Thirst

Give me a book, sun, sea and sand and I can read you an entire library. However pass me one during my day to day life when I ought to want to escape reality most, I find it hard to get inside the pages.

Recently however I was feeling the real need to get away from the hustle and bustle of London, escape the long periods of emptiness staring outside foggy windows and block out the social media scene that is saturated with uninspiring, self absorbed dramas.

I was gifted Thirst by Kerry Hudson for my birthday. The story of two people who despite their differences, their difficult pasts, fight to be together no matter what odds.

Reading the first line the story the book begins set on glamorous New Bond Street. I was humoured by this as I also work on New Bond Street and could see the person who gifted me this could obviously feel there was some parallels within the pages with my own life. I was hooked from the word go and not just because of the immediate resemblance. As you read through you will understand that my life is actually rather opposite to Alena, the heroine in the book, but yet there are many themes we can all relate to. Love, fear, longing, guilt. The old fashion fight for love that makes you believe fairytales do exist yet set in the modern setting of grimy Hackney and cold Russia.

The story follows Alena, a Russian girl with hopes of living the London dream that is crashed by the dark world of sex trafficking. Her tragic journey is revealed throughout the book with flashback between her and her estranged lover. The couple meet in unfortunate circumstances when Alena steels shoes from the store Dave is working in as a security guard.

His immediate captivation in her is somewhat strange yet intriguing and incredibly passionate that it melts your heart. The story continues with the two falling in love whilst battling the secrets of their pasts, both dark in their own ways.

I don't want to ruin it for you so i won't divulge in the story much more but urge you to go and pick up this book. The passionate highs that circulate the smallest of happiness' combined with the dramatic, dark lows of both their pasts is a roller coaster that has inspired me and reignited my love for reading again.

It is so true how much reading can bring to your life. Words become easier, the day to day life you always live becomes more colourful as you begin to narrate your own story - the shops, streets you once visited become this descriptive backdrop to what was once ordinary. My empty minutes, hours and days are filled with something much more magical and my days feel more substantical and productive. I am buzzing with excitement as I write this, as cringe as it is to be able to bring something of substance to conversations and share this experience with more people that enjoy writing. I even had the geeky excitement of Kerry tweeting me back on Twitter for my big review.

So, looking for a book to snuggle up with this winter? This one, Thirst is the one for your list.