Made Of Glass

by Kim Padgett-Clarke

Emily and Clare are sisters who share a special bond. Clare is overweight, plain looking, and has epilepsy.
When Daniel comes into Clare’s life, all her dreams have come true. Daniel is handsome, successful, and to Clare’s amazement, is attracted to her. Clare finally has a man who will give her a loving relationship.
But Daniel is not all he seems to be. He is a control freak, who will do anything to keep Clare to himself. When Emily tells Daniel that she’s found out who he really is, he has to take drastic action to get Emily out of their lives, for good.

412 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2016

About the author

Kim is from Blackpool, England. Before writing her first novel, she wrote more than 70 short stories which were published in magazines and anthologies.

Like all good writers, Kim is an avid reader. She likes books with a strong emotional element, such as 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett and 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini.

Reviews

[P Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinion stated are solely my own and no one else's"

3.5 -4 stars

Made of Glass was intense, dark and outright disturbing.

I liked the relationship between the two sisters. However, Emily was too over protective to the point that she became overbearing. I felt sorry for Claire; she's been wrapped in a bubble so much that it hinders her ability to be independent. Daniel doesn't coddle her but encourages her to be more independent. However, he steadily changes; becoming more controlling, possessive and unpredictable. There were times when Daniel literally gave me the creeps; he was cold, manipulative and cunning.

I liked the story but I felt like it dragged on, too much, in places. There were a lot of secondary characters which at times felt overwhelming. I liked Emily in the beginning but as the story progressed, I didn't like her attitude. She was controlling, albeit in a caring way, but her behaviour towards Luke was harsh and mean. I understood her concerns but she holds Clare back to the point it became suffocating. Claire was really timid, naive, jumpy and nervous. With Daniel's support she became more independent but he was also pulling the strings to control her life.

Daniel's character was developed really well; his traumatic past leads him down a destructive path. He won't trust women and will never allow a woman to
control or hurt him.

This was a slow paced book, long winded in parts and the ending felt rushed.

This was a good read even though it's not the sort of book I usually go for. The book was written well but I wish I could have warmed to the characters a lot more. The two sisters lacked in balance I.e. one was too timid whereas, the other was too overprotective. The author did a brilliant job with Daniel's character.

[Erin Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me very uncomfortable but sometimes only a great storyline can do that so I'm not complaining. I noticed that some readers really didn't like Emily because she was manipulative and she was but that turned out to be a good thing for Claire so I'm not sure I can say I didn't like her. I think she was controlling, yes, but not to the point of being sinister and there were moments when the love she had for her sister really came through and I had to like her a little bit more. The only real exception was with Emily's scene with Vanessa. Her treatment of her and disregard for Vanessa's emotional state made me want to give Emily a good shake. No one was a perfect character and I give the author two thumbs up for achieving this dynamic. Daniel's depiction was good but he seemed a little more nuanced at the beginning than as the book wore on. I don't know if this was because his character/personality was degenerating or because the author just decided to make him comic book evil with no subtlety. But he was creepy af and reading his scenes made the hairs on my arms stand up! The ending was abrupt and sometimes scenes and descriptions ran a tad too long but this didn't detract from the story too much because the narrative was gripping. Excellent concept and excellent book!