I read this story when I first came to GA. I thought the new blog was an excellent place to review it so that other readers who might not have come across it yet can get a bit of a sneak peek at the story and then go read it! You won't be sorry!

Review by Cia

The title promises exactly what the story delivers. The fact is that most lives, in this world, are not a fairytale. In fictional worlds they are, but not in this story. Here we meet Andy, a thirty-ish man who is in the midst of a messy divorce with his wife because she caught him with another man. He’s torn from the loss of seeing his five year old son every day and the new way he’s being viewed by friends and family. Add in the emotional stress made him lose his job and Andy’s world is really messed up.

Thankfully he has a really good friend helping him out and letting him stay in his house for free, while Mark lives with his girlfriend. Mark also hooks him up with an interview for a new job. It pays a lot less, but in life we do what we have to do, right?

We watch Andy struggle for balance, and just about when we think he might be making some progress, his friend breaks the news that Andy is going to get a roommate. A young, surly and obviously damaged Pete that is friend with Angela. Andy can’t stand the guy after just a few days, but Mark doesn’t want to turn down his girlfriend’s plea, for obvious reasons. Over time, it’s clear that Pete’s story is even worse than Andy’s, but he’s not sharing.

At least, not until the two friends come home one night and find Pete in a world of trouble. About to be kicked out of the house, Andy begs Mark to let him talk to Pete even if he doesn’t really like him. What follows is an emotional tale of two damaged men helping and supporting each other through the bumps and sometimes sheer drop offs life can take a person on.

When I read this, I absolutely loved how dramatic, and yet real, Tiff made her characters and her story without going over the top. There are small moments of levity and joy in the story that balance out the angst and drama. Sometimes it’s the little things details that bring in the emotional drama the characters are facing and Tiff is a master at sharing the repeated blows that just seem to keep coming until Andy and Pete realize just what they need to do to fix themselves without making me think the story is too divorced from reality. The story could be formulaic but she manages to skirt that in my opinion.

This story is just about as clean as they come when it comes to errors, and she has engaging, likable characters that make me want to find in real life just so I can help them. Intimacy is there, and handled very well in the story. She writes kissing in ways I can only dream of! There are some off-scene and written abuse/force moments in the story that tug at the heart strings, but they are not graphic enough to bother most readers.

If you have time to spare, open No Fairytale World by Tiff. At close to 75,000 words this story is long enough to drag you in and give you a phenomenal read without being too short or too long. Don’t forget to rate, like, and above all, review!