Beautifully and painfully written – I loved this book. Sheila

It starts when Beth’s brother-in-law kills a dog and goes after their sheep.
But – did it?
The dog belongs to Gabriel Wolfe, Beth’s one love when she was a teenager, until circumstances broke her heart and separated them for what she felt would be forever. Gabriel has recently returned to the area where he grew up, a now well-known author, recently divorced, and with custody of his young son Leo.
Beth is happily married to Frank and lives on the family farm, but Leo reminds Beth of the son she lost to a terrible accident around the same age as Leo is now. As Beth finds time to spend with Leo, she also finds it soothes her heartache to be near this boy, despite Frank’s warnings that this may not be the best idea for more reasons than one.
As the past colides with the present, Beth has to choose between he woman she was and the woman she has become.

So – first up. I am not a romance reader. So believe me when I tell you that this book does have elements of romance, of course, but it is written in a way that is also a thriller. The combination works, and I flew through this read wanting to know what would happen, wanting to know how it all would end, but also not wanting it to end.

Beautifully and painfully written, a hard subject for me yet written in a way that also held me captive to the accuracies of losing a child, the feelings of isolation that can come with this, and the pain and struggle of trying to live when not wanting to move forward. Absolutely, I cried.
There is so much to this book that I do not want to share because this is one of those reads that as best left to the reader to go in with no guidance and come out the other side with their own full and personal impact.

This is a wonderful read and would make a great discussion with a reading group – there is much to unpack.

Rated: 5 out of 5
Triggers: Child Loss, Immense Grief, Some Sexual Content
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: Absolutely
Where Read: at home, over a weekend