Reviewed by Desere
Wendy Lou Jones has done it again! She made my cry so badly it felt like my heart was being ripped to shreds.
In her latest book By my side she tells the story of Lena. Lena catches her best friend in the act with her so called loving boyfriend, their betrayal does pretty much the expected number on her, she fails her exams and all goes downhill from there.
She does not take the best action on getting out of her current funk of unhappiness, because let's face it killing yourself is never the answer. She survives her suicide attempt and so begins her stunning journey of recovery and self discovery when a mysterious stranger comes into her life and tells her the remarkable tale of Kate and Adam.
I loved this book very much, it reminded me of the Notebook as the author slowly but surly incorporated the telling of a love affair to Lena. I liked the idea that Lena was lost and felt so alone, definitely very sad but in the case of Lena hearing the love story of Kate and Adam is exactly what she needs.
The story of Kate and Adam was the lovely rollercoaster, please give me more kind. I could not turn over the pages fast enough to see why Adam is so sad, I had to know what happened to him in the past to make him so determined not to lose Kate. Kate was remarkable, a real fighter for what she wants but at the same time bordering on that typical " should I should I not take a risk" type of woman that I am sure most woman are, okay so I know we do it!
By the end of this book I was crying so hard I could not stop, I wept for Adam, I wept for Kate and I cried for Lena, both tears of joy and of sorrow.
I am taking away a message of life does sometimes suck, as in truly the " My life is over" kind of suck. But to give up will just mean that you let the pitfalls of life win, stand as strong as you can because somewhere out there is the place you are meant to be and the person you are meant to meet and be with.
I highly recommend this read for anyone that loves a good read about a story within a story. The author did a truly remarkable job of interweaving the lives of Kate and Adam with the life of Lena. A compelling, fascinating gripping, heartwarming read.
4.5 star review
" Love means never letting go"
