Reviewed by Desere
So many times in life I have heard of people falling in love with someone that has already been taken. It happens every day and most of the time it ends in heartache for all parties involved.
One of those involved figures out that the one they are with is not 'the one' and then walks away, or it just carriers on as a affair for years or worse all parties involved end up miserable because of the entire mess. Either way having an affair is never the answer and when you meet 'the one' and they are already spoken for it is always best to walk away.
Of course in some cases people feel it is simply not an option, your heart tells you this is what you need and you fight tooth and nail. But every now and then the voice of reason does speak up and in those cases the person finds their strength and walks away and rather let's life run it's course.
In the case of the new Katie Fforde book this is exactly what Bella does, she falls for a married man but realizes she cannot have him and get's out and as far away as possible before things get out of hand. Only fate has other plans and when she gets to a point where all is going well in her life, well sort of, she has a good job, a good hard worked for life and a nice boyfriend. But it all comes crashing down when the one and the only man she ever really wanted re-enters her life, and he is no longer attached to anyone. But this time she not only has herself to protect for no matter how she plays this someone will get hurt.
I so very much loved this book, it was fun, passionate, emotional and just the perfect read for an afternoon escape. The author's characters were very realistic and I felt truly connected to them all and their struggles.
The author did an amazing job at showing each character as realistic and reminded me of just how hard and harsh some challenges in life can be. Not everyone has the courage to walk away from love, not everyone can overrule their heart and tell themselves they are doing the right thing, and these very reasons is what made me love the character of Bella to bits!
The secondary characters in this read was fabulous! I loved reading about each one of them and I also found that the author really took the time to dig deep into their lives. In so many reads there are secondary characters that have secrets and you almost get so involved in wanting to know what is going one with them, but because they are not the main characters you never really get the low down on them at all. The author left nothing out for me and gave me everything I wanted. It felt as if I was right there in the small little town getting to know everyone.
Dominic 's anger towards Bella that comes into play at one stage was a little off and it irritated me but only slightly, as I tried to see if from his point of view, and the more the author let me in on his feelings the more it became clear that his anger is more towards himself than towards Bella, simply because he felt his life going in the wrong direction and then suddenly he has a chance to put it back on track but because of his past failure it holds him back. It showed him as taking out his anger and own insecurities on Bella, which is of course not right but it is what all of us do when we feel we need to go on the defense.
I am taking away a message of life is full of unexpected surprises, some bad some good. But no matter which it is you need to be able to figure out which one you take head on and which one you rather walk away from simply because it is the right thing to do. And never walk away from a second chance at happiness, if you know life has given you that golden opportunity then grab it, for tomorrow it might be too late.
5/5 star review
" The perfect match just showed up in town"
** Complimentary review copy received from Random House Struik South Africa
