The most brazen terrorist attack in history. A country bent on revenge. A love affair cut short. A heart that never truly heals. I knew on the day of the attack that our lives were changed forever. What I didn’t know then was that I’d never see John again after he deployed. One day he was living with me, sleeping next to me, making plans with me. The next day he was gone. That was five years ago. … next day he was gone.
That was five years ago. The world has moved on from that awful day, but I’m stuck in my own personal hell, waiting for a man who may be dead for all I know. At my sister’s wedding, I meet Eric, the brother of the groom, and my heart comes alive once again.
The world is riveted by the capture of the terrorist mastermind, brought down by U.S. Special Forces in a daring raid. Now I am trapped between hoping I’ll hear from John and fearing what’ll become of my new life with Eric if I do.
From a New York Times bestselling author, Five Years Gone, a standalone contemporary, is an epic story of love, honor, duty, unbearable choices and impossible dilemmas.
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3 1/2 stars. This will not be a lengthy review because I don’t want to give anything away. This story will require some suspended reality to not get too frustrated with the major plot line. I did get a bit annoyed at Ava’s crying all the time. There were a few things that happened in the story that really didn’t have any real bearing on the plot. I was a bit confused why the part about Eric’s mother was in there. And there were several chapters from side characters POV that didn’t really feel necessary.
It was a very heartbreaking yet uplifting love story and I did like the way it ended up.
It seems like for my family, every generation has a critical event. For my grandparents it was Pearl Harbor and WWII, my parents had JFKs assassination and Vietnam, and for me it’s 9/11 and the never ending war on terror.
With that framework, Five Years Gone hits very close to home, especially Ava’s character. Ava is 23 when the fictitious terrorist attack in the book takes place (roughly my age when 9/11 happened) so it’s easy to imagine being in her shoes.
At first Five Years Gone seems like a simple story, a woman who has struggled with grief and no resolution reaches the end of a rope and starts to move on. That in itself would make a compelling story. But, Ms. Force doesn’t stop there.
She takes that compelling story and adds layers, twists, and turns that take the reader in unexpected places.
The cast of the book is fairly small, Ava and her love interest are at the center. The secondary characters are all key players to the story and to Ava’s journey.
What made this a five star read for me was that all of the various twists and turns could have made the book cheesy, but the writing in the book keeps the reader at the edge of their seat without being over the top.
This is a book that is a must read for anyone living in the post 9/11 world, especially anyone who can remember that day.
Five Years Gone is the new stand-alone from Marie Force and I have to say it shows how very talented and diverse this author is, this book is certainly going to be amongst my top reads of 2018.
This book is so much more than a story it’s a journey and it will have your emotions all over the place but if I’m really honest there were times I wanted to jump off what looked like a train wreck about to happen but I couldn’t put this book down it captivated me I needed to keep turning the pages. This journey is inspired by tragedy but that doesn’t make our heroine weak in fact it makes her stronger, every character in this book gives a piece of themselves but surprisingly this also enables them to find themselves. Please be warned this book is an emotional roller coaster you will cry in fact you will ugly cry but this is a amazing beautifully written love story that shows us that there is light at the end of the tunnel and you can leave the darkness behind if you just trust your feelings. Five Years Gone is a story I didn’t want to end and for me that is a sure sign you are reading something very special. Please go and one click this must read !!!!!!
I love this book, no doubt about it. It was absolutely amazing. This is one of those books where, you can’t wait to see how it ends, yet you dread the last page because you never want it to end.
Ava loved John, only to have him walk out, seemingly to deploy after a terrorist strike. Giving him 5 years, she tries to move on.
Ava meets Eric at her sister’s wedding, he’s the groom’s brother, and he’s had his own love problems. These two meet and there’s instant chemistry. But can two such damaged people work?
The story is their ups and downs, their trials and tribulations, and how they confront life. But of course things never run smoothly, and John is always in the background, will Ava’s past with John derail her future with Eric?
When you lead with your head, it’s hard to hear your heart. Five Years Gone is an emotion packed tale of love lost, hearts found and secrets revealed. Marie Force appeals to vulnerability. Ava’s journey is one inspired by tragedy, yet empowered by strength. There will be plenty of ugly cry moments, so make sure to keep the tissues close at hand, but there are also glimpses of the power of the human spirit. That inner voice that guides us to break through the darkness and found our way back to the light. Force entices with heartbreak, but inspires with tales of courageous sacrifice and hope. If truth is more powerful than fiction, Ms. Force blurs the line between the two.
4.5 stars–FIVE YEARS GONE by Marie Force’s is a contemporary, adult romance story line focusing on the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a US cruise ship blown up by suicide bombers. This is PR consultant Ava Lucas, and acquisitions specialist Eric Tilden’s story line.
Told from several third person points of view including Ava and Eric, FIVE YEARS GONE focuses on the building relationship between PR consultant Ava Lucas, and acquisitions specialist Eric Tilden. Five years earlier Ava met and fell in love with John West, a member of the US Navy stationed in San Diego, California, but a man who disappeared in the blink of an eye. With an attack on the US cruise ship- The Star of the High Seas- blown up by suicide bombers that killed over 4,000 people, John’s deployment took him to places unknown, and our heroine waited for close to five years before finally moving on. With the approach of her sister’s wedding, Ava moves back to New York, in the hopes of starting over, and forgetting about the past. Enter acquisitions specialist, and the son of the New York governor, Eric Tilden, and the man with whom Ava would fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Eric and Ava, and the potential fall-out as Ava struggles to let go of the past.
For five years Ava has struggled to overcome the grief and heartache of loss but a loss that has left our heroine without closure or relief. Meeting and falling in love with Eric Tilden meant the possibility of a new start and moving forward but a start scarred by too many questions left unanswered. Eric Tilden knows betrayal first hand as he too was unable to get the closure he needed when his last relationship imploded leaving him a shell of his former self. Meeting Ava meant, he too, was given a second chance at love but a second chance mired in the murky unknown.
The relationship between Ava and Eric is one of immediate attraction but Ava has never revealed what happened or why. Neither her parents nor her sister knew about the man she once loved, and revealing the truth frees up our heroine to begin anew. The $ex scenes are passionate but mostly implied.
We are introduced to Ava’s sister Camille who married Eric’s brother Robert; Eric’s parents Bob and Sarah Beth Tilden; his sisters Amy and Jules, as well as Ava’s parent; Ava’s co-workers Trevor, Carlos, Miles Ferguson, and her roommate Skylar; and Jessica’s therapist Jessica Trudeau. Jessica has some great advice, advice that is difficult under the current circumstance.
The world building focuses on the secrets and lies, heart break and loss. As the Tilden and Lucas siblings move beyond the past, a sudden and new revelation widens the chasm between child and parent. We get a brief glimpse into the relationship between Ava and John, a relationship mired in secrets and lies, but a relationship that elicits more questions than answers.
FIVE YEARS GONE is a heart breaking, tragic and emotional story; a roller coaster of what-if and why; of unanswered questions; and the battle to move forward without looking back. The premise is strong, compelling and truly thought provoking story. The characters are broken, wounded but willing to take a chance; the romance is tender and releasing. FIVE YEARS GONE is a dramatic and impassioned look at the personal fall-out and destructive nature of hatred and war.
You know we have our TBR ‘s all categorized with our “Must Reads” “Rereads” “The best book of all tine” “Unforgettable”…Well Five Years Gone hits each category. And yes I am going there and stating that this is a very emotional and heart wrenching book. Ava, Eric, John. Camille, and so much more. They each give a piece of themselves and you find that you are in love with these characters. I felt the standstill. I was trying to tug the chains free with these characters and was swallowed in the dark. But then there was hope. The light was shining through and at the end, I got my HEA with these characters. Their choices were what I was rooting for. So why am I still heart broken. I am haunted by a certain character. I am excited that we will be able see a continuation of these characters and the snippet that Marie gave us has me dying here.
Five Years Gone had me going from tears, to joy, to feeling a bit crazy. My heart was fully invested with these characters and I related to Ava on a deeper level. John was her first love, but will he be her last? Five Years Gone is a story of loss, love, and above all strength. I am in awe with this book and cannot get it out of my head. MUST READ FOR 2018!