I couldn’t be anything other than a romantic at heart — it’s my nature, it’s who I am. But this isn’t a typical story of traditional love. It isn’t a fairy tale. No happily ever after neatly tied up with a shiny bow. It’s a memoir of the reality left behind in the wake of grief — the desolation, the resurrection, and final culmination life offers to the fallen. This is a journey through love…the … through love…the love of self, love of a friend, and sometimes love is ugly, messy —destructive.
My name is Bastian Thames…and this is my story.
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Grief is an awful roller coaster that not everyone survives. This book is very well written and you truly feel all of the emotions that Bastian is feeling as he’s going through his fight to survive and live in his new world without Sylvie. Anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to the emotions of this book
It has been 2 days since I have finished Chimera. It has been 2 days where I want to pick up something and throw it. If Stephie Walls was standing in front of me I would shake her ask I am screaming WHY!!! WHY!!!! WHY!!!!.
I am not going to lie I got to a point where I didn’t want to finish it. It wasn’t moving as fast as I was used to. I couldn’t read it in one sitting and kept coming back to it. I called a dear friend who absolutely adored this book and who knows my style of reading and said to her “I can’t continue its not moving fast enough. If you tell me to push through it I will because I trust you” She insisted everything is slow for a reason and as soon as Bastain and Ferry are on the road for NYC it will all pick up and fall together. She said if the first half wasn’t the way it was the 2nd half would make no sense. She was true to her word. Once they hit the road for NYC I couldn’t put it down. The story is around 55% when it takes off.
Bastain was a well known author who lost the love of his life since childhood, his wife Sylvie to cancer. When she died Bastain died mentally. He was a shell of a man who wanted to end it more times than not but was always afraid of the pain that may be on the other side. He stopped painting and disappeared off the face of the art world. His parents even gave up on him because they couldn’t hand his grief. The only person to stay by his side day in and day out was his best friend Nate. They were best bros since the embryo. He didn’t give up on Bastain. Not once.
Bastain’s only connection to the outside world was Facebook. He would have minimal interactions with people and the goings on. That is when he saw Sera. She was a near perfect image of his wife Sylvie. Something in Sylvie stirred something in Bastain again. Just her image made him feel more than he had felt in 5 years.
They start chatting on Facebook and Bastain slowly starts coming back to life. He is using Sera to bring him back to life but what Bastain doesn’t realize is that Sera is slowly giving up on hers. This book is definitely not a HEA. Not for anyone. This book is filled with desperation, angst and loss.
At the end my heart was in a million pieces, I couldn’t breath and I just wanted to hold Nate.
Absolutely Mind Blowing…….