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Before And Ever Since (2012)

by Sharla Lovelace(Favorite Author)

4.15 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0425253058 (ISBN13: 9780425253052)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Berkley Trade

review 1: 3.5*. I struggled to get into the book and after several starts, it seemed to hit the stride or it fit the mood and off we went. Compelling reading, even though I'm not a fan of the first person POV nor the fact that I didn't like any of the characters much though by the end my heart hurt for her daughter and her ex-husband. I couldn't understand how a person could hang on to such a huge secret and be able to sleep at night. And I'm definitely not admiring of characters who take the easy road and yet through all of that I was rooting for the h to get her happy ending.
review 2: My Review:Sharla Lovelace has only a very few books out. Last year I read THE REASON IS YOU and absolutely adored it (in fact, it made my top 10 list for the year). I've had this boo... morek in my TBR pile since I read that first one, but had such high hopes and expectations for it, honestly, I was a bit afraid to read it. Well I am so happy to report that this book was just as good as the other. So good!!! OMG! The book begins with the shocker for Emily that her mother has decided to sell her home and go on the road with her crazy Aunt and the big blue RV. This is the house her mother has lived in since she got married, so both girls were raised in it. It has so many memories for Emily and the house seems to be giving those memories back to her. As she helps clean it out, she begins to have a series of visions of events that happened in the house which she is able to watch play out like a movie. It's giving her a new fresh perspective on her parents, her childhood, and her relationships that played out in the house...and each vision always reveals something that she didn't know before.Emily is 39-40. She has a grown 21 year old daughter and an ex-husband in the picture. Her ex husband was her boyfriend all through high school and they got married when she got pregnant. They have a decent relationship although he was a jerk and cheated on her constantly. The ties to their daughter have kept them at a friends level all these years. During high school, she also had her best friend, Ben, who came from a troubled home. But they knew everything about each other and would end each evening sitting out on the rooftop outside her bedroom. Twenty one years ago that ended when he slept with her a single time and then disappeared from her life never to be seen again....until her mom starts getting the house ready to sell. He's the handyman she hires to fix up the place and everything begins to unravel from there. This is a story interwoven with great characters....all tied to Emily. There is a lot going on in each of their lives as they deal with the upheaval of life. As the reader gets to know them, threads begin to unravel and secrets are revealed. Sharla Lovelace is a master story-teller. The way the book is written is magic. The flashbacks and the little pieces of new story you get along the way. I couldn't read it fast enough...and then was sad when it was over, so had to go back and re-read my favorite parts. It's an emotional read and definitely admit to crying while reading it, but I laughed just as much. It was just one of those books...all-around, it made me feel better for having read it. There is definitely angst in it, but the ending is gorgeous. I LOVED THIS BOOK! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!I'll tell you right now, Sharla Lovelace is officially on my auto-buy authors list. less

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