Two loves, one choice, a whole lot of tears!
Plot:
Three and a half years after her husband went missing in a freak plane accident and is presumed dead, things seem to be turning up for Emma - she moved back to her small town from the bustling city of LA, reconnected with an old friend turned new fiancé, and is strengthening her relationship with her family she left behind all of those years ago when she fled town searching for adventure. Life is different, but life is good. That is until her dead husband is found very much alive. Now Emma is forced to choose between her first true love and her second while simultaneously choosing between the person she was with her first husband and this new version of herself that she pieced back together after his presumed passing.
Review:
This book leaped off the shelf for me from the title alone - add the fact that it was partially set in a bookshop, one of my favorite settings for romance books, and it was a home run for me. The book started off strong, telling the complete story of her life with her husband Jesse before his disappearance and with her fiancé Sam after Jesse’s disappearance in two distinct parts. I personally was inclined to love Sam from the start - he was her friend, he loved her when they were young even when she didn’t love him back and once they reconnected and got together, he provided a stable life she desperately needed. Jesse on the other hand was the complete opposite, but equally endearing. He was the alluring adrenaline/travel junkie, which is what ultimately gets him lost and presumed dead for three and a half years. The juxtaposition between the two men made them equally endearing and Jenkins Reid’s ability to create such strong storylines for each made me forget why I liked one man over the other as I found out more and more about them.
Sam’s storyline taking a backseat in the middle of the book so Emma could spend time with Jesse is what caused the book to lose one star for me. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Jesse and I understood why she needs to focus on that relationship, but I missed the contrast of the two relationships. With that being said, Jenkins Reid’s ability to tug on your heartstrings pulled me right back in and by the end of the book, I was a crying mess.
Grief had such a strong presence in this book and reminded us that at some point we have all grieved someone. Whether it was grieving someone who has died, grieving a love you once thought would last forever, or grieving a dream you once had for yourself - this book cocooned you in the warmth that promised that the overwhelming pain you feel will not last forever. You’ll one day be able to put that pain down and only visit it with warmth and fond memories on your own terms.
The tug of war between not only Emma and her two men, but also the Emma of then and now drove this book to the finish line and makes you wonder:
-If you were in her position, would you have made the same decision as Emma?
-Are you living your life for your current self or for the version of yourself you were 10 years ago?
-Can you have more than one true love in your lifetime? Have you?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Favorite Quote:
“I had predicated my life on the idea that I wanted to see everywhere extraordinary, but I’d come to realize that extraordinary is everywhere.”
&
“I once thought grief was chronic, that all you could do was appreciate the good days and take them along with the bad. And then I started to think that maybe the good days aren’t just days; maybe the good days can be good weeks, good months, good years. Now I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down. It doesn’t mean that I want to let go of the memories of you or the love I have for you. But it does mean that I want to let go of the sadness. I won’t ever forget you. I don’t want to and I don’t think I’m capable of it. But I do think I can put the pain down. I think I can live it on the ground and walk away, only coming back to visit every once in a while, no longer carrying it with me.”
Rating: