Re read REVIEW
The Story of Us by
Lesley Jones
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
3rd Oct 2025 thoughts:
OMG 11 YEAR'S, YES ITS BEEN 11 YEAR'S SINCE THIS BOOK BROKE ME.
AND IT STILL HAD THE EXACT SAME OUTCOME.
I had an inner monologue warning me to prepare myself as I was reading, knowledge can be a good thing sometimes but when you know that the story will turn you into a ball of snotty heart broken mess, it's also not 🫣.
my stomach was twisted as I reaquainted myself with George and Sean.
LESLEY JONES still has her ugly cry queen crown, her words still broke me, thankfully I can jump into the next book this time, whereas when I first read this book, she was still deciding if she was going to write anything else about Georgia (cruel lady 😉)
FYI if you haven't gone down the CARNAGE rabbit hole yet... 🐇 🕳️ jump in now!
2014 ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I finished this book 2 hours ago, and I was in pieces when I had finished... Now don't get me wrong I loved this book and it gets an Awesome 5 stars for being an epic read, but hell it should come with a Health warning... there is NO HEA. the plot line is very personal for me. I met the love of my life at school... so I am going to attempt to write a review for you without spoilers, but my Emotions are F##ked so I apologise in advance for the upcoming ramblings...
Our Main Female character is Georgia or George as she is known and she meets her brothers friend Sean “Maca” McCarthy when she is out in her back garden swinging upside down on the monkey bars with her bestie Jimmie - she's eleven years old. I loved the innocence of the story as it starts, they grow into each others lives and it was nice and made me remember those innocent childhood years (its set in the era that I grew up in as a young lass)
The Main Male Lead character is Sean and he is Georges brothers best friend and when they clap eyes on each other there is an instant connection between the two of them and what starts out as a friendship soon develops into young love. Now the other thing that Sean loves is Music... and he and Georges Brother Marley form a band - Carnage (yes the name of the book).
The band has quite a following by the time they are teenagers - and at that time George and Sean are about to take their fledgling romance to the next level - as they do - Young in love teenagers, we have all been there! (well I have) And Lesley Jones really writes it in a way that I could relate to, maybe being a Brit (I'm not an Essex girl), but I really got the era, the music and the way it was and got emotionally involved, I guess falling in love at school, holidaying in Spain etc was quite easy to put myself in Georges shoes.
Young love is never easy, but thankfully they have supportive influences and they are happy together. It was like they were put on earth to just love each other (sappy I know - but I have been there so Its not too hard for me to imagine)
There are a lot of passages and phrases in this book that leap out to you and one of the ones that made me laugh was ...
As well as beginning a 'romantic' relationship Marley & Sean’s band Carnage starts to gather momentum and Groupies ( and George is not one to share whats hers!) and this makes things a bit awkward, her jealousy and selfishness and immature attitude really show, but some of its justified.
ONE GROUPIE... Lets call her "THE SPAWN OF SATAN" ends up on the wrong side of Georges temper and this creates Georges nemesis - although she never quite realised how one incident would affect the rest of her future.
George is still in school, but fly's out to meet the Band on their Spanish tour... now George does not handle the groupies very well, but when you are young and dealing with having a very sexy older boyfriend that's a rising star is hard to deal with So I got that.
Now at this point when the Bands rise to fame and all its seedy side effects are happening it was a bit difficult for me to read... I have NEVER taken drugs and there is a lot of it in the storyline... I have always thought that 'snorting Coke' was addictive and you spiraled into the drain (Katy Perry s song circle the drain was popping into my head at this point of the story) But you really get wrapped up in their Epic love story hoping like hell that Sean won't stuff it up!
And Sean - oh he tried, bless him, when he was with George, he is his normal self, Kind and loving - he really does love her, he writes most of the songs about her, I fell in love with him too but I could see the loving, kind boy he was getting swallowed up in the slime of the industry - so I wasn't too surprised how the plot line developed. I mean with the Rock God title and the screaming girls all the Band members let it go to their head, and he starts using more and more drugs... enough said!
I felt like saying - WAKE THE Fk UP!
One of the lines that I highlighted (*I do that with some books... Highlight the parts that really get me emotionally involved). The part where Sean says...
" I'll love you forever G, wherever I am in the world, whatever I'm doing, it will always be you, I'm yours, for as long as you want me, for as long as I'm good for you. I'm all yours"
BUT he didn't live up to that promise and he breaks Georges heart into a million pieces... (I was so mad with Sean and Marley at that point - I wanted to Beat them to hell!)And then you are left feeling the grief of that Destined Love being crushed and you think how on earth will she get over it... BOX of Kleenex Tissues is a must while reading this book.
But then years later George starts to live again... MEET Mr TDH... (Tall Dark and Handsome) 'Cam' (Lesley has awesome taste in men - I love her Muse)and I thought - YES George is finally going to get her HEA...
but NO Ms Jones has other ideas in store... I am going to stop here, as I said I didn't want to give away spoilers, so I am going to end with saying... there will be a point when you are reading and you will be... I didn't see that coming!
IF you want to read a book that will have you engrossed and involved - with both the ups and downs of life then BUY THIS BOOK - I don't regret reading this book - not in the least
Yes I was SHOCKED and BLINDSIDED by the ending.
Have you ever tried to read through ugly tears and glasses (thank god I was reading it on a kindle - so I could enlarge the text so I could read through the floods of tears!)
Lesley Jones has done an AWESOME job in creating a gut wrenching story that you just can't put down... Yes I am Emotionally exhausted ( I hope I can sleep tonight as I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow!) and after reading the end I posted this on my FB page: THIS WAS ME!
l recommend this book to any Genre book lover - but due to the contents its definitely an over 18 read - I give it
l have a message to Lesley Jones... you are first Author to evoke a post with GIFS, I NEEDED them as I couldn't write how I felt after reading your book with words ... I need a HEA in Book two...
I'm now off to take my emotional self off to bed... I apologize if there are any spelling mistakes or that this review makes no sense whatsoever!
View all my reviews
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
AVAILABLE NOW IN THE SERIES
US: https://amzn.to/3KtbkEL
UK: https://amzn.to/46y2Cwu
CA: https://amzn.to/3IxxapV
AU: https://amzn.to/4gwJMKw
All free in Kindle Unlimited
COMING SOON
Title: The Interview
Series: Carnage #6
Author: Lesley Jones
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Rock Star Romance/Love Later in Life
Found Family/Secrets & Lies/Plot Twists
Cover Design: Lou J Stock
Release Date: October 16, 2025
#BLURB
HAVE YOU RECOVERED ENOUGH FROM THE TRAUMA OF BOOK ONE, THE STORY OF US?
Because The Highly Anticipated Book 6 In The New York Times Best Selling Carnage Series Is Finally Here!
Brace yourself for some unexpected, emotional, and heartfelt revelations, as cameras follow the fiercely private Georgia McCarthy King.
For years, Georgia has shied away from the spotlight, carefully guarding her personal life.
So why has she finally agreed to a no holds barred interview and documentary that will reveal intimate details about her and her family, including her notorious brother and former Carnage band member, Marley Layton?
As the world eagerly awaits the release of the highly anticipated movie, Carnage: A Band. A Life, Georgia's change of heart raises questions and stirs up curiosity.
Secrets and past trauma are soon laid bare as Lesley Jones delivers another raw, gritty and emotional read.
The tea is about to be spilled and if you're a fan of The Emotionally Charged Carnage Series, you will want to be there for every drop!
Books 1-5 In The Carnage Series Should Be Read First. (Links below)
Please Refer To The Authors Website For Triggers. (FYI -this series is still my number 1 ugly cry series, it truly is a rollercoaster of emotions)
#BookLinks
GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240377668-the-interview
BOOKBUB LINK: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-interview-carnage-book-six-by-lesley-jones
PRE-ORDER LINKS
US: https://amzn.to/42NSX3E
UK: https://amzn.to/46y2Cwu
CA: https://amzn.to/3IxxapV
AU: https://amzn.to/4gwJMKw
ALSO COMING SOON
#7 The Definition of Insanity – Releasing August 4
US: https://amzn.to/42QpRRb
UK: https://amzn.to/428yPZT
CA: https://amzn.to/42LmaMz
AU: https://amzn.to/4newIMm
#AuthorLife BIO
Lesley Jones was born and raised in Essex, England but moved to Australia in 2006 with her family. Her first book, Saviour, was published in 2013 and she quickly gained a reputation as a writer of gritty, down to earth characters, involved in angsty and emotional plot lines. Carnage, her third novel, made a number of lists, and won a number of awards for ‘Best Ugly Cry’. Her readers love the fact that she can switch her stories from hot and steamy, to snot bubble ugly crying, followed by laugh out loud moments, in the space of a few sentences. She has declared that the very best part of her job is meeting her readers and has travelled the world a number of times over the past few years to do exactly that. Lesley is a big fan of wearing pyjamas at any time of day, but not a fan of wearing a bra, unless absolutely necessary.
When not writing, she has admitted to being a prolific reader, getting through around four or five books a week. She is a fan of trashy reality TV, listening to music, watching her son play football, spicy food and enjoys a glass of wine… or three.
AUTHOR LINKS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00G87XO52/about.
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lesley-jones
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/y5x1p8
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LesleyJonesAuthor
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForTheLoveOfLesleyJones
Website: https://lesleyjoneswrites.com
#TheInterview #LesleyJones #CarnageSeries #rockstarromance #coverreveal #lovelaterinlife #plottwists #coverlove #foundfamily #secretsandlies #contemporaryromance #givemebookspr
Brave Enough by Nicole Craig
