He is Not Worthy

by Lis McDermott

Rhi Dobbs is head of the art department in a secondary school in Whittingbury, a small town on the south west coast of England. She has her dream job and lives in her own idyllic cottage by the sea with her cat Tibbs. Her life is more than she could ever hope for.
Ben Brooks is a loner who cares for his mum, who always makes him feel worthless. He is obsessed with a red-headed girl who he met several years ago, just once, on what was the worst day of his life. He lives his life vicariously through hers, until she does the unspeakable...
Tragic events and an inappropriate love affair mean that both of their lives will be changed forever.

270 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2022

About the author

I'm retired from my previous job as a professional photographer, and before that a music educationalist... now enjoying writing and mentoring others to write.

I live with my husband in the south west of England. While he works, I spend my days writing, drinking coffee, catching up with friends. I can't wait for him to be retired too (which will be a little while) - then we can spend more time together. We are both easy going and when I write, he listens to music!

I love to create characters who seem real to readers. My first novel was pubished when I hit 70 - so you're never too old to start something new!

I enjoy writing about relationships but always with some suspense or mystery involved too.

Reviews

[BookJunkie]

This book was awesome, from the floppy, beautiful paperback cover to the words written inside.

Although I wouldn’t class this as a fast paced read, the intrigue factor was definitely high and kept me hooked from the beginning. He is not worthy was more character based which I absolutely loved,

The main characters Rhi, Josh and Ben were all incredible written as were the other characters in the book who I also felt a deep connection with.

Following the story of Rhi as she deals with her inappropriate feelings, leaving her job and having a stalker on her tails ‘He is not worthy’ is definitely a gripping story wondering how it will all pan out in the end.

Rhi was extremely likeable from the offset. I felt a deep connection with Rhi especially since I have felt some of the torments in her life and when her and Josh both recognised how they felt about each other I felt completely exhilarated and excited for what was to come.

Ben on the other hand was creepy as hell. Obsessed to the max, but even still I didn’t see him as a bad person, I felt sorry for him.

Reading a book that is based mainly on the characters is a rarity for me. But I definitely enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.

[Ivy Logan]

Hardly a few pages into He Is Not Worthy I realized that this book might be about a teacher ~ student relationship. The Last such book I read was My Dark Vanessa about a teacher and teen student with a thirty year age gap. I was disgusted by the book not the least because there was nothing likeable in the MC of My Dark Vanessa.
But I digress. Rhi Dobbs, the teacher in He Is Not Worthy is extremely likeable. This is absolutely NOT A BOOK ABOUT GROOMING. Rhi fights to cover up her attraction for 18 year old Josh but when he makes the first move she melts. Rhi does not live in a dream world and 8 years older she is aware that she is in the wrong and for a long time she keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop and her perfect relationship to end.
He is Not Worthy tackles two difficult relationships ~ a teacher and student in love on one side and a stalker at the other end . What I love about this author is she doesn't set about vilifying anyone . She shows you how there are compelling reasons for the way people behave and why certain things happen. A brilliant 5 stars especially for that level of sensitivity and emotional maturity

[Claire Swain]

😽😻📚Claire Bear & Mel Mel's Book Reviews 📚😻😽 'He is Not Worthy' by Lis McDermott.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

About the Book: "Rhi Dobbs is head of the art department in a secondary school. She has her dream job and lives in her own idyllic cottage by the sea with her cat. Ben Brooks is a loner who cares for his mum, who always makes him feel worthless. He is obsessed with a red-headed girl who he met several years ago.
Tragic events and an inappropriate love affair mean that both of their lives will be changed forever."

My Review: Such an entertaining, immersive and gripping read. The main characters are three dimensional and the detailed background information brings the characters to life.
There are many unexpected twists and turns that kept me hooked throughout.
It is easy to become angry at the antagonist Ben but the author has done a brilliant job of showing his layers of vulnerability and possible reasons for his actions.
Rhi the protagonist is a strong independent female following her heart despite the crippling fear she has previously encountered and continues to experience in the novel.
I love how Rhi has a loving bond with her cat. I also enjoy how beautifully the author shows the friendship between Rhi and her best friend.
The ending is spot on, the author brings everything to a satisfying conclusion.

Triggers - Murder, Stalking & Domestic Violence.

A fantastic Debut Novel. I hope there will be more in the future. Highly Recommended for those who enjoy similar genres.

Disclaimer: My Book Reviews are based on my own opinions and experiences only.

If you would like to see more of my Book Reviews please visit - www.goodreads.com/clairebearmelmel
Or clairebearmelmel on Instagram

[Louise]

I would like to thank @silverwoodbooks, @randomthingsblog and @lismcdermott for a gifted copy of this book.
This review is my honest opinion.

This book centers around Rhi and her love for Josh. He was one of her students and as they ended up being together, she resigned from her job. During all this time she is also dealing with a stalker who is going as far as entering her house at various times when she is out and also when she is sleeping.

I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the start and the short chapters made it easy to fly through this book. I liked that it was from a few different point of views, seeing the scenarios play out and how each character dealt with things. I think Rhi was a great character, strong in her actions, even though she went through some bad times in the past. Her relationship with her friend Ali was strong and it was lovely to see them lean on each other through all the difficulties they faced.

I will be 100% be recommending this book.

[Patrice Gotting - #prdgreads]

My Thoughts: I love a book about a taboo relationship so this sounded right up my street!

Although it didn’t quite hit the mark for me on that part, although the smut we did get was spicy I couldn’t help but feel there wasn’t enough of it 😂

The main bulk of the story was about Rhi’s stalker, he starts with flowers and it soon escalates from there…

The story is told from lots of different perspectives, we have Rhi, Josh, Ben, Ali. I really enjoy a book from multiple perspectives and this one has the added element of showing is the same scene from the perspective of different characters which I loved, it really felt like we got a well rounded look at everything!

The chapters told from the perspective of Rhi’s stalker actually gave me goosebumps. Lis definitely writes a good stalker 😂

This book had funny moments, heart breaking moments, moments that had my heart in my mouth and moments that made me want to throw the book across the room.

I loved it!

[Lucy]

I was unprepared for this emotional highly tense romance that had me reading till late into the night! I haven’t read anything written by this author before but I definitely will be on the lookout for future releases.

Both Rhi and Ben were great as leading characters, exciting, realistic and relatable. The writing style was easy to follow and the plot flowed effortlessly. I was kept on the edge of my seat, not able to predict the conclusion.

This read is entertaining, thrilling and a whirlwind of love, lust and danger. An absolute must-read for fans of this genre!

He Is Not Worthy is available to buy now!

[Loveromancebooks21]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this book. I was gripped from the start and I absolutely loved the twists that the book had, they were really unexpected. The characters are really well developed and the writing is fantastic. As a cat lover myself, I loved the bond that Rhi had with hers. I also thought that Rhi was a really strong heroine and despite her previous horrible experiences I loved how she followed her heart. I thought the ending was great, it had a really satisfying conclusion.

[Susan Gray]

I enjoyed reading this novel. From the outset I related to each of the characters which were well developed. I loved the settings and the individual character descriptions. The concept of obsession was handled carefully and surprisingly I found myself having some sympathy for Ben. The chapters were short which encouraged me to read 'one more chapter' before switching out the light. Thank you Lis for an engaging, satisfying read.

[Pip Reads]

This was amazing! When I first started I wasnt sure if I would enjoy it because the trope/love story isn't my kind of thing but I really enjoyed it! It was funny, sad, mysterious. I found myself sat in shock at times!

[Pauline Tait]

Lis McDermott has hit the ground running with her debut novel, He Is Not Worthy. Gripping, and stunningly written, this is a novel that had me hooked from beginning to end, and holding my breath in places. A can't put down read. Thoroughly recommend!

[She Griffiths-Gibson]

We are meeting the author at our next Book Club meeting so I thought I'd familiarise myself with her writing, I enjoyed the storyline, perhaps a little predictable in certain places but I enjoyed it none the less xxx

[Hannah]

I loved this story! There were many twists that I didn't expect to happen and the ending was just perfect!

I don't want to give any spoilers so I'm going to say read it because you'll love it!

[Sissy's Romance Book Review]

He is Not Worthy by Lis McDermott is the story of Rhi Dobbs and Ben Brooks. This was really a different romance story but one I did enjoy. I hope to read more books from this author.