We’ve entered the spring season and are quickly moving toward the beach read high point for the year. Summer book clubs, summer reading lists and all that jazz abound. Well, I have one for you to add to the list. And you’ll want to do is quickly because the sequel comes out July 4th. Catch up quick!
Londale’s Everything We Keep begins in the middle. The middle of a funeral that should have been a wedding. It’s here we meet Aimee, the grieving fiancée who has lost the man she should have been marrying. Lonsdale has us follow Aimee as she grieves her loss and attempts to figure out where her life should go from this point. The pesky problem here? That dead fiancée may not be so dead. At first, the clues are nothing by gossamer and theory, however as Aimee has the chance to move on with her life the whole ordeal blows up.
What I loved: The realness of Aimee’s grief and Lonsdale’s respect for the process. She doesn’t rush her, but allows us to move forward in the story. This keeps the tale from dragging. It’s a journey of self-discovery for Aimee that seems like it may have been delayed with her reliance on James, the fiancée, and her parents. The question I kept asking myself was “how would I react?” Would I have done any better with the grief that can become so overwhelming? There is also some very dark examples of family and all the secrets lurking in people’s pasts. Lonsdale does a fantastic job of peeling back the layers, until she reveals some secrets that are surprising. Bonus, some serious chemistry between some characters, but I don’t want to give away too much!
I also loved the hint of the supernatural with the psychic who propels Aimee’s journey to the truth. See backlist bonus for more on this.
Would I recommend? In a heartbeat! This was a great read. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Full of dark and light. You’ll whip through this read and be totally satisfied…until the epilogue. Curse you epilogue!!!
Backlist bonus: You have to check out Lonsdale’s All the Breaking Waves for another beach read that is “un-put-downable.” Another great story about family and love with a great helping of the super and natural.
