book I've ever read that had me literally sobbing, Rest assured, there is an HEA, but it's a brutal trip there,
The book opens as Evan McDonald is getting ready to fill in for his boss on a business trip to Colombia.
After telling his wife Julia "I'm going to miss you, Every minute of every hour, . . " he's off on his trip, After the time he said he'd call comes and goes, Julia starts to worry, When she tries to reach him and can't, panic sets in,
Eventually Julia finds herself in a nightmare scenario, The doting father of their two kids and the love of her life has been kidnapped by paramilitary forces.
This heartwrenching book follows Julia through the years as she works to find Evan and bring him home, while keeping his memory alive and keeping life normal for the kids.
Though Evan is absent from the present tense of the book, Bockoven develops his character through the letters Julia writes to him in her journal describing their courtship and love.
After being missing for five years, Julia gets the dreaded phone call Evan's body has been found and he's been dead for five years.
It's the second half of the book that takes your heart and smashes it up thoroughly.
I've already told you there's an HEA, but if I tell any more, I'll ruin it for you, and this book is too emotional to miss out on a good virgin reading.
I have never read a book that made me feel like this book did, Bockoven draws you into the characters of Evan and Julia and I mourned for Evan as much as I mourned for her.
Their love, as told through her letters, was so strong and such a once in a lifetime chance that I mourned that loss.
I had a pile of tissues around me, and I never cry at books or movies.
The only qualm I had was that the book ended far too quick, We get our HEA, after bawling our eyeballs out in empathy with the heroine, but don't get to see the heroine really enjoy her second chance.
I felt I needed more of a debriefing after the strong emotions she got from me,
Overall, this was an excellent book and one I'll remember for a long time, I was so disappointed with this book, Maybe my expectations for this story were too high, but nevertheless I was hugely disappointed, I have never read this author's work and I don't know if will again, This book is told for the most part from h POV, The H Evan does not get one word from his POV, the kicker is a random dude named David does have POV.
I felt David added nothing to the story if he wasn't there for a love triangle, The HEvan was missing foryears and miraculously shows up after being presumed dead, I felt the author should have written H POV while in captivity to give us,the reader ,a clue as to the depth of his love for the h and his kids.
I just didn't wanna read about a stranger named David and a dog, This book is a tear jerker, I have to admit that i cried, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a great love story and believes in miracles, A solidread.
As everyone has said this is a tearjerker I did not ugly cry but definitely teared over the heart wrenching parts.
Rest assured there's a HEA ending, which I knew before reading, but for a while the author made me think the HEA was not what I was expecting.
Spoilers in the review which I'd advise others to NOT read before starting this book,
The one and only kidnapping gone wrong book I've ever read was a Danielle Steel one atI was scarred by that book because it was heartbreaking.
The heroine's perfect husband died in a kidnap gone wrong we were with her during each step and even with a HEA for the heroine it did not soothe my hurt heart.
I was only willing to read this story because a HEA was guaranteed, Now a HEA guaranteed does not mean a HEA with the heroine's husband, . . horror of horrors!!!
Julia was a strong heroine the biggest pain for her was while trying to keep things normal for her children she's so afraid they'd forget their father.
It cannot be easy for her to always be in Columbia trying to make the professionals keep on working on Evan's case lest it became cold and forgotten.
. . yet promises to the kids were sometimes broken and important milestones missed because Julia wanted to be right there trying to bring Evan home.
From the day Evan was taken, Julia grounded herself by writing letters to him, This is a sweet and refreshing method to fill us readers in, Love reading those poignant letters! They were love letters written from a loving wife to her soul mate husband.
Initially it recounted how they met it was almost love at first sight as they went from friendship to courtship.
Julia had an amazing family especially her parents, Without her family Evan would not have been able to overcome the disadvantages of his childhood and background.
It was amazing how he rose above all that to achieve what he did by the time he was taken.
SPOILERS
So as the letters recounted the love and life of the two of them, in real time it leaped to FIVE YEARS LATER.
Once the letters brought us up to speed on their
family life and how they ended up in Sacramento from Kansas, the interveningyears were also filled in via these letters.
That's when it got really poignant and even funny and witty at times, It's almost like Julia recording the milestones Evan missed so that he could catch up once he came home.
IF he did.
Then we got the dreaded news, that Evan was killed shortly after his capture!
Julia was devastated but to the rest, it was almost a relief to have closure.
Everyone around her seemed ok with moving on, expecting her to be able to do so and that solitude would be good for her and even better for the kids.
When her parents offered to take the kids back to their farm for the summer, and Evan's boss offered their holiday cabin to her, she felt abandoned in a way.
It was during this time she met and grew to like Daniel, the caretaker who was a famous writer.
Now the author really toyed with us by making Julia/ us lose ANOTHER hero!
Julia's love for Evan was so strong she knew she could never love again.
It was so sad to see them separating, . . and THEN we got hit by the news that not only was Evan not dead but he'd be home in a few hours!
The author was really cruel to toy with our feelings and wring our gearts again.
I wonder what was the purpose of introducing Daniel into Julia's life and vice versa, In Julia Daniel found the answer to his own issues in life, He would pack away his old life as a writer and start travelling his own country coast to coast now.
What about Julia Daniel was able to objectively tell her what she needed to hear to get over Evan.
. . or at least be at peace, The dogs added a sweetness to the time at the lake,
I just wish the ending was not so abrupt, I want to see more of Julia and Evan, . . at least let us be there for his reunion with the kids, An epilogue would have been nice after the trauma we've all been through with Julia and the family! Evan too would have some kind of PTSD.
. . but I firmly believe his tough childhood made it possible for Evan to be strong and kept his will to survive firm.
A very memorable book, A sweet love story about patience, A great love story. Evan and Julia are teen sweethearts who marry and havechildren all is wonderful with their lives until one day Evan travels to Colombia on business and is kidnapped after being mistaken for someone else.
Afteryears time word comes that he has been dead since shortly after he was kidnapped.
Julia never gives up loving him and stays true to him even after his death,
One day she finds out that Evan is still alive that the person they though was him that had died wasn't Evan.
He had been beaten during his capture and transferred from one rebel group to another during his capture.
Evan returns home to Julia and his family never giving up hope that he would see them again.
.