Published by Valley Press on November 17, 2022
Format: eBook
Source: Pigeonhole
Pages: 336
Amazon UK
Goodreads
Kathryn Johnson’s life is at a standstill. Stuck in a lacklustre marriage, the spark that once burned so brightly within her has since been snuffed out by the monotony of the everyday.
Returning to England after many years of living in Ireland, she is shocked to discover a familiar face on the side of the road one dark and stormy night. But a person can’t just reappear like that. Not when they’ve been dead for twenty years.
Uncovering long-buried memories of first love and its devastating loss, Kathryn returns to the past to see if she can rewrite her present. But love divided by time is a complicated equation to solve.
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"An engaging, Sliding Doors-style tale of love and loss." Rachel Donohue
"A wonderful and moving love story. An accomplished novel of joy, passion, loss and years of regret. A real debut triumph for Sara O’Donovan." Tadhg Coakley
"This stirring evocation of love, Liverpool and the mysteries of time kept me gripped me from the first exquisite word to the last." Denyse Woods
"This is a wonderful debut novel from Sara O’Donovan. She writes beautifully and there is such a sense of compassion for her characters." Carol Drinkwater
I read this as part of The Pigeon hole serialisation over 10 days and on the whole, I really enjoyed it.
I think until 85%, I adored this book. I was eager to get back to Kathryn and Ed and their lives. I wanted to know more about that fateful day that had hollowed Kathryn out.
Well, then things went a bit odd for me. Somehow the past had changed, people were back and an ending of relationships seemed convenient. I have no idea how or what happened. It really did confuse me and it really didn’t tie up a lot of loose ends.
However (!!) I did really enjoy this book. I was in love with Kathryn and Ed, so wrapped up in their world. I loved and breathed every minute with them for 10 days and now I kinda feel a bit bereft without them. They have been with me in the mornings and evenings and I’m not ready to replace them.
Despite the oddness of the last 20%, I feel like it has given me a bit of a book hangover. There was something about these two people that just had me hanging on their every word. I can’t explain it but that year in their life had such an impact on everyone.
In a way, I am glad it ended the way it did, and you can see it was the author’s end game but I think until I can figure out how we got there it is a conundrum for me. Not sure how a walk can change so much, but then going for a walk is always good for the soul.
It will take me a while to be over Ed and Kathryn. It may be a love story we’ve heard before but the pull on these two is something I’ve not experienced in so long. I might have to keep checking in to make sure everyone is ok.
Until the next time xxx
My thanks to Pigeonhole for allowing me the opportunity to join the readalong
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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