Monday 25 June 2018

Blog Tour- Just Don't Mention It



Tyler Bruce is your typical badboy. He drinks, does drugs and drives around fast in his expensive car. However, no one knows that all these things are just a distraction for Tyler. A distraction from thinking about how his dad physically abused him for four years of his life. When Tyler's stepsister Eden comes to visit, Tyler finds himself unable to keep up the badboy facade with her. Eden seems to see right through him, and Tyler's walls that he has so carefully constructed over the years start to crumble.
From the bestselling author of the DIMILY series, Just Don't Mention it focuses on Tyler's story, and how he became the person that Eden first meets in Did I Mention I Love You?


SO TODAY IS MY STOP ON THE JUST DON'T MENTION IT BLOG TOUR!! I thought I'd share my thoughts on the book and probably annoy the hardcore fans with my opinions. That's not to say I'm not a fan of the DIMILY series, the fact is that (plot twist) I haven't actually read it. Now before you gasp in horror, I did try! I fully intended to read the series before JDMI, but as it is such a popular series, all the copies were checked out of my local library. I do fully intend on reading the series at some point, but for now you'll have to accept the fact that my opinions on this book may be a little different than someone who has already followed these characters for three books, so apologies if I'm completely clueless on some things!

So from what I've learnt, this book is a retelling of the first book in the series from Tyler's point of view rather than Eden's. I can see why this would resonate with fans of the series, as Eden doesn't actually find out about Tyler's abusive childhood until towards the end of the book, whereas in JDMI, Tyler is struggling with his past throughout the book. I think I was giving Tyler a pass for being such an asshole because I knew why he was acting that way, whereas if I had read DIMILY first, I probably would have hated him. Reading this book has definitely made me want to read DIMILY, as I would love to know Eden's initial thoughts on Tyler.

The book is split into two parts, with the chapters alternating between the present and five years ago. Seeing Tyler's past and how the abuse he endured from his father was still affecting his mental health five years later was particularly difficult to read. I feel as if anyone who has suffered from physical abuse should be wary about reading this book, as although it is clearly an important topic that should be made aware of, I feel as if it could be particularly upsetting for people who can relate to Tyler's story. It was horrible to see Tyler defending his dad and lying to his mum about where he was getting his injuries so he wouldn't hurt his family. Although Tyler's mum was loving and caring, she was also missing some pretty big warning signs. She never questioned why Tyler was constantly getting injured so often, putting it down to Tyler hurting himself out of clumsiness. I felt as if she should have at least questioned the frequency he was getting hurt, and noticing how Tyler was frequently studying instead of playing with his brothers. Even though no parent wants to think that their child may be getting physically abused, it's important to question it if they're constantly covered in bruises. Tyler was too afraid to tell anyone, but he did want someone to know, so I felt as if he would have told the truth to an adult he trusted if they had been the first one to bring it up.

Being abused as a child often leads to mental health problems later in life, which is exactly what happened to Tyler. He felt as if he couldn't tell his friends about what had happened to him, as he was afraid of coming across as weak. I loved how he eventually felt as if he was able to open up to Eden, and not have to keep up the bad boy act with her. I did however feel as if Eden was a little pushy at times.

I'm a little torn over the romance side of things, as although it was sweet at times, I felt as if Tyler and Eden were constantly making bad decisions. I was shocked that Eden would kiss Tyler while knowing that he had a girlfriend, as she initially came across as quiet and shy. I felt as if her personality changed drastically, as she was soon kissing someone else's boyfriend and getting drunk at parties. Although Tiffani was horrible and manipulative, I still don't think she deserved to be cheated on along with having to find that out from someone else. Something else I was surprised at was how Eden seemed to go straight from hating Tyler to kissing him. Now I'm all for the enemies to lovers trope, but it seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm sure if I had read DIMILY and saw the situation from Eden's perspective, this wouldn't have been the case, but from Tyler's point of view, there didn't seem to be any sort of build up.

Both Estelle and the publisher have told me JDMI can be read as a stand alone, but I do personally think that I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read DIMILY first. I think reading Eden's story first would definitely have made me more invested in Tyler's story, as there were quite a few things that Eden did that had me wondering what the reasoning behind them was.I also feel as if I would have liked Eden more as a character if I had known her thoughts and feelings. Even though I wasn't that keen on the romance, I did love the important messages, and I definitely want to read DIMILY to see if my opinions on Eden change!

Half ratings aren't something I usually do, but I think I would have to make an exception for this one and give it a 3.5

Just Don't Mention It is now available to purchase!

  | Amazon Book Depository




Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour!





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