You, Me, And The Sea

by Meg Donohue

Publisher: William Morrow (May 7, 2019)

From the USA Today bestselling author of All the Summer Girls and Dog Crazy comes a spellbinding and suspenseful tale inspired by Wuthering Heights that illuminates the ways in which hope—and even magic—can blossom in the darkest of places.

To find her way, she must abandon everything she loves…

As a child, Merrow Shawe believes she is born of the sea: strong, joyous, and wild. Her beloved home is Horseshoe Cliff, a small farm on the coast of Northern California where she spends her days exploring fog-cloaked bluffs, swimming in the cove, and basking in the light of golden sunsets as her father entertains her with fantastical stories. It is an enchanting childhood, but it is not without hardship—the mystery of Merrow’s mother’s death haunts her, as does the increasingly senseless cruelty of her older brother, Bear.

Then, like sea glass carried from a distant land, Amir arrives in Merrow’s life. He’s been tossed about from India to New York City and now to Horseshoe Cliff, to stay with her family. Merrow is immediately drawn to his spirit, his passion, and his resilience in the face of Bear’s viciousness. Together they embrace their love of the sea, and their growing love for each other.

But the ocean holds secrets in its darkest depths. When tragedy strikes, Merrow is forced to question whether Amir is really the person she believed him to be. In order to escape the danger she finds herself in and find her own path forward, she must let go of the only home she’s ever known, and the only boy she’s ever loved….

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

His stories made it seem as though the past was something I could step into, like a room in the house that was always there, its door unlocked by a combination of words.

 

This fear did not feel like the sort of thing that came and went; it felt like something that was meant to last, like a rope with a double knot.

 

His accent made his words sound even and pure. It reminded me of rain falling into a half-full barrel.

 

He tried very hard not to reveal the details of your file to me, but I’ve cracked tougher nuts on Christmas Eve.

 

No one had ever spoken to me as Rosalie had— and yet, what exactly had she been trying to tell me? Her words were a gift that I could hold but not yet unwrap.

 

I wish I were as proud of my finest moments as I am ashamed of my mistakes.

 

My Review:

 

Meg Donohue has turned out a beautifully written, lushly and evocatively detailed and heart-rending book that was swirling with atmosphere and sea mist. I was captivated, devastated, and engrossed from beginning to end. Written in the first person POV of Merrow, an adult woman at a significant crossroads and recalling her childhood, which was peppered with a love of the land and ocean yet heartbreaking and cringe-worthy with unpredictable violence, humiliation, intentional neglect, and vicious cruelty perpetrated by her older brother upon her and her best friend, an orphaned boy of the same age who had come to live with her family as her father’s ward. The family was rather isolated and lived like hillbillies in a small rustic cabin in a small rural yet coastal area of California.

 

Ms. Donohue’s emotive writing was insightfully observant, deviously paced, and conjured vivid visuals that rolled smoothly through my gray matter while squeezing my coronary muscle, stealing my breath, and stinging my eyes. A Five-Star rating feels paltry and nowhere near enough to rate the superlative quality of this compelling tale.  I was provided with a review copy of this divinely written book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours. 

About the Author