The Story of Us: Carnage, Book 1

WOW. WOW. WOW!!!!!! What a beautiful, gut-wrenching and epic love story!!This was a non-stop, edgy, passionate, and emotional roller coaster ride from start to finish and I LOVED IT!!!! It made me feel everything. It consumed me. It took over my life. I couldn't put it down, didn't want to stop reading, and I know that I will never forget this story.But please note that this is not your typical romance story. It completely shattered all my "book rules", but my love for this story makes it an exception to my rules and this is without a doubt one of my top favorites now. I know I'll be re-reading it for years to come but just please go into it with a very, very open mind.So, what's the story about? .... I'm going to tell you as little as possible because this is truly the kind of story that you should just experience for yourselves but here's what the story is about:"I was eleven years old, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was staring into the eyes of the boy I was going to love forever."... then that boy grew up to be a world famous rock star. Carnage tells a story that spans two decades. We see Gia and Sean grow up together and fall in love. True, unchanging, unwavering forever LOVE."I'll love you forever G, wherever I am in the world, whatever I'm doing, it will always be you."I'm torn about how much to tell you about the story. If you genuinely want to know nothing, just skip down the review past the part with all the quotes and just read the stuff I wrote after them but here's a little bit if you want to have an idea of what you're getting into....This author has an incredible writing style that puts you right into the characters' hearts. I loved the innocence of their teenage love. They were so full of hopes and dreams and plans..."I'm fifteen years old, he's seventeen and there's nothing we don't know about love and life, we have it all worked out... We have a connection that no one else understands, we know that other people think we're just a couple of kids and we know how wrong they are."But as Sean's band grows in popularity, things change. To the world, he was a rock god. To her, he was just the boy she'd been in love with since she was a kid. I don't want to give away too much but I want to share this one line because it's just such an epic moment. Here's this guy with a world of fame, women, drugs, and scandals thrown in his face and he gets up on stage and this is what he says..."All you ladies in the crowd tonight have gotta appreciate the fact that I'm a one woman type of bloke and I love my girl. I've love my girl since the very first day I set eyes on her and back then she was just a girl... but I've had the pleasure these past few years of watching her grow into an absolutely beautiful young woman and as much as I love touring and playing in front of you lot every night, I'm counting down the days till I'm back in England and in her arms."The intensity of their love for each other doesn't change but there are outside influences that tear them apart and I feel that you should know that a part of this book is a second chance romance. They are torn apart for a few years and even though their love for each other always is the most important thing in their hearts, there is a love triangle of sorts. It's probably not what you're thinking though because it certainly wasn't what I expected. Just like the rest of the book, it was totally unconventional and I honestly thought the way the author portrayed it was brilliant."Such sad eyes. Who hurt you, Georgia? Who took the light out of those pretty blue eyes, eh?"At the lowest point in her life, Cam helps her heal and slowly brings her back to life even knowing that her heart will forever belong to Sean. And I don't want to give things away but I'll just say that please be understanding as you read -- all is not as it seems."Cam, I really do like you but you need to know, you need to understand... There's only him, it will always be him, there's no room for anyone else. Wherever we go with this, you need to understand that my heart is sealed and there's only him that's locked inside."*Sniff*Love is messy.My heart hurt so much. It's like the worst kind of romantic pain when the heart has been broken enough to cause emotional devastation but not enough to make you stop loving that person with every fiber of your being. So you love and you hate and you hurt so much because you still love that person with all your heart and always will. It's ugly, raw, and devastating. But it's real. I loved this book because it portrays a kind of "forever love" I believe in so strongly.But even though there is separation, it's not forever and we do see an absolutely epic, beautiful reunion, The thing is that even though I loved Cam, Gia's heart belonged to Sean and always would."There's no one else. There never was. It's still only ever you.""... it's suddenly all too much, he cries, I cry, we cling to each other and everything is just as it should be. Sean and Georgia, Georgia and Sean. Us against the world."Gah. I can't even read that without crying.There is so much more that happens but I'm going to stop here because I hope I've told you enough to make you want to discover the rest for yourselves. This is the kind of story you just need to be brave about, dive in, and let it take over."Georgia Rae, when we made love you used to cry"... He waits for me to sing my bit. I try to swallow down a sob but I just end up singing through it..."I said I love you like the stars above, I'll love you till I die."Guys, throughout the entire story, my heart was pounding, fluttering, melting, breaking. There were no lulls. The intensity poured off of every single page. You know that feeling you get where you're almost breathless with how much you care for the story?? Where you have tears in your eyes just because you are feeling so much?? That was what I felt like from start to finish. This story will give you ALL THE FEELS.I know so many of you are curious about the ending and I refuse to spoil it but I will say this: I can totally understand why someone would hate the ending, and I can also totally understand why readers are completely in love with this book. The story ends at a place that makes perfect sense given the events that occur, but there will be a sequel coming out this summer. I both feel this story ended in the right place and am also looking forward to the sequel but very am happy that these two phases in the story were clearly separated and I'm so glad I read this now and didn't wait. Just always remember that this is an atypical romance so go in with a very open mind. It breaks all the rules and is not what we're used to. It's beautiful and devastating at the same time.This was my status update when I finished the book...I hate that I loved this book so much. But I did love it even though right now I hate it.Even though the story was entirely unique, the closest in feeling only that I can come to is actually "Thoughtless" (ish). The love of this girl's life becomes a rock star and gets sucked into the uglier side of that world: drugs, women, scandals, fame, etc. but they just have this kind of passionate love that defies everything life throws at it and just doesn't let go. Gah, it's very painful and messy and there are elements to this story that would sometimes send me running for the hills in some books but with the way it was written, I just loved it.LOVED IT.I also want to note that this book is currently in the process of being professionally edited and a free upgrade will be available as soon as that is complete. Right now, there are a fair number of "errors" in the book: spelling, grammar, misused words, incorrect punctuation etc -- BUT - I loved the story enough that I totally overlooked this element of it so please don't let it stop you from reading it, just be aware and forgiving as you read. Oh, also there's this one recurring line in the book that I still really don't like but I think it's just a personal thing and it didn't make me love the story any less but I figure in the interest of full honesty, I'll just mention that it exists. (PS: don't wait for the corrected version to start -- just dive in now. It's worth it!)I finished reading this book a day ago and I'm still sitting here feeling overwhelmed with the emotions from it. It still feels like I literally just finished reading. The kind of emotions it evokes are so raw and powerful that they just don't let go. I love that this book was so different. I love that it broke all the rules. And I love that I loved it despite the fact that it broke all the rules. But most of all, I am so grateful to have experienced this epic love story. I know I'll never forget it. I know I'll re-read it over and over again. And, I know it'll always be in my heart.Rating: 5+ STARS!!! An unconventional, atypical, epic love story.PS -- Bring tissues.

This story was many things- a Rockstar story, a coming of age story, a study in being flawed and weak. It was also unexpectedly a bit of a love triangle. It's the first of a series and ends in a cliffhanger of sorts.It opens in the early 1980s England with pretty, smart, savvy and precocious Georgia taking one look at the new boy (Sean) and knowing he was "the one" despite her being only 11 years old to his 13 years. This was more than a standard romance novel in that you get a little immersed in 1980s Brittish culture, slang, music, fashion etc... as well as the comprehensive journey alongside Georgia as she grows up, through her eyes. And if you were ever taught about the concept of an unreliable narrator, I think this is a decent example of it. Her worldview and way of processing what's happening around her is limited by her youth and experience and as an adult reader you can see her mistakes, poor choices, misunderstandings way before she does down the road. It makes it all a bit poignant, seeing this girl grow and learn.This book is written from a singular point of view- Georgia's. And Georgia is fully 3 dimensional...the author does not take the easy way out by creating trauma to justify the things she does, she allows Georgia to just be human and sometimes wrong. And there are times it was frustrating to see. While Georgia goes from 11 to her 30s in this novel, and we watch her go through puberty and lose her virginity etc at no point is this character what I would describe as innocent, meek, shy or any of the things we tend to associate with young girls. She's fairly self aware, she's fearless and impulsive and aggressive in her pursuit of what she wants. She was fascinating.I refuse to do spoilers so the story itself, you need to just read it. Let it unfold... it's not neat and clean. It's raw.10/10 recommend.As for some basic ratings-Heat/spice- 🔥🔥🔥 (3 out of 5)Tropes- Rockstar, love triangle, age gap, mild organized crime, first love, second chance, virginStop reading if you don't want a list of triggers. And yes, there are a number of them***********Triggers (possibly incomplete list because I may forget some)A lot of Drug use (Cobain, ecstacy, weed, alcohol and more)Drug overdoseGun violencePregnancy lossInfant lossDeath of pregnant woman (not main character)MurderDeathCheatingAdulterySuicideThis is an 80s and 90s rock and roll scene, when cocain is used casually and freely without stigma, sex is casual without stigma. It also follows and extended period of time for our main character and as such life happens. Some of it beautiful and some of it tragic.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s well written, with an in depth and well thought out plot, lots of detail and lots happening. But I didn’t feel like the male characters were really that well developed. When I thought there was a choice to be made I found that I didn’t really care who she choose and realised that I didn’t feel connected to any of the main male characters. I also didn’t actually feel that connected to George, even though it’s all told from her POV I still don’t feel like she had much of a stand out personality, she’s just a bit bland.But, the fact that I still finished this book and will read the 2nd, shows that the plot and writing is good and interesting enough to keep me engaged.There are a few typos and missing words but nothing significant enough to ruin the flow of the book.

I can not even comprehend the vocabulary i would need to use to describe what I felt reading this book. It was all over the place and I don’t mean that as a negative it’s a positive. The chaos of the plot, the characters and the writing translated on page to that gut churning feeling within yourself. The journey you go on throughout this is mind blowing. My heart couldn’t cope reading. It was a brutal, honest, passionate account of obsessive love.The story is centred around Shaun and Georgia who meet when she is 11 and he is 13 years old and from that moment on they are inseparable.It continues throughout their lives and details their life changing moments. These two transcended just love it was ethereal, passionate and albeit sometimes quite toxic. I found myself endeared by these two from the very first moment. Shaun is a rockstar on track to make it big in the world. Georgia is not some wallflower. She is a princess well and truly nurtured and protected by her family, with three older brothers she has never known any different. Georgia though has claws she is ready to battle for what she wants but the biggest part of Georgia is Shaun and Shaun is Georgia. Their identities are so entwined with each other that when they don’t have each other they lose themselves.It’s the story of rockstars, full of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I felt every single word on these pages from start to finish. It was perfectly imperfect. I held my breath at points, physically unable to contain the pain portrayed throughout. I was moved by the writing and how real it was. It wasn’t a story perfectly wrapped in a bow presented with a happily ever after. It was raw. It was real. It was honest. I was blown away by the way this author was able to portray the characters, the environment and the situations that arose. The family element was also heartwarming to see. Seeing them as a group that had so much care and love for each other was really special. That ending killed me absolutely wrecked me. I couldn’t even register what I was reading. I had to reread it a few times before it sank in. There are a lot of dimensions to this book that I wouldn’t be able to convey in this without giving a lot away. So I just urge you if you like a messy love story pick this up even though it is so so much more.

Carnage was an interesting read for me - in many ways it reminded me of a mixture of past books I had read (namely one about a band that hit it big, but I cannot for the life of me remember the name of that one; it's a YA book probably from the 1980s I think) and also, randomly, Notting Hill!Sean is in a band - a rock star in the making so to speak. His world is made up of family, and chosen family - the latter being the rest of his band, and Georgia; the love of his life and the only girl for him. He's loved her since they were young - too young to even know what love is, and counts her as one of his main reasons for just even living. She's always been there for him through friendship and love, supporting each other in every way possible even as his band heads for the big time.However, fame brings with it its own trouble and turmoil and soon there are stories - too many stories - in the press, online, being fed to Georgia's ears. She's always found the groupies hard to cope with but then there's an incident with one specific groupie and that's it - game over! Georgia breaks up with Sean, and shuts herself off completely from his life; doesn't listen to their music, avoids reading about them in any published media outlet, and doesn't let her family talk to her about him at all, in any way, shape or form.Some years later, enter Cam - an attractive mobster (she doesn't realise this at first) who is very taken with Georgia and determined to make her his. And, eventually (annoyingly) she does give in to his advances - only to have life change with incredible turmoil again, and heap upside down. I never like to give spoilers so I am trying to avoid here but one thing I will say - the climax of the novel towards the end was heartbreaking, and so unfair - but for me personally, I felt that it had been rushed too. I think it would have been far more effective if we had another five or so pages BEFORE life exploded, but that's just me personally.Any enjoyable read by a new author to me!

5 stars does not do this book justice!I was hooked from the very first page. I loved the fact that this was set in and around Essex and the author was English. I loved the writers style, wit and colloquial slang. The characters were down to earth and so easy to fall in love with. I also like the fact that this book covers a time span of about 2 decades and starts when the characters were in their preteens. We get to watch the characters grow and develop right into adulthood.The ability of this author to make me cry one minute and howl with laughter the next is amazing. I don't think I have ever read a book that sucked me in, chewed me up and spat me back out as much as this one did. I really felt part of their lives. This book has shot to #1 as being my all time favourite. This book will stay with me for a very long time.Be warned, it does finish on a cliff hanger! I was so glad book two was available to jump straight into. This book is responsible for the biggest book hangover I have ever had!

Oh god. Where do I begin. Firstly, the writing style was right up my alley, from the UK myself a lot of the lingo in the book I was familiar with, so personally was an easy to read prose,but can understand the need for the glossary for those readers over the pond or elsewhere!The story. I read the reviews. I read it on forums. I texted my husband who's currently away warning him I may be a mess and he might need to come home to cuddle me. All I was prepared for, was that this story would make me cry. Everyone is very tight lipped about it. I'm not even going to lie, halfway through I even googled to see if what u thought might happen, happened. Not even Google would tell me. I can only say, I am so, so grateful for the non spoilers.This has to be the most beautifully tragic, emotionally charged epic love stories I have ever read. These characters will be forever there in the back of my mind, simmering under the surface of every love story I'll read in the future.I cannot express how fantastic the authors writing is, the way the story is told is extremely well done, its more of a diary, making you feel even closer to the personal feelings and actions that take place. The music is classically British, I knew all the songs and therefore sang along within the story. I highly recommend you listen to them.Read it. Dont hesitate, dont overthink it, and dont search for spoilers. You dont need them. You need to throw yourself in headfirst, grab the Kleenex and put that bit of guard up around your heart.The dice was loaded from the start, I bet. And you exploded in my heart.