Just Don’t Mention It by Estelle Maskame | Blog Tour

Thank you so much to Ink Roads for another brilliant book!

Published by Ink Roads, 21st June 2018

Tyler Bruce – hell raiser and bad boy – tells his story in his own words.

Alternating between past and present, Just Don’t Mention It is narrated from Tyler’s perspective. We see his life as a twelve-year-old boy suffering physical abuse at the hands of his dad. We see him as the daredevil seventeen-year-old we first met in Did I Mention I Love You?, the stepbrother who falls head over heels for Eden.

In these parallel timelines we finally understand the enigmatic Tyler’s complex story and his innermost thoughts – on his dad, his mom, on Tiffani and Eden – all the things Eden wasn’t witness to. And, crucially, the reader gains heartbreaking insight into why Tyler becomes the self-obsessed, angry and unhappy guy we encounter in DIMILY.

This utterly addictive rollercoaster of a novel gives voice to one of the most adored characters in Estelle Maskame’s extraordinary international bestseller, Did I Mention I Love You?

This was such a beautiful and heartbreaking read. So please excuse me while I pick myself up from the floor and wipe away my many tears.

I will admit that I have never read or even heard of this series. *hangs head in shame.* I went into this book, slightly sceptical because I had no idea if I needed to read the main series first. Thankfully this was not the case. So, if like me, you are going to start this amazing and wonderful series with Tyler’s story have no fear. I will warn you now that it may leave you with the desire to read the rest of the series!

I immediately fell in love with Just Don’t Mention It. It was one of those books that once you get stuck into it, that’s it. Hooked. I looked forward to getting back into the story after work and being thrust back into this beautiful and sad story.

We journey with Tyler throughout the entire story where we read him in the present and the past, 5 years ago.

I will mention now that there is a trigger warning of child abuse. The chapters set in the past broke my heart – literally. It was so difficult and hard to read but so perfectly executed. Estelle does not go head first into the horrific drama between Tyler and his dad, it is built up over time. The tension is felt during those particular moments. I always had a horrible feeling in my stomach that something awful was going to happen and at times it was difficult to read. This made these chapters so intense and kept me on my toes.

The present-day chapters showed Tyler’s rage and his extreme desire to protect himself, having built a massive wall around himself. This was as equally heartbreaking. Through reading his past it was understandable and made sense as to why he chose to rebel and “act out.” I honestly thought I might hate Tyler but it was really hard not to love him because of everything that he had been through.

Apart from this breaking my heart, something did make my heart flutter. The romance between Tyler and Eden. OMG. Stepsiblings falling in love with one another. YES. I am all for this.

Thankfully the romance developed slowly which I really enjoyed. Being able to see Tyler and Eden get to know each other as stepsiblings before developing a romantic relationship was perfect. It felt real.

I can only give this book and stunning 5 stars. It was too perfect. The pacing over the story was fantastic, steady but hooking. I am currently purchasing my order of the first 3 books – I loved it that much!