Never Drinking Again

by Sian Rosé

It's the weekend and pretty young thing Julia Miles is staying at her older brother's desolate mansion to babysit her adorable nephew, Rex, and her hateful teenage niece, Tilly. Despite her longstanding feud with Tilly (who is on to her aunt's secret alcohol problem) Julia is more than happy to do the job... ...and it's only partially to do with her brother's huge luxury wine cellar.The evening passes quickly into an alcohol-infused blur, and before Julia knows it, she's waking up with the hangover from hell, and absolutely no knowledge of what happened the night before. Except, this is unlike any gruelling hangover Julia has ever had before. Because aside from the incessant pounding in her head, Julia wakes up in a wrecked house; drenched in blood and worst of all... both Rex and Tilly are missing. A long, harrowing investigation ensues which rapidly exposes secrets and lies that the family had worked so hard to keep deeply buried and concealed. The finger is pointed straight at Julia however, when a video surfaces of a drunken fight breaking out between her and Tilly. With nobody on her side, it's up to Julia to join a race against time to reveal the horrific truth behind Rex and Tilly's disappearance and prove her innocence... if she even is innocent...Whose blood was it on Julia's hands? Where are the Miles children? Will they be found alive?Never Drinking Again is a twisty mystery thriller which contains a whole host of vibrant, larger-than-life characters who each bare their own deadly secrets in the terrifying, nightmarish case of the missing children. Readers won't be able to put this gripping page-turner down and will be constantly guessing about the fate of the Miles children, right up until the chilling, spine-tingling finale.

416 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 52%. I really wanted to get into this story, but after a very slow start, I found myself wavering more and more after that. The characters were all very unlikable, and that also made it very tough for me to stay focused. There were plenty of seeds planted for the story to unfold, and I could tell how complex the author tried to make everything. And that in itself deserves a lot of credit. However, that can also work against a book when it becomes too layered for its own good. I do like Sian Rose’s other works, and this may have just been a case of a mismatch between reader and author, but I did not enjoy my experience here.

[Brutal Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A horror novella that turns ordinary life struggles into a page Turner that you can't put down? Sign me up! Luckily for me, "Never Drinking Again" by Sian Rosé checks all the boxes!

Imagine babysitting, and waking up the next day, covered in blood, the house a mess, and the kids missing. What's worse, they're your niece and nephew. What's even worse than that is the fact that you have absolutely no memory of what could have happened. On top of that, your weird, stalker ex boyfriend lurks nearby, always ready to "help". Y'all, we have a mess on our hands!

Sian Rosé takes us on an adventure that has so many possibilities for endings, but takes the craziest road possible. She goes about telling the story by giving us small morsels of information along the way, never revealing any foreshadowing information! This is genius and makes it impossible for the reader to put the book down. I loved it!

The scariest parts of "Never Drinking Again" are the encounters that could really happen, and easily, in real life. It felt just completely raw and real. Even the characters were well thought out and complex. As your loyalty shifts back and forth between characters as the story develops, you find yourself attached to some pretty unsavory people. You're also simultaneously playing a game of literary "Clue", trying to figure out who did what and who's holding what secrets! Basically, Sian Rosé "Never Drinking Again" is a whole experience, that of course, I'm here for! Next up on my Sian Rosé reading list will be "Farm"! It looks absolutely terrifying!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great adventure to follow in this book, filled with a lot of humor. The author outdid herself for it was well written and captivating with a good description and connection of characters.

A real page-turner. Recommended!!!

[Ronita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmm I dunno ... I really wanted to like this one but it fell flat for me. I found it had a bit of a slow start and then an interesting plot but then the end for me really fell flat to a point where I had to skim through the ending in order to finish the book. Oh, and the freezer?? Really??

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was quite slow but otherwise enjoyable

[R.C. C Glenn]

Sian Rose is a great independent author. The title of this book is something we have all said at some time and this story certainly lives up to why, sometimes, you really shouldn't. Some interesting twists a few humourous moments, but most of all a gripping storyline that will keep you turning the pages. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed