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3 out of 4 stars
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In Wicked Games and Wasted Years, Amanda Jane Schiller presents a masterpiece about a universal pain, which is the pain of being in love and dealing with a narcissist; juxtaposed with this is a heartbreaking journey of grief and the unsure, unlikely road to healing.
Sara is a young woman trying to work through her grief over losing her brother and only sibling when she meets Brandon. He is charming and loving; Sara gets swept off her feet and believes that Brandon does indeed love her. They get married, and Brandon throws away the charade of being loving and instead shows her his true, unloving colors. Sara's story is a familiar story about loving someone even though they hurt you constantly. It's a story about being burnt repeatedly by the same fire. It is a story about a marriage that feels like an inescapable, impenetrable prison. Brandon is her narcissistic lover who constantly blows hot and cold; there is never a middle ground with him. He's either hurting her or manipulating her into thinking that she is the villain when in fact, she's not. He gaslights her and controls every narrative, every scenario, every situation in their life as a couple. How does Sara deal with this, coupled with the fact that she is still grieving her brother's death?
The truthfulness of this story is its most endearing attribute. In this book, Amanda Jane Schiller literally wrote about real people's relationships with real-life narcissists. It felt like reading someone's life story in the confessional segment of a newspaper or tabloid. The shame, confusion, agony, bitterness, and hatred portrayed through Sara in this book were so real, so raw, and so honest. Sara's abject hopelessness was literally screaming through the pages of this book. This book told an honest story of the pain that loving the wrong person can bring. It told of how such love drains a person of happiness and how it stretches a person too thin and also steals their sanity and self-respect.
On the downside, I found too many grammatical errors in this book. It did not seem like it was professionally edited. The editing was careless; there were many avoidable errors made in the book. I think the author should subject it to another round of thorough editing.
Besides the myriad grammatical errors present in this book, I still think it is a masterpiece. It is a really interesting story. Based on this, I would give the novel three out of four stars.
I recommend this book to anyone who has dealt with a narcissist before or is currently dealing with a narcissist. This story is an enduring lesson that in loving people, you need to be careful not to lose yourself. I would also recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller. For anyone in a book club, this is sure to provide different topics for a good and enlightening discussion.
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Wicked Games and Wasted Years
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