Review: An incredibly beautiful, heart-squeezing, emotional read, bring the tissues, you'll need them!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 14, 2013
Even when I read Jessica Scott's debut novel, Because of You, I was blown away by the emotional intensity and rawness she managed to put in words. Anything For You is the much awaited epilogue to that story, as we revisit Shane and Jen, the hero and heroine of Because of You and catch a glimpse of how life is for the couple after the "happily ever after". And while Anything For You is really short, it sure packs a strong emotional punch.As you see from the blurb Jen is a breast cancer survivor and ever since they got together and talked about their joint future, Shane has read article and research paper one after the other to see how a pregnancy would affect Jen, and seeing that there are no guarantees as to Jen's well-being, he wants to sacrifice the possibility of having biological children."Jen wasn't a random number in a study. She was his heart and soul, and while she was determined to live a normal life and not let the cancer define her, every time they made love, he was aware of the risk.""I can't risk it. No matter how much I might want a kid with her, I'm not going to risk her life for some selfish need to feel my baby growing inside her."That is the brief summary of the story, and yet Anything For You is so much more. It is full of gut-wrenching fear and anguish over the terror of losing the person you love,"He leaned up to kiss her fiercely. "I can't lose you, Jennifer St. James. Not when I just found you." Tears burned in her eyes at his admission."It's not that simple, Shane.""It is. Maybe it's selfish of me, but I...I can't live with the risk of getting you pregnant. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you because of me.""of trembling that one day the cancer will be back, of a love so deep and tender that just reading about it makes your heart swell and feel humbled and touched you got to witness it.Once again Jessica Scott manages to reach inside me, squeeze my heart until I have trouble swallowing my tears. She just has a way with words, she twists and turns them and makes them bleed with tears and fears and deep, raw feelings. The emotional intensity is paired with such touching tenderness that you will have a hard time blinking back tears.And what would be a Jessica Scott story without her trademark of humour peppered into the story at even the most inopportune moments and scenes? Lol, of course we don't have to guess as not only does Carponti (a previous character and resident jokester) make an appearance but Jen's girl friend also has a way of seeing things a bit differently than the norm:"This vasectomy thing is kind of romantic." Jen raised both eyebrows."Oh, I can't wait to hear this.""The man loves you enough to let his balls be sliced open. How do you not see the romance in this?""He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. And as she drifted between sleep and waking, she knew that no matter what, Shane would be the man holding her if she got sick again. He would be there for her. And she would do anything for him. Which meant she needed to get him a fresh bag of peas."Verdict: Despite its shortness Anything For You is an incredibly beautiful, heart-squeezing, emotional read.  Jessica Scott does it again, she masterfully weaves emotional rawness and anguish with humour and levity  to make the result entertaining and unforgettable, just perfect! Even though it is a very short novella, Anything For You will shake you up and make you feel as if you were tumbled dry. A story I cannot recommend enough, but bring the tissues, you'll need them!I give Anything For You 5 teary stars!Plot: 8/10Characters: 9/10Writing: 10/10Ending: 10/10Cover: 9/10