Quite slow to start and a lot more emotional than I was anticipating, this is a great read once it does get going. A reflective read about relationships and family. My first read by Nick but I will definitely look out for more now.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Memories and families. Victoria and Penny are sisters who both remember the death of their brother, Ed, when they were children. Now all grown up with husbands and children and a mother, Marge, who likes to play one sister off the other, the sisters are dealing with their fractured relationship. All of the members of the family have their own problems to deal with but how can such a divided family ever find the answers if they don't change? 

A well-written novel with sympathy and frustration in equal measure for all characters. A tad overlong in the middle maybe but the ending is well-paced and thought out.

The Bottle of Tears by Nick Alexander is an emotional read about family dynamics, as well as the fragility of memory. Sisters Penny and Victoria experience a childhood trauma differently, and it deeply affects their relationship into adulthood. Envy pollutes their ability to have a strong relationship. The book is slow at times but is a solid narrative.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Penny and Victoria remember the death of their brother Ed in 1976 very differently.  One thing they do know is that everything changed after that, especially with and for their mother Marge, who was raising them as a single mom.  These sisters have followed divergent life paths and seem polar opposites but they are really a lot alike. Both have unhappy marriages and roiling personal lives they keep hidden behind facades.  Marge hasn't helped things- she's a nasty person.   There's a fair amount of family drama.  It's well plotted and written.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  Not a light read by any means but a good one.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the ARC! 

If you enjoy some family drama, this is a must read for you. I thought it was a bit slow at first, but I liked it anyway. It's interesting to see how little the sisters know about each other, always assuming that the other one is happier and has a perfect life, when in fact they're both going through personal issues and facing different challenges. 

Nobody has a perfect life. And misunderstandings from the past can have such a huge impact in the future. This story definitely makes us reflect upon our relationships and the things we don't share with our loved ones.

I first discovered this author through his 50 Reasons series, way back in April 2011 just after I got my first Kindle. There was something about his style of writing that just gelled with me and that, combined with his amazing skill at characterisation - both male and female - meant that I've read and thoroughly enjoyed every book he has written since. Including this one which is actually a re-titled, re-release formerly called Let the Light Shine. I re-read this new edition for an updated review.
It's the story of Penny and Victoria, two very different sisters. Penny works hard for her meagre money, undervalued but, at the same time, manages to balance work and life well, occasionally struggling to make ends meet but surviving nonetheless. On the other hand, Victoria is a bit of a mess but appears to have everything she wants/needs. They have a very strained relationship for reasons that neither can really explain, just that something happened when they were children. Something they've never spoken about properly even though it has tainted their every Christmas since 1976. But their past is catapulted into their present when tragedy strikes, forcing the sisters to revisit that time and face up to what really happened that fateful day. Piecing together their differing accounts to get to the raw, brutal truth, but at what cost?
This is a beautifully told story with a wealth of really well drawn characters. I should know by now, but it never ceases to amaze me, that this author has the ability to create really great female characters - really get under their skin and expose what makes them tick. There are three such main characters herein - Penny, Victoria and their mother. There is also a great supporting cast who are all just as well described and who all play their parts - both big and small - very well. 
It's hard to say much more about what happens as the layers that are peeled back throughout expose things that really need to be discovered and enjoyed exactly as the author intended. Suffice to say that there are shocks and surprises aplenty along the way. 
It's not all doom and gloom along the way, there's also quite a bit of humour which keeps the book balanced throughout. Pacing is also good, the book never drags even during the quieter moments and, I'm pleased to say, there's also no superfluous padding, the story gets on with itself quite nicely throughout.
There's also a point in this book where what happens gave me so much clarity and empowerment, even though my personal situation vastly differs from that of the characters, it gave me something special and for that alone, I thank the author. 
All in all, a cracking read that I have no hesitation in recommending for fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Great read. The story of two sisters and how they coped with a traumatic experience in their childhood and how that trauma spread into their adulthood. At times I wanted to bang their heads together to get them to talk about it. Then their mother did nothing to help them but instead made things worse by pitching one against the other. A very good read - I loved the concept of ‘a bottle of tears’ itself.

Two sisters with their families have a tempestuous relationship. Their mum, (whom I didn't like), often is the only sink between the sisters.
The sisters live completely different lifestyles but secrets and lives seems to be théir major barrier between them.
A great family saga read.

Enjoyed this book, though it did get a little slow in places. Loved the story and the characters were well developed. Perfect read in one sitting book.

This book is much sadder than I anticipated. I don’t know if I could get through it but I did. Just be careful.

A beautifully told story of family relationships, past events and how differently people can remember the same event in very disparate ways. We can all find something to relate to in this book.

A tale of the complexity of family relationships! Sisters penny and Victoria witness the death of their brother Ed many years ago when they where small children, overnight following their brothers death their lives change so much as their mother Marge attempts to grieve for her son whilst working, running a home and bringing up the girls as a single parent. This life changing event and its repercussions is remembered differently by the sisters and its ramifications are long lasting and far reaching throughout their lives until at last after the death of their mother they are eventually reconciled and able to start dealing with the emotional baggage that has shaped their adults life’s. A tense emotional read demonstrating the ties that bind you!
Thank you net galley for this early read

I thoroughly enjoyed this intriguing family drama which covered many themes including mystery, family secrets, addiction and sexuality. The two main characters, sisters Penny and Victoria lead very different lives - both affected in their different ways by an incident back in their childhood which slowly reveals as the story progresses. Victoria is wealthy and doesn't need to work as she is supported by her husband. However, she is troubled by demons from her past doubtless contributing to her addiction to Valium. Her sister, on the other hand,  struggles to make ends meet working hard to keep her family fed and a roof over their heads. It annoyed me that her husband appeared to be content to let her carry their financial burdens whilst he (occasionally) indulged himself with his painting and (regularly) with his passion for smoking dope. How Penny just seemed to accept this situation made me want to give her a good shake. The girls' mother, Marge, a manipulative and meddling woman,  constantly played her daughters off against each other often lying and scheming to cause trouble. I could never work out what she hoped to gain by this.  There were parts of the book that seemed slow and drawn out with much dialogue but little action and I was impatient for the story to get back on track but overall this was a gripping and enjoyable book with a satisfactory conclusion. My thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I loved everything about this book especially the characters and plot. Highly recommend this to anyone who is into such a creative story.

A really good story about family rivalry, secrets and lies. There are strong characters in this book and their stories are well written. My only criticism is I thought that it was a bit slow in places. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This was the first book I've read from this author and it was just okay. It was hard for me to get into and the characters didn't keep my attention.

Bottle of Tears is a good story with a lot of family drama and deals a lot with mental illness.
The characters are memorable and there is some humor in the storyline.  This book was hard to put down.
Thanks NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Lake Union Publishing foe the ARC.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher.  2 sisters who are totally different with a different outlook.  Good read and would recommend.

I really liked this book. The writing was great and I loved the story of the two sisters and their different lives. I related to this book when it came to mental illness. It talks about everything from anxiety, depression to sexuality. I really enjoyed this and so glad more authors are writing about mental illness.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review. The book starts with a prologue to set the scene, we know something has happened to little Penny but we don't know what. 
The rest of the book explains it all and is told through the eyes of Penny and her sister Victoria.  There is much talk of valium and dope and therapy, which is not really my sort of book. I understand why the author put this in, however there was too much angst and was not the family drama I was expecting.  The ending seemed rushed.