played it as best as he could. He had one goal, and he thought he succeeded. But it seems he didn't. Now the only girl who has ever mattered in his life hates him with a visceral rage so deep she won't stay in the same room with him.

But Ryland's waters run deep, and he had a lot of time to think in prison. He's become a man who understands the long game.

This book has pretty much all the feels you could ask for, especially if you're into angst. Because neither Ryland or Ainsley, the girl he adores, have had any easy life. They're not rich kids driving fast cars and going to prep school in designer clothes. Ainsley and her brother have been scratching out an existence while she finished college, and Ryland...well, it hasn't been fun for him, either.

The chemistry between Ainsley and Ryland is white hot with that delicious enemies to friends taint. The story itself is bittersweet and a reminder that some people have more than the average amount of good within them. My only complaint with this story was the narrator: I really didn't love her, but as the story progressed I got used to her cringeworthy style and learned how to tune it out and enjoy the story.

The people that love us most have the power to cut the deepest...

Loved every minute this romance. Like a slice of brothers best friend with a side of secrets and suspense.
Ainsley and Ryland stole my heart with their journey and everything they were able to overcome.
The narrator did a great job, even with the dual perspective. Though sometimes her word pronunciations threw me off a bit.
Overall, it was a perfect story with all the feels.

Emotional love story

I loved this story of Ainsley and Ryland and how they were able to over come the odds stacked against them. Finally finding the love they both desperately wanted.