If I Can't Have You

Product Information

Levin was born and raised in New York City. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in English before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television. Levin currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Constance Little currently works as a receptionist at a private doctors surgery in Kensington. When a new doctor, Samuel Stevens, starts at the practice it isn't long before Constance is overwhelmingly infatuated with him. He's exceedingly attractive, very confident, and has an inflated sense of his own importance. But Constance can't stop thinking about him. When he appears to welcome her romantic overtures she is ecstatic. When it becomes apparent that they aren't singing from the same song sheet, he ends their brief liaison rather cruelly and Constance's infatuation turns into an obsession...

This psychological thriller is a darkly twisted tale of love and obsession written in the form of a detailed letter from Constance to Samuel, the object of her desire, and is a twisted blend of "Fatal Attraction" and "Gone Girl". I couldn't help but feel sorry for Constance even if she was a tad psycho. It was Samuel and Dale that I loathed the most...and I had to question who was the most twisted one of them all? If I Can’t Have You has been translated into seven languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch. Charlotte, your book had me uptight, angry, sad and conflicted all at once. You have an amazing way of pulling us in and keeping us with you right till the end. Everything you'd want in an amazing read. This is a debut! But you would never know. The writing is flawless - some stunning sentences that showed an intelligent side to Constance that she was not credited for by her peers. Thank you so much to pan MacMillan, the author and of course @instabooktours for arranging such a fantastic readalong!Janet is flawed and damaged but so immensely vulnerable that even though I didn’t agree with her actions I still could not stop sympathising with her. This is definitely a book where the character spoke to me and I followed the characters and their feelings more than the plot. To those readers who come for a psychological thriller I say stay with this book, and it will repay you in far greater riches. To those who overlook it as not sounding quite serious enough, I urge you just to come. A rare five stars from me. This character driven, dark story is told from Constance's viewpoint. Even though her behaviour was frenetic and disturbing and she clearly had some issues, it was difficult to not feel for her. The author cunningly made good use of this making me feel very torn, with mixed emotions. This is a raw and compelling story with many thrills and it is also one of deep provocation. If I Can’t Have You is a remarkable début. The dry humor was refreshing and softens the tough battle Constance is dealing with . The ending is rather abrupt and could have been more elaborated .

Janet Brown is a woman used to not standing out. She cleans offices for a living, has few friends and lives with an emotionally abusive husband. We gradually learn some of the details of her life, and it’s hard not to feel sympathy for her.WOW! It's been two days since I finished this book, and I am still feeling a huge book hangover. I love books centered around love and obsession and I just found my favorite one. They say there's a fine line between love and hate. But I don't think there's a line at all. They're the same thing. What we love we hate for loving. What makes us more vulnerable than love? What hurts as much?" It is a dark character driven story, told from Constance's point of view. We see the world as she sees it. It is uncomfortable to read in parts, but that is the charm of it. It is raw and real. There are some wonderful supporting characters that you will fall in love with - clearly not Samuel! A story of love, loss, grief. Of blame. Of punishment. Of keeping a memory alive. Of fearing letting that memory go. If I Can't Have You by Charlotte Levin is an all-consuming novel about loneliness, obsession and how far we go for the ones we love.