Wednesday, September 4, 2013
First and foremost, I loved the Cabral family! They were so genuine and engaging that I felt I was sitting at the table with them. Kudos to the author on that alone.
Funny way to start a review I suppose, noting the secondary characters before the primary, but sometimes those secondary characters really can make a story come alive, in this case, they were very important in driving the story line and deserve a little recognition.
As for Kaye and Samuel. Completely engaging, very realistic in characterizations. Such to the point I wanted to slap them both for stupidity. Kaye for not seeing the nuances and Samuel for up and leaving with the BS "for your own good". Not cool dude, not cool at all. Now that I think about it, more slaps for Samuel than Kaye.
I think the passion of the Cabral's has rubbed off on me invoking violent tendencies towards characters.
I make light of the situation but in all seriousness, this was a story heavy on the emotion and hurt. A ton of underlying angst covered up by the "what happened to our love" feelings.
The story is told in reverse as we already know Kaye and Samuel are divorced, Kaye was devastated and blind sided as to the real reason for Samuel walking out on her. She rebuilds and moves on until 7 years later she attends the wedding of her best friends, and in strolls Samuel with a "girlfriend" on his arm. (I was majorly annoyed over that scene.)
Samuel is an author and much of the story is told in his writings though the POV is Kaye's.
A tale of childhood friends becoming best friends becoming sweethearts, soul mates, love of existence only to have it all crumble without any tangible reason is heart breaking. The author did a really good job making the words pop and visualize those emotions. The feelings these two have are palpable.
The hurt and misunderstandings are even more so.
I really enjoyed the story, heart break and all. Not a perfect story in that there were some parts a bit confusing but overall an excellent read and fantastic debut for the author.
My only disappointment was the ending. Well, the lack of ending that I wanted and now having to wait until book 2 to find out if there will be the ending I wanted. Oy! Yes, I am greedy like that. I hate waiting for a series when I am completely engaged and invested in the characters.
Definitely a naughty author to do that to me.
Great story, would definitely recommend it! Stalking is warranted. Highly suggest you do the same.
Sarah Latchaw was raised in eastern Iowa and appreciates beauty in mud-splattered gravel roads, weathered farm faces, and combine harvesters powering through cornfields. She also loves to explore the world, thanks to countless family minivan trips across the States to coastal cities and national monuments. This passion for finding stories led to college adventures to Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Slovakia, Germany, and other European countries. Each place’s story rests in the back of her mind and in her childhood photo albums.
Nice review! I loved Cabral family too :) Cannot wait for sequel!
ReplyDeleteYou were right! Always love your reviews and they never fail me!
DeleteGreat review, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the read. Please let me know if I can follow-up for you in any way. The naughty cliff-hucking author ;)
ReplyDeleteYes oh naughty one...I need to know what happens next! LOL!!
Delete