Ten Mile Bottom by Teodora Kostova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
Hitting rock bottom is just the beginning…
I’m a son, a brother, a friend.
A writer.
An addict.
Dead.
Cardiac arrest isn’t enough to keep me dead, though. The doctors brought me back, but for what?At twenty four I’ve already achieved what most people do in a life time. I’m a successful author, own a flat in the heart of London and drive my dream sports car.
Or at least that’s what people see.
Once the spotlight fades, I’m left alone with my overactive mind, alcohol and drugs the only way to quiet down the noise.
Until an overdose nearly kills me and drags everyone I love down with me.
With the help of my best friend, I leave London and its toxic influence behind, moving to a small town in the outskirts of Cambridge to try and put my life back together again.If only it were that easy.
This was a really heavy, strong book.
We meet Finn, a 24 year old drug addict who is at a turning point in his live and is forced to change it completely. When his live is on a knife edge he has only one chance: start a new life, get away from the tempting drugs. His new life does he find in Ten Mile Bottom, a city in the middle of nowhere, where he meets the mechanic Ben, who is intrigued by the new member of the city.
Soon between the both a chemistry is there, a certain bond. We read the book from Finn’s PoV, and being this close with him, helps as the reader to understand him better.
Finn isn’t having an easy life. He is a drug addict, is suffering from his dad’s death, his relationship with his mother is more than strained and his only support comes from his sister Renee and his best friend and maybe greatest support Aiden, to whom he has a special relationship and who’s actions make more sense within the book.
It’s sometimes hard to endure this mysery, the heavy stuff Finn has experienced and especially when it comes to his problems with his mother is heartclenching. On one hand I can understand him, on the other she, but in the end it’s nothing Finn can help her mother with; and I loved how the author delivered it in the book.
I also think the display of being an addict is succedded and realistic. The author mentiones herself in the foreword a few personal things and I see a MC who is aware of his missteps and his addiction but knows he can’t be cured and it’s always a part of him.
Ben as the love interest is displayed in a very supportive way and I loved how they created a new realtionship, how Ben is a trying to be a friend first and later is one of the greatest supporters and Finn realises what he has with him. Under the exterior Ben is so much more and I love we saw sometimes a shy, vulnerable side.
This book was really capturing, heavy and not light stuff but so worth to read it. It’s the first book I’ve read by the author and it won’t be the last. 5 out of 5 stars for it.
Check out my Instragram post about this book. :3
Mikku-chan 