The Lives of Diamond Bessie: A Novel

Note: I received a copy to review from BookSiren and I thank them and the author for the opportunity. I really wanted to enjoy this book and to a point I did, but overall, I felt like there wasn't much substance. So, Annie is our main character, and she starts out with a new name that the Sisters had given her. The Sisters told her that her identity didn't matter anymore because she was going to learn from her mistake and become a new person. They named her Elsbeth. Once she broke free of that place, she had to find a way to care for herself. Unfortunately, since she is an Irish Catholic, she was not given much of a chance during the time period where this story is set. She ends up in the working life of a prostitute. Nothing can get better from here and it doesn't. She ends up losing much more than she gains by living this life and it just made me mad. I'm mad at the society she lives in and I'm mad that she felt like she had no choice, but to sell herself. It is because of this she meets Abe, and she wants to make the reader believe Abe will get her out of her predicament. I called the next plot a mile away even before the focal point even happened. She then meets John whom she is determined to get to help her, but how? She's no longer in control. Quite frankly, the book was a bit too much for me. I wanted to connect with Annie. I wanted to care for her, but I just didn't. In the end, all I wanted was for the book to end and I was glad when it did. This idea could have been better written. I have nothing more to say except if you read it, I hope you get more out of it than I did. It had a good premise, but something just didn't fit right with me as a reader.