Blog Tour – Roam by Erik Therme

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Roam by Eric Therme
Published by Threcker Books on April 16th 2018
Genres: Psychological, Psychological Thriller, Abuse
Pages: 245
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

When Kevin finds Sarah stranded by the side of the road, he’s more than willing to give her a ride. Young, beautiful and distraught—she’s everything a single guy could ask for in a girl. What he doesn’t know is that she already has a guy: an abusive, drunken boyfriend who left her there in a fit of rage. And when that boyfriend comes back and finds Sarah missing, a simple ride will turn deadly.

Like Josh Gaylord and Daniel Kraus before him, author Erik Therme explores the angst of disconnected youth in his enthralling and powerful Roam. Therme’s darkly tinged novel is an unforgettable tale of three errant souls brutalized by life’s cruel circumstances, and a remarkable night of discovery and violence that will change them forever.

Thanks to Sarah at Book on The Bright Side for my copy of the book and my spot on the blog tour.  All thoughts are my own. 

This is my first outing into the creepy worlds created by the super talented Erik Therme.  He has masterfully created characters that are broken, strong and wilful for the right reasons.  Even though like me, you may never have entered this thriller galore world, but one thing feels certain through the fear and panic – the author is going to take good care of you.

In the first chapter we meet Sarah – a strong woman who should be having the time of her life.  It’s her 21^st birthday and she should be out celebrating with family and friends.  No – it becomes apparent that she is existing amongst duality of abuse.  Buckle up its about to go nuts.  Sarah and Matt have been dating for approximately 3 months and head out for her birthday.  On the way home, her car breaks down –  Now, even though Matt has had a few Jars he is displaying some troublesome behaviours.  After accidently hurting Matt he goes zero to batshit in 0.2 seconds.  He is passive aggressive , he begins the process of gas lighting and issues threats of stalking.  Now at this point I absolutely bow down to Sarah and her goddess strength.  She decides there and then to WALK AWAY. Yes! None of that I’m going to forgive him as has had one too many, she hands his ass to him and recognises her own self-worth. 

The secondary aspect of abuse in Sarah’s life and probably the most aggravating of all is that in the hands of her own mother.  Now, her mum herself is being abused at the hands of Sarah’s stepfather and she just says anything for a quiet life.  Everything that goes wrong or gets her partner angry is her fault and her mother makes it abundantly clear that Sarah should be doing the same with Matt because he’s a keeper.  Yeah, if a keeper is psychopathic sweetheart then yep fire ahead.  The cycle goes on, but Sarah will break the wheel.

Cementing her decision to leave Matt she walks away – quite literally via foot until the first car passes her.  She is picked up by Kevin and his friend –  they take her home until an argument with her mother turns sour and Kevin offers to take her to a friend.  There is an air of mystery to Kevin, he’s thoughtful, he’s interesting and above all he is respectful.  What is Kevin’s backstory? Knight in shining Armor or her worst nightmare?

Now to introduce the other man in Sarah’s life – Scotty.  God, my heart was torn one and another for this guy.  On the one hand broken by his father’s death but on the other acts extremely strangely and his reasoning for things is questionable at best.  He can be found roaming the hotel his fuck buddy (for want of a better word) works.  This is where we are introduced to Mandy – oh sweet sweet bitchy Mandy.  A high functioning head case.  She forgets to take birth control?? She is insanely jealous of Sarah and Scotty’s friendship and has a dog shit attitude towards the customers she is dealing with. 

The ending wasn’t necessarily surprising for me however, it was the journey that got us there that had me on tenterhooks.  It was great reading it from dual POV – Sarah and Scotty and we got a glimpse into the fragile psyche of Scotty which did put me off the trail for a portion of the story.  The slow burn of details being released had me intrigued and there were elements that were a complete shock. 

Roam is a tension filled drive.  A story of breaking the cycle and being worth more.  Dysfunction and violence.  This is an addictive read that ticks all the boxes that has you looking over your shoulder on dark nights.

 

---

Erik is also running a give away for readers to win either a digital copy of Roam which is open world wide or an audio copy of the book of which is only open to UK & US readers. The giveaway is running during the whole of the blog tour so be sure not to miss it! Enter below.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/791a8c8f5/?

Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa–one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature.

Connect with the Author

Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads|Website

Check out what other bloggers are saying about Roam.