I bought this book because of the glowing reviews and the unique story line. The book summary lets you know that this is a story about reunited childhood friends. So, I started this with high hopes and quickly became impatient for Holden and Griselda's reunion. So, I skimmed a bit to get there and then realized that I was selling the story short by missing the details in between. I was worried about how I would feel reading about children being abused (also from the summary and reviews). I wasn't sure what to expect. I am a mother and typically reading about children being hurt is really difficult for me. The author managed to temper the awfulness of their childhoods by showing the innate strength that both of these children had. They really mustered their courage and imaginations to weather what was a truly awful experience. It was lovely to read. This is the first time in a long time that a book has made me really want to cry. They were equally wonderful characters. Griselda was strong, canny and incredibly loving. Holden was smart, selfless and also very loving. For children that were shown so little love, their ability to be so empathetic and forgiving was inspiring, This is a real love story. This Pure romance in its purest form (Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl get back together)
I have been reading a lot of romances lately. They are typically complete fantasy with characters that couldn't really exist in our world (rich, gorgeous and wildly successful before the age of 30). I like those stories because reading is my escape from the day to day realities of my life. But, THESE characters were refreshing in the sense that they had read problems and were struggling with the basics of life like most of us do. I LOVED Holden. I thought he was an extraordinarily written character. I LOVED Gris. She is my kind of girl. Even her self imposed lack of "good" in her life was understandable. I loved how quickly she shed that whenshe realized her reasons for feeling guilty were unfounded. I won't recap the plot because the description of the book does a great job painting an accurate picture of what the book is about. I would say if you are looking for romance, grit and a story that stays with you, this is a book you should read. It has substance. I actually felt excited as the book was coming to an end because the characters were making SUCH leaps and strides in their efforts to build better lives. Yes, there are sad and hard moments. It is not all rainbows and caviar. But you can feel it striving to give these characters the HEA they deserve. Not some neat and easy ending, but one that is worthy of their struggle as individuals. It was a really well written book. No typos and grammatical errors (it's a shame this is an exception to my more recent experiences, but it is). It is not an expensive book and definitely worth buying. Enjoy!
