NEW RELEASE
Less Than Perfect - Ber Carroll (2011)
Irish Catholic Caitlin O'Reilly was raised in a family where rules and knowing right from wrong meant everything. Her father raised her to believe that if she lived her life within the rules she world be safe and could achieve perfection. At 18 she meets her first love, Protestant, Josh McKinstry. A tragic event shatters her image of the perfect life she thought she had, and destroys forever her family and hometown. It also ruins her faith in her father. She flees Ireland to start a fresh life in Australia, where she tries to get away from all of the painful memories of her past and her fractured family. However, her past continues to haunt her in every aspect of her life - from her job, friends and love life. When she meets police officer Matthew, who always lives his life within the rules, her defences start to crumble and she is forced to confront the issues that she has long kept hidden. Will she lose someone close to her again or will she learn that being less than perfect is OK? This is one of those great books where I grew to care about the characters. I was touched by Caitlin's story and wanted to follow her on her journey. (LF)
Ber Carroll's latest novel Less Than Perfect asks the question: Can we ever really leave our past behind? The summary says: "From an early age, Caitlin O'Reilly was taught by her father to strive for nothing short of perfection. Growing up in a small town in the north of Ireland, she tries to live up to his expectations, and when she goes to university and falls in love for the first time, she thinks everything really is perfect. Until one day when the town, her love and her family, are completely destroyed. Ten years later, Caitlin has created a new life for herself in Melbourne, leaving her past and her family firmly behind. But when she meets Matthew and finds herself falling in love again, what happened in Ireland is suddenly closer and more relevant than ever, unearthing all the hurts and betrayals and secrets she has tried so hard to bury. As Caitlin's life reaches another crisis point, it seems that there is nothing she can do to keep her past and her present from colliding." Less Than Perfect is out in April.