Book Review: When Enemies Offend Thee by Sally Whitney

Thank you so much to Kate Rock Book Tours for providing an e-copy of the novel for review and tour purposes! All opinions are my own!

Quick Facts:

Title: When Enemies Offend Thee
Series: Standalone
Author: Sally M. Whitney
Publisher & Release: Pen L Publishing, 3/1/2020
Length: 329 Pages
Rate & Recommend: 🌟🌟🌟✨ for fans of contemporaries

Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

Viciousness can lurk beneath even the most serene of surfaces.

Recently widowed, Clementine Loftis returns to her hometown in North Carolina looking for comfort and peace. Instead, she finds an angry former high-school classmate who sexually assaults her in a bizarre attempt to settle an old score.

When her lack of evidence prevents police from charging him, Clementine vows to get even on her own. After her first attempt doesn’t pan out, she escalates her effort. When that fails, she escalates again . . . and again.

Clementine’s determination to make her attacker pay for what he’s done drives her to walk a fine, dangerous line between vengeance and justice, making her question who she really is and whether she can ever again be the woman she wants to be.

Clementine returns to her hometown to start anew after her spouse dies. She is looking to restart her life and open an antique store. After she is raped at knife point, Clementine has to come to terms with an inconceivable lack of justice in the system and find her own power again. How can she do it?

This book handles some tough topics but also is a great read about reconnecting with family, good friends, racial divides, revenge, justice, staying true to your morals, and second chances. There is also a bit of a discourse on power and sanity and going over the edge.

I really enjoyed the characters, especially Ehrlene and Alfred. I think Ehrlene was my favorite. She was the strong and sensible one and it was interesting to read about the women’s friendship through the lens of someone who’s mother used to work for Clementine’s. I had a hard time reconciling part 1 Clementine with the one in part 2 but I mean really, what would I do in her shoes? I think I would lose my mind in her shoes and just stab the guy, but Root Magic was interesting too. The IRS thing just seemed a little ridiculous and I also couldn’t reconcile Clementine hurting innocent people, which was where the star deduction came in.

If you like contemporary novels with female friendships, found family and bit of a thriller element, check this one out!

Thank you again to Kate Rock Book Tours for having me on the Instagram Tour!

I found some author links to share:

Author’s Website: https://sallywhitney.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smwhitney65/

The Book on Amazon: