First of all, the narrator was OK. No complaints. Actually, I quite liked her voice. And I didn’t get annoyed with her. So it was probably better than OK.
Sophie’s male partner, Ian, dies. Freak accident. Sophie is sad and mourning. She finds comfort in staying with Ian’s non-biological step mom, Delores. They mourn together. They gradually become closer through their shared loss.
This was really morose. It was all about Ian dying and them dealing with it. Every single action, thought, etc… is about Ian’s death. In that sense, it got really repetitive.
When Sophie and Delores begin to blur the lines it is because they just need to ‘feel’ some type of pleasure. I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve experienced the sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one. I too, wanted something to take me away from the incessant heartbreak. But if I would have even for a second thought about that death while being intimate, it would have been a huge mood killer and things would have stopped. In this book, it is like it is the driving force of the sexual desire/need. It was uncomfortable.
I really wanted them to gradually grow. I wanted to be convinced that they were falling for each other and not just because they were both a part of Ian’s life. It never happened. The book never made me feel like these two genuinely loved each other for who they have become. Everything was about Ian. Constantly about him. They even celebrate his birthday after his death. Sophie writes letters to dead Ian.
I just kind of got annoyed at the amount of grieving and not being able to get beyond that at all. Even in the end, when Sophie is talking to a friend of Delores to try and convince her that what they share is real. The friend finds something of Ian’s to give to Sophie. And I just sighed and thought ‘OF COURSE.’
It was written well but I couldn’t get pass the fact that Sophie fell for her mother in law who is 26 years her senior. I understand the lust and sex for feeling something. But beyond that? Didn’t feel it.
I would recommend this to those who like age gap romance, really depressing reads, and forbidden relationships. Otherwise, give it a pass.