Book Review | Idle Hands by Cassondra Windwalker

By Ciara Rosney - July 29, 2020



For the longest time, Perdie has wanted to take her three children and escape from her abusive husband. When she finally builds up the courage to set herself free, tragedy strikes, leaving Perdie wondering if the choice she made to leave has led them to this moment. How different would things be if she was given the opportunity to take it all back and stay?

In a dark and twisted tale, we are taken on a journey told from both Perdie and the Devil's (also known as Ella because "the devil" is too unimaginative) point of view. At first, I found Ella's narrative quite distracting. It didn't add much to the story and I simply wanted to focus solely on Perdie's story. However, when the two began to cross paths (literally, at one point), I was struck at how much Ella offered answers to questions we might have had ourselves about destiny and things always happening for a reason. Windwalker's writing of Ella's point of view is almost lyrical and it got to the point where I almost craved to know what she thought about Perdie's and the children's decisions. She was almost taunting them, pushing them to do exactly what she wanted, and I loved it.

The book is split into different key parts, however, for a book with little over 200 pages, I felt this caused there to be a lack of depth, especially in the first half. Of course, with the subject of domestic abuse, I felt for all these characters, but it was more so the situation rather than each person. In fact, my favourite character Reilly only appeared for a short amount of time. If we had been given more insight into Perdie's life after she makes her decision, I might have nudged the rating up to five stars.

Above all, this book is unlike any other I have read in a long time. Its unique take on the devil and how each choice we make has a consequence is one that definitely pulled at my heartstrings. The voice of Ella in the background often made me question how much freedom we truly have when it comes to paving our paths. No matter which way we go, there will always be a catch.

Idle Hands is available now from Amazon, Waterstones, and Book Depository.

*I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

  • Share:

You Might Also Like

0 comments