An unusual and thought-provoking book. Definitely enjoyed it as it drew me in from the start. A book that I would definitely recommend.

Really clever book. Told from the view of the devil and in third person. It’s a really compelling and gripping story. You will NOT be disappointed. 4/5 stars.

I didn’t think this book was for me. It languished in a pile for so long it was at the bottom. Then one day I just thought I would give it ago. I used to be one of those people who forced myself to read a book all the way through even if it bores me. Now I just toss them aside if I’m not that into it. I absolutely loved this book. I recommended to my friends. Forced my husband to read it. So take it from me it’s worth your time.

This was a one off unique book for me, as I’ve never quite read anything like it nor could I describe it 😂

I felt sorry for Perdie and her awful life with Matt but even more sorry for her children, I have to say I quite enjoyed the devil (or Ella) the most (is that bad 🙈)

Such a strange book but it was seriously gripping and funny, scary and emotional, and it was harrowing viewing Perdies life and abuse with Matt...a really odd to review but brilliant offering right here, have a read of it; I think you’ll enjoy it 😊

As usual, Cassondra Windwalker does not disappoint and the dual narrative of this story is both haunting and inspirational.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this ARC

Unfortunately I did not get to read this book as I missed my chance. My apologises

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am ashamed to say how long it has been on my Netgalley shelf waiting to be read.

In this book narrated by the Devil (aka Ella) and through the eyes of Perdie (the devil's latest amusement) we examine the decision making processes of humans and the entertainment those provide for the devil. Perdie is a battered wife, how she deals with this might lead to differing outcomes but the devil maintains that neither is necessarily all good or all bad and that perhaps we as humans do not always make decisions but live in the light of false hope and euphemisms that mean as little today as they ever meant. Euphemisms such as "it will all work out the end" or "there is no good choice".

I find it difficult to describe this book and its meanings. Is it asking us to consider new ways of decision making? Is it arguing against fate? I really don't know. What i do know is that it was brilliantly engaging from the firs words, it puffed life and breath into its characterisation and narrative building. It was unputdownable. Read in just a couple of hours it is one of those books that make you stop and think, that make you want more pages.

I have not read anything by this author before but i will be rectifying that in the future

Idle hands was a harrowing and emotional read, not at all what I was expecting but it was a truly gripping read well written with great characters.

Amazing from start to finish
I flew through this book in two sessions , that’s how good I think it was.
It is gripping, very well written, clever and original never read anything like this before.
The story with Perdie’s life with Matt is sad and your heart breaks as with any domestic violence case.
Whichever route Perdie is tempted to choose there is a huge price to pay. There are some shocking scenes, stark choices and heartbreaking tests.
The ending is excellent and makes your reflect on life

This book was boring to me. The characters especially Perdie was a bit much. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

3.5 stars for IDLE HANDS by Cassondra Windwalker.

The first half of the book resonated more with me than the second half. The first half being 4.5 stars and the 2nd half being 3 stars. The narration was broken up through out the chapters in a way that peaked my interest from the start. There were many sections that sought to challenge the viewers outlook. Some may find the methods used to be heavy handed and at time less said can be more. The supernatural aspects threw me off because I expected more at the end. In the end I wanted a culminating event that brought the narrator's wishes to full fruition but I don't think that was achieved here.

While it made for a ver emotional read, I would say that this was more of a suspense than a thriller which is what I expected it to be. That may just be my misunderstanding and wrongly placed expectations based off the synopsis. The cover is well done as it matches the story perfectly, and I love a good cover that properly gives just enough insight to pull the reader in. The characters were well built and I was captivated for most of the story, but the ending was not to my liking. At a certain point I was looking at the page numbers and wondering how so much could happen in such a few amount of pages. Simply because it seemed really obvious as to what the outcome of most situations would be. Although it was clear what direction the story would go, the twist was not shocking enough for my taste.

Idle Hands by Cassondra Windwalker is a bone-chilling work of fiction. The Devil as the narrator reminded me of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak in which Death narrated the story.

The story revolves around a mother of two who is in an abusive relationship. She takes the plunge to leave her husband for the sake of her children, but bad stuff happens to them anyway. The Devil gives her a chance to roll back the clock and be back with her husband as if she never left. But we all know how an abusive relationship is likely to end - especially not in a cliched happy ending.

The book makes one rethink the decisions we take in our lifetime.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Verdict: Recommended.

This is a tale of domestic abuse, interspersed with the ‘sinister’ ramblings of the devil, Ella.
The domestic violence storyline is uncomfortably realistic and it does give a twist to the idea that, as a mother you’re ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’.
Although the devil is verbose, she’s not particularly scary; in fact, I wasn’t really sure of her agenda. There didn’t really seem to be any purpose in Ella’s character being there.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I did not personally enjoy this book exactly, but it was a very thought provoking look at morality versus a desire not to be trampled on. It was definitely a fresh take on the philosophical question ‘if you could have a conversation with the devil?’ An interesting read.

This is a through provoking and well written book that I devoured in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

There is something refreshingly inventive about that book. Something that tugs at your sensibilities and persists there like an ear-bug, making you question what you really thought all those years ago about that "wrong decision" you made or that twist in fate that denied you your heart's desire.

This book's main character is the Adversary/the Devil or you can call her Ella. It could be anybody really. Anyone who slips into the role of "the devil's advocate". Think of Lucifer (the TV series) minus the humour.

Ella introduces us to Perdie, a woman who is in an abusive marriage, both physically and emotionally. All that Perdie wants is, like any good mother, to shield her children from her abusive and violent husband. She has two courses to choose from: To leave, or to stay.

Ella's role is to show us that both courses have their flip sides, and what we humans love to do is to say that if I had chosen the other course none of the flip side of my current choice would have happened. A fair point really. I never could have articulated it any better than this story.

But there was a caveat for me. The continuous merger of the narrative and Ella's soliloquies as the devil's advocate were neither one nor separate. They were only set apart by italics. And sometimes they became discursive and took away from the coherence of the story. Sometimes I just zoned out. Sometimes I thought Ella was the narrator but further along, I was less sure. And as a bit of nit-picking on my part, there was the occasional inundation of Ten dollar words that could have easily been substituted with simpler synonyms that could deliver a punch of meanings.

A brilliant idea was at the core of the book, but I can see why it won't work for some.

Thank you NetGalley and Agora books for my eARC.

This unfortunately fell a little flat for me. I could get drawn into the plot like normal. Maybe it's me and the lockdown blues. Maybe it's the book. But I know I'll give it another go in 2021 and see

Fantastic ´. Read all in one go. Sliding doors meets the book thief. Looking forward to reading more from this author

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review, Thank you to NetGalley, Agora Books, and the author Cassondra Windwalker.
What a weird book! After a slow start, the main story that centered around Perdita and her children was gripping and involving, but every section was interspersed with an omniscient narrative from 'Ella', a personification of the Devil, which was just bizarre. It felt like an unnecessary addition, when the story itself was strong enough to stand up on its own. The author was maybe just trying to be a bit too clever here.
An easy read, and an interesting concept, but in the end it just didn't really work. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Idle Hands – Cassondra Windwalker

The description of this is intriguing:
“You can call me Ella. You generally assign me a whole host of other preposterous monikers. I think the least imaginative name I’ve heard is “the devil”, but I’ll answer to it if I must.
After making the courageous decision to leave her abusive husband, Perdie and her three young children start over and finally find the safety and love they deserve. But years later, when tragedy strikes, Perdie is left wondering if the choice she made to leave has led them to this moment.
If she were given the opportunity to take it all back and stay, would she?
In a frantic bid to protect her family, Perdie makes a deal to do just that. But in a world where the devil pulls the strings, can Perdie really change the past?

Brimming with enlightened observations and brilliant voice, Idle Hands is a haunting examination of grief, resilience, and what we’d give to spend another moment with the ones we love.”

I hadn’t read anything else by Cassondra Windwalker (which is a great name, very Star Wars adjacent) but this went on to my digital TBR as soon as I spotted it. Time travelling, moral compass tales with personal growth and interference from external beings? I am IN.

The narrator is the aforementioned Devil/Ella, who pops in every chapter or so to describe the story in italics. I think you can probably tell, the narrative did not live up to the promise of the premise for me, I’m afraid.

Perdie is the main character, although we are told quite near the beginning that her son, Tad, is the focus. She manages to move hundreds of miles away from her abusive, controlling husband with three young children, and make a new life for herself. I had trouble with this part, and I think that most of the issues I have with the book come down to the structure of the story, in all honesty.
I struggled with this part in particular because all we know of her husband is that he will do anything to save face, his own face. And yet she moves his kids across state lines, leaving him alone in their family house and required to tell people why he is suddenly on his own, and nothing happens? Apparently he just settles down and buckles up for a divorce, according to Perdie.

I didn’t know enough about any of the characters – thumbnail sketches of the two girls rendered them basically interchangeable even though there are a couple of years between them – I couldn’t tell which was supposed to be which, even by the end.

As readers, we are told that Perdie feels this, knows she reacts like that because of her past, thinks the kids should go to the dance because she says it out loud. We don’t get a chance to be shown the people in the story and for this reason, I think, it was hard to feel connected, to be happy and sad.

The Devil narrator was perhaps the most uneven – I couldn’t understand what he/she wanted. Souls? There’s quite a lot of monologuing on the human soul, and how she lives in the margins and enjoys the organised chaos, the freedom, of the illusion of free will. Or something. I never felt like there was a battle for Perdie’s soul, or anyone else’s for that matter. People do bad things all of the time, and good too – I don’t think it’s necessarily because an intangible figure is pushing them one way or the other. I know it’s not fair to project onto a book what you expected, and be disappointed that it wasn’t – but the summary pointed to a deep analysis of grief and crossroads, that sliding door moment which changes your life forever. I didn’t see that.

It was also slow. The ‘incident’ mentioned in the blurb actually happens halfway through the book. The narrator actually says, a couple of times, that they’d fast forward through some parts and describe it so we were up to date. It’s a slim volume, at a mere 224 pages, so it needs some tight pacing and structuring to get it all in. Somehow, it misses the mark on most of the expected cues. Perhaps it would have been better examining it from that specific point in time, when Perdie makes the decision to stay, or not? Instead, we seem to get years of backstory which could be shown in a couple of vignettes.

The writing was fine, and there were some lovely phrases in there too. I just wish that the characters were more sharply defined, that there was a clear path from beginning to end.

It felt, to be completely upfront, like a romance novel wrapped up in an existential book jacket. Both are great, but I’m not a fan of being led into reading something I wasn’t expecting to read.


Idle Hands – Cassondra Windwalker

The description of this is intriguing:
“You can call me Ella. You generally assign me a whole host of other preposterous monikers. I think the least imaginative name I’ve heard is “the devil”, but I’ll answer to it if I must.
After making the courageous decision to leave her abusive husband, Perdie and her three young children start over and finally find the safety and love they deserve. But years later, when tragedy strikes, Perdie is left wondering if the choice she made to leave has led them to this moment.
If she were given the opportunity to take it all back and stay, would she?
In a frantic bid to protect her family, Perdie makes a deal to do just that. But in a world where the devil pulls the strings, can Perdie really change the past?

Brimming with enlightened observations and brilliant voice, Idle Hands is a haunting examination of grief, resilience, and what we’d give to spend another moment with the ones we love.”

I hadn’t read anything else by Cassondra Windwalker (which is a great name, very Star Wars adjacent) but this went on to my digital TBR as soon as I spotted it. Time travelling, moral compass tales with personal growth and interference from external beings? I am IN.

The narrator is the aforementioned Devil/Ella, who pops in every chapter or so to describe the story in italics. I think you can probably tell, the narrative did not live up to the promise of the premise for me, I’m afraid.

Perdie is the main character, although we are told quite near the beginning that her son, Tad, is the focus. She manages to move hundreds of miles away from her abusive, controlling husband with three young children, and make a new life for herself. I had trouble with this part, and I think that most of the issues I have with the book come down to the structure of the story, in all honesty.
I struggled with this part in particular because all we know of her husband is that he will do anything to save face, his own face. And yet she moves his kids across state lines, leaving him alone in their family house and required to tell people why he is suddenly on his own, and nothing happens? Apparently he just settles down and buckles up for a divorce, according to Perdie.

I didn’t know enough about any of the characters – thumbnail sketches of the two girls rendered them basically interchangeable even though there are a couple of years between them – I couldn’t tell which was supposed to be which, even by the end.

As readers, we are told that Perdie feels this, knows she reacts like that because of her past, thinks the kids should go to the dance because she says it out loud. We don’t get a chance to be shown the people in the story and for this reason, I think, it was hard to feel connected, to be happy and sad.

The Devil narrator was perhaps the most uneven – I couldn’t understand what he/she wanted. Souls? There’s quite a lot of monologuing on the human soul, and how she lives in the margins and enjoys the organised chaos, the freedom, of the illusion of free will. Or something. I never felt like there was a battle for Perdie’s soul, or anyone else’s for that matter. People do bad things all of the time, and good too – I don’t think it’s necessarily because an intangible figure is pushing them one way or the other. I know it’s not fair to project onto a book what you expected, and be disappointed that it wasn’t – but the summary pointed to a deep analysis of grief and crossroads, that sliding door moment which changes your life forever. I didn’t see that.

It was also slow. The ‘incident’ mentioned in the blurb actually happens halfway through the book. The narrator actually says, a couple of times, that they’d fast forward through some parts and describe it so we were up to date. It’s a slim volume, at a mere 224 pages, so it needs some tight pacing and structuring to get it all in. Somehow, it misses the mark on most of the expected cues. Perhaps it would have been better examining it from that specific point in time, when Perdie makes the decision to stay, or not? Instead, we seem to get years of backstory which could be shown in a couple of vignettes.

The writing was fine, and there were some lovely phrases in there too. I just wish that the characters were more sharply defined, that there was a clear path from beginning to end.

It felt, to be completely upfront, like a romance novel wrapped up in an existential book jacket. Both are great, but I’m not a fan of being led into reading something I wasn’t expecting to read.