Then and Always
I finished this book a day ago and I am still grasping at what to write down to not give the book away. This book has me in its grips from the beginning and the ending; well it left me in awe. Dani weaved such an incredible story together, the ending blew me away. Rachel was living the life as a recent high school graduate getting ready to head off to college. Eating dinner with her boyfriend Matt and a handful of her closest friends, the night comes to a disastrous end. A drunk driver plows into the restaurant claiming the life of her closest friend Jimmy and scaring Rachel for life. The circumstances surrounding the accident have caused deep emotional issues for Rachel, stretching the ties she once had with individuals she was so close to. Five years later, a wedding invitation arrives and Rachel must go back to her hometown and revisit the past she wants to put behind her. To open old wounds, Rachel doesn’t know where to start yet she knows she needs to be there. As she steps off the bus, the new Rachel will see things in a different light and just might find romance where she least expects it.
What a fantastic book and then when I got to the ending, I was elated. I had this ahhh moment where I had happy and sad thoughts going through my head all at the same time. I had to remember that this is about second chances and Rachel got that and that is what made this book great. Rachel was scared to revisit her past, but when she was forced to, she walked away with a bigger reward. The romance was wonderful and her relationship with her father was mature and caring. As she stepped off the bus, I could feel the tension in the air and as she talked with her father at her childhood home, I could feel the years slipping away. The writing was beautiful and graceful, never choppy or empty. There were many layers to this story; I peeled away each piece until I finally closed the book, smiled and took my last deep breath. I truly enjoyed this book- it definitely challenged my mind as I tried to figure out what was happening.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for providing this book for me to review.
