This Is Not Over by Holly Brown

HarperCollins Publishers | January 2017 | 400 pgs

Source: Library

It all started with the stained sheets. Dawn and her husband, Rob, had rented a vacation house by the beach for four days and when Dawn later found out that she would lose $200 of the deposit due to the stained sheets, she lost her cool. Miranda, the host, thinks otherwise and thought Dawn has agreed to the terms since she has not heard from her. From there, they started firing each other with accusing emails and texts, calling each other names and proceeds to stalk each other's life online.

But behind these battles hide a bigger fa�ade as Dawn and Miranda each has their family history and secrets to hide from their spouse respectively. For Dawn, she came from a family who offered her minimal love and attention and her teenage life was a mess; hooking up with boys and such until she met her current husband, Rob. Rob didn't know about her past and Dawn sees her marriage as a new start, until she sees Miranda as a threat and she feels she needs to resurrect the old Dawn as she was.

Miranda, on the other end, is a doctor's wife and though her financial status is far better off than Dawn, she relies on the rental income so that she could continue to send money to her 27-year-old son, Thad. Miranda knew Thad is still using drugs on and off and that he also requires money for his art works but she is not willing to cut him off completely the way her husband, Larry, did. Thus, she views Dawn as a threat after the latter has left several nasty and negative reviews on websites and defame her reputation as a trusted host.

As these two different women are set to ruin each other's life, what they didn't realise is their behaviours and the deeds they have done are spiralling out of control and in no time their secrets would be laid bare and would shatter everything they have built all this time. This Is Not Over is a refreshing multi-layered tale about a mundane domestic disagreement which has gone haywire and though what Dawn and Miranda did to each other are way overboard, in some ways some of their behaviours are relatable as at times we will encounter some frustrating or annoying matters and people and whether or not we would let things slide or keep them to heart and make ourselves miserable. Dawn and Miranda aren't likeable characters, that's for sure but they are unforgettable and their stories will remind us about causes and consequences.

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