To be honest, this is not a genre that I read a lot. I read to escape, and emotional stories are not escapism to me – usually.
Something about this one spoke to me though, and I’m so glad that I picked it up. It packs a heckuva emotional punch and I loved every minute of it.
As I have mentioned before, I try not to read the descriptions/blurbs right before reading the book. I prefer to be “surprised” by how the plot unfolds.
In this case, I thought the initial set up where we meet both Alex and Molly in the first two chapters was well-done. It’s obvious that these two people are going to be connected somehow, but the author lets the details come out slowly over the following few chapters.
This was extremely effective because it didn’t just treat the pivotal event as a plot point. The reader got to experience it through both perspectives which allowed for a deeper understanding of the characters.
This continued through the introduction of the other characters, specifically the three that are similar to Molly (I know it’s not a suspense book, but I still hold that it will be better if you discover who I mean for yourself).
I thought that the author perfectly captured the balance between joy and grief and did an exceptionally good job of illustrating the two sides of a tragic event. There were several lessons to be learned in this book: by Alex and Molly, certainly, but also by Connor and the others and there were some good messages for the reader to take away.
Family doesn’t necessarily mean blood relatives, it can also be people you have a connection with (no matter how that connection occurs).
Grief can be all encompassing, and sometimes it’s unrealistic to assume that “normal life” can still occur.
It is easy to get caught up in what one hopes might happen and be blinded to what is really happening.
It can take a village to raise a kid. That’s okay – and in some way could be more beneficial to the growth of the child, because different interests can be pursued and explored.
Courage and grace should go hand in hand. But it can also take courage to be gracious.
I know that this is an “emotional page-turner,” and I may be reading more into it than I needed to, but it was just so well-done. I was carried along by Alex and Molly (and the others). I could feel their world.
Even though there were a few things towards the end that tested the limits of plausibility for me, I understand why the author used the situations in that manner. In a way, it did also clarify the characters motivations. There was also some clever dialogue that made me stop and think.
I couldn’t put this book down and would highly recommend it.
Twitter: @AtkinsDani
Author Bio:
Dani Atkins is an award-winning novelist. Her 2013 debut THEN AND ALWAYS (published as FRACTURED in the UK) has been translated into seventeen languages and has sold more than half a million copies globally.
Dani is the author of five other bestselling novels (THE STORY OF US, OUR SONG, THIS LOVE, WHILE I WAS SLEEPING and A MILLION DREAMS) and PERFECT STRANGERS, a standalone eBook novella. In 2018, THIS LOVE won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award at the RNA awards in London. Dani lives in a small village in the English countryside, in a 300 year old cottage, with her husband, one Siamese cat and a very soppy Border Collie.
