Life Without

by Ben Warden

STEVEN GOODMAN has everything! He attends all the most glamorous functions and his multi-million pound Notting Hill flat is full of luxurious spaces, gizmo's and gadgets. However Steve's life is not as perfect as it seems. In his flat, behind a locked door, is everything that reminds him of SOPHIE. Almost one year on from the Valentine's day that ended their marriage, Steve still hasn't managed to get one word from the girl that he used to describe as his butterfly. In a desperate and immature bid to regain some happiness, Steve throws himself at a high risk venture. Going into business with JULIAN STROKE, a famous but highly strung artist, seems like the perfect solution to the missing excitement in his life. As the new venture takes a twist, throwing him back into Sophie's life, Steve finds his relationships, his sanity and his money pushed to the brink.

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Ben Warden has loved storytelling for as long as he can remember, but he didn't get involved in writing until University. Having been one of those annoying 80's kids that constantly walked round with a home video camera (filming nothing of interest), Ben set off to Canterbury Christ Church University to take Film, Television and Radio. It was in his second year on the programme that he decided to take a scriptwriting course and quickly fell in love with writing.

Having spent several years in Canterbury and a brief time in Northamptonshire, Ben is back living and writing in York and has recently graduated from an MA in Creative Writing at York St John University.

Ben has written for several years, in a number of formats, but 'Life Without,' published in Nov 2012, is his first novel. The next is on its way.

Reviews

[Alana Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

LIFE WITHOUT starts with a sex scene. I thought “Hello, is this what the book’s about?” It isn’t. The scene acts as an indicator of where the main character, Stephen (Steve) Goodman is in his life at that moment. But the book is so much more than that.

It could have been so much better, as a read, if spelling, wrong word usage and poor punctuation didn’t litter it. As well, I thought the language could do with tightening up.

I was not going to persevere but I’m pleased I did because, unlike much fiction from young male authors who tend to write in the action, sci-fi and fantasy genres, this one is refreshingly contemporary. I liked the storyline very much.

Steve is a 30 year old Londoner who seemingly has it all: striking looks, intelligence, fabulous job, money enough to own a multi-million pound apartment in Notting Hill, women falling at his feet and a best friend he can rely on. However, there are two things he doesn’t have. The first is his wife, the woman he adores, who left him because of his infidelity. The second is a career he cares about. The opportunity to pursue his dream career comes in the form of an unreliable depressive artist, well-known Julian Storm. Why he hitches his wagon to someone unreliable is for you to find out by reading the book.

As I have said, the story is fresh, I liked the way it flowed and I liked the plentiful use of dialogue to drive it along.

A final comment: the title intrigued me. LIFE WITHOUT. Without what? You find out in the story’s final words and I loved it. Such a good title.

[Rachel Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Life Without. It is stylishly written with well-drawn characters that I empathised with. There is quite a small cast of characters that I really felt like I got to know and I really cared about what happened to them as the story unfurled. I was particularly fond of Sophie. It takes true courage to fully forgive someone and I really admired Sophie's quiet strength. No chunks of dull description, all unfolds through dialogue and action which gripped me. While being stylish, the writing is very accessible, not tiring to read and thus it is easy to immerse yourself in the story. The story itself was quite unusual, a bit different from the usual boy-meets-girl rom com. All in all, it certainly kept me turning those pages.

[Janette Clennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read

Some people are just born lucky. Steve knew he was, but luck comes in different forms. In this enjoyable book Steves life is shaken up until he finds exactly where his luck lies. An entertaining and enjoyable read.

[Sara Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a romance novel written from the male perspective. I wasn't a big fan of the protagonist but I quite enjoyed reading the book. Essentially, it's the story of a man who has had a charmed life until everything falls apart. I gave this a 2/5 because the characters were not very realistic and the story was unbelievable. I guess with this review you may wonder why it's even 2/5 but it was refreshing reading such a chick-lit style story written by a man with a male perspective.

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. Shouted aloud at the main character choices, laughed out loud at his choices and loved the ending. A feel good book!