Review: A stunning, heartbreaking and beautifully written story! 6 STARS!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 12, 2013
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.Wow is the only way in which I can describe this book. I've found it so difficult to write my thoughts down about how much I loved and connected to this novel because it is such a personal, emotional and heartwrenching story that any words I say won't do it justice. The only thing I can actually say without giving anything away is that; you must read this book the moment it is released.Author Rebecca Berto so cleverly gives us an insight into Katherine `Kates' mind as she struggles through life after the death of her husband Paul, a death that she witnessed and feels responsible for. All too often books seem to skip past the nitty gritty, dark and painful times that people have to live through after the death of a loved one. Therefore I was overjoyed to follow the dark, compelling and psychological journey of Kates' recovery, seeing first hand how the loss of her husband affects her relationships with her parents, best friend and most importantly her daughter.Usually the romantic in me dominates my love for fiction, and the romance of a story is that which I connect to the most, but Rebecca Berto's incredible storytelling in this book just drew me in and had me so invested in Kates' relationship with her daughter Ella that I can't tell you the number of times I was in tears as Kates struggled to recover from the trauma of her husband's death in order to be the mother she wanted to be for her child.Seeing every stage of Kates' grief and how she first spirals into a dark psychological state and then gradually starts ti accept help had me so engrossed, and I had to stop reading for minutes at a time to take deep breaths, still my racing mind and remind myself that this wasn't my life and it wasn't me going through this trauma. The writing was just so extroadinary that I felt I was living the story as it happened. I could not read this book without completely immersing myself in it, and caring for the characters so much that I viewed them as close friends rather than fictional individuals on paper.This book was truly stunning, a real masterpiece and a brilliant example of a realistic, dark gritty new adult book whose story will consume you. The timing was perfectly done and the contrast between the confused and distorted thought processes of the deeply grieving Kates and the slowly healing, loving Kates was spectacularly done.6 stars and on my list of favourite books of all time.