‘A beautiful story of second-chance love’ Sarah Bennett ‘A down to earth and wonderfully uplifting story’ Lauren North She’d turned her back on love. But fate had other ideas. ****************************************************************** A powerful and uplifting second chance love story to make you laugh and cry, perfect for fans of Katie Marsh, Sheila O’Flanagan, and Amanda Prowse. When … Katie Marsh, Sheila O’Flanagan, and Amanda Prowse.
When Jess and Rupert parted ways, it was the end of a great love story that might have been. Now ten years later, the very different paths they have taken in life will bring them back together for a chance meeting.
But with so much left unsaid about the break up neither ever recovered from and with each keeping their own devastating secrets, will they finally be able to make the fractured pieces of their love for one another whole again?
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Your favourite authors love Rachel Burton!
‘Moving, poignant and wistful romance’ Victoria Cooke
‘Sublimely blends heartbreak and happiness’ Pernille Hughes
‘A beautiful story of second-chance love between two perfectly imperfect characters. Rachel writes with such emotional honesty, it leaves me lost for words.’Sarah Bennett
‘Once again Rachel Burton has blown me away with a poignant romance entwined in the battles of the real world.The Pieces of You and Me is an enthralling love story that asks the question – can true love stand not just the test of time but the challenges we face along the way? Jess and Rupert are both fabulous and flawed and their story feels as real to me as the people I see every day. A down to earth and wonderfully uplifting story of love and second chances.’Lauren North
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I could not put this book down. Such a beautiful story with a very easy pace. The characters are likable and I’m pretty impressed with how she dealt with writing her character’s illness. An excellent read and I will be checking out the rest of her work.
Jess and Rupert have known each other since they were born. Their homes backed up to each other and they have been friends their entire lives, until they became more than friends. Rupert goes off to boarding school and then both he and Jess finish college, planning to get married. But Jess’ father dies suddenly and Rupert decides to accept a position at Harvard, an ocean away from Jess. Jess is devastated and a misunderstanding between them breaks them up. Ten years later, where this story begins, they meet up again and make an all out effort to resolve their differences and the misunderstanding, so as to begin a life together.
This was a well written, engaging story. Upon starting this book, one can really feel the romance of this reunited couple beginning all over again. There are ups and downs in their story, but that makes it all the more realistic read. Definitely recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Rachel Burton, and the publisher HQ Digital for opportunity to read this ARC. This is my honest opinion.
Favorite Quotes:
Gem, I know you’re over the moon about getting married and I’m delighted for you, but it doesn’t mean that you get to matchmake. Even if I am the last one left on the shelf.
We were born twelve hours apart – you at six p.m. and me the following morning – in the same hospital, our mothers recovering in beds next to each other… You were early and I was late, which was the pattern that continued for the rest of our lives. You were always waiting for me to catch up with you.
Too young to be here, too old not to be. We’d always done terrifying things together. It felt like the first time we jumped into the deep end of the swimming pool, hand in hand, as children.
Looking back on it now with the advantage of age and hindsight I realised how foolish I’d been, how foolish we are when we’re young. Maybe that alone was reason enough for us to have gone our separate ways. I had been too young to understand nuanced grey areas of thought back then, too young to understand discretion and diplomacy and how sometimes we have to say things we don’t really mean just to keep the peace.
My Review:
One of my favorite tropes just so happens to be second-chances, and this couple was more than deserving of a rekindled relationship as they had each been living a rather miserable half-life while a decade apart. Serious health and family issues and tendencies to live too deeply inside their own heads further compounded their pressures and littered their path with landmines. This could easily have been a maudlin tale but Ms. Burton craftily shaped and paced her endearing flawed yet stubborn characters’ insights, memories, and encounters to circumvent the reader falling into the pit of despair.
While the narrative was often melancholy and angsty – which typically has me twitching and sighing in agony – I am absolutely astounded to report that I didn’t seem to mind. Ms. Burton may well have deployed some sort of magical word voodoo on her book file as, despite the angst, the tender quality and ingenious tempo of her superb storytelling kept me fully engaged, deeply invested, and intensely curious about their slowly unraveling and intriguing story. Contemplating this surprising and momentous phenomenon leaves me rather astonished and blinking in amazement. Such a sly wordsmith deserves a five-star rating for that alone.
In this second chance romance, I somehow was never able to get into the story. I did appreciate the fact that the author gives us a real life situation of dealing with an illness and how it affects the person that has it as well as their friends and family.
That said, I never got involved in either the plot or the main characters, Jess and Rupert.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.