Tracy Kiss very kindly sent me an eBook copy of her novel 'Traces Of Me' and I can honestly say it was a really great read! When I get really into a book, I can read it very quickly so I finished it within one day. It is quite a short read but it is well written, most compelling and enjoyable. I particularly liked how the chapters were short at 2-3 pages each as I hate stopping reading mid way through a chapter!
This book is pitched as a cross between Bridget Jones and Fifty Shades of Grey which instantly appealed to me. I knew it was going to be good as soon as I read that! The story revolves around it’s protagonist April, a 30 year old who really is just like another Bridget Jones. It follows her experiences of very two different relationships and as it is written in first person, we really get a good sense of how she feels about both her partners and herself.
I found April an extremely likeable character with a wicked sense of humour. More importantly she is a very relatable character and I found a lot of her qualities in myself. I was literally reading this thinking ‘Oh my god, this is actually me’ at various points at the book. At one point, April was looking at tutorials online to show her how apply her makeup which lets be honest, we pretty much all do! It was refreshing to see a character that was in fact very realistic. I think a lot of us turn to fiction to find an escapism to that ‘better life’ to dream about and it was quite comforting to find a character that is just like you.
My favourite part is the message about ultimately loving yourself for who you are. The book begins with April finding herself in a new relationship and as she grows more confident, she restyles her hair and starts wearing makeup which she had never done before. She eventually changes into the person her boyfriend Shaun didn’t fall in love with. She was so unhappy with being ‘the ugly duckling’ as she puts it, she feels need to go under this radical transformation. There was a very poignant quote later on saying “You can’t be happy with anyone unless you’re free to be happy in yourself first’. I thought this was a very heart warming message.
Traces of Me is recommended for age 18+ for it’s ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ aspects which I can’t honestly say I found all that necessary to the plot development. These scenes popped up very frequently and towards the end, I wasn’t really fussed about reading another one. They did not make me uncomfortable but I just felt they didn’t add much to the story because April’s boyfriends were not Christian Grey and did not have his weird quirks! Without these graphic scenes, the story could share it’s inspiring message to a much wider audience. As mentioned above, I shared the book’s message about loving yourself with my little sister as she often thinks her natural hair looks gross despite how many times I tell her that it looks lovely, she straightens her curls out anyway. Upon telling her about Traces Of Me, she said that she would “actually read that” and trust me she really does not read books! Due the Fifty Shades aspect, I personally think it would be rather inappropriate to recommend this book to not just her but younger people in general which is a real shame considering it’s thoughtful message.
I think the novel’s message would definitely be helpful to younger people as they are always comparing themselves to other girls as their hair isn’t straight enough or they don’t have strong eyebrows like Cara Delevingne. I think anyone of age can feel insecure and I think April’s character taps into that common fear. I think Tracy Kiss did a fantastic job at evolving such an important and reassuring message in only 77 pages.
If you are reading this and are over 18, I would highly recommend this book. You can purchase Traces of Me here over at Amazon. It's only £1.99!
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