Some of you might not know, but I've been reviewing for another blog, Luxury Reading, for a number of years now. I just loved working with Vera so much I decided that I would continue to review for her even once A Literary Vacation began, just on a much smaller scale. Last year I listed my reviews for Luxury Reading under my reviews tab, but I didn't really highlight those reviews in any posts. So this year I've decided to do so, making sure you guys see them.
I'll give you all the book information, synopsis and a little taste of my review, and then link over to the full review on Luxury Reading. My first review of 2016 for Luxury Reading is The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth, a "fascinating look into the human struggle to understand why things happen to us and how to hold on to whatever we can when it all starts tumbling down".
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Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Pages: 352
Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one another resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.
When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them.
Review Quote
"Sally Hepworth did an exceptional job of getting the reader inside Anna’s head, so you could not only feel her frustration, confusion and anger but witness how her disease affected her thought processes, her memory and her ability to express her thoughts and wishes. With Anna being so close to my own age, I really related to her and could completely empathize with her feelings and actions…I would respond the exact same way if I was in her situation. Possibly because of this I really connected with her and her attempts, even when she wasn’t even aware of why she was doing it, to stay connected with Luke. There is a secret revolving around Anna that resulted in her being separated from Luke during much of the story (and which drives Eve’s attempts to help them be together) and while I have to admit that I saw it coming a mile away, it did add to the development of not only Anna’s character but her relationship with her brother and his reasons for wanting to protect her so badly. Anna was such a fascinating character to me that I really wanted her to be as happy as she could be, as her brain continued to fail her, and longed for something to be done to help her."
I rated The Things We Keep 4.5/5.0. You can find my full review HERE.
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