Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 11, 2019)
International bestselling author Susan Lewis’ riveting, unforgettable novel of a woman whose life changes in an instant and the handsome young man with whom she shares a secret history—perfect for readers of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Susan Wiggs.
How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering…
Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous apartment in London, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. After escaping her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her devoted and enigmatic mother. Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now she’s determined to find out what it is. Though her condition makes her fragile and vulnerable and she’s afraid of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.
Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Josh and Vivi are soon inseparable, unaware of the past their families share. All Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own…
Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
I felt as though we were fitting back into a place we’d only ever left temporarily. Then, when I saw the house, this house, sad and neglected, I thought, I swear this, I thought it gave a little sigh of relief when it realized it was us— and if you laugh, I’ll leave you.
She realized there would be no bucket list for her— or not one that included daredevil stunts, long-haul flights, or weeks of hot, passionate sex on a beach in the South Seas with a younger version of George Clooney.
“We’ve become reducetarians.” Sam blinked. “What’s that when it’s at home?” he demanded. “It means we still eat meat… but a lot less of it, which is good for our health, the planet, and animals.”
My Review:
This was an informative and thoughtfully written book that held my coronary muscle in a vise and had me contemplating the various aspects and complicated issues and emotions surrounding organ donation. Ms. Lewis’s writing was highly emotive and insightful as well as lushly detailed with descriptions that involved all the senses in addition to setting the emotional tone for each scene.
Vivi Shager thought she was a healthy woman who had the world by the tail. She was an intelligent and successful professional who frequently traveled internationally for work and had recently run a marathon. But apparently not, as meeting her friends for lunch to celebrate her twenty-seventh birthday and in a most distressing turn of events, her world and her heart imploded with a series of three heart attacks and was given the life expectancy of one year without a transplant. Not a good birthday at all then. The rest of the book slowly evolved over a year forward and thirty years back with two timelines following two different families until their storylines intersected and a lovely romance blossomed.
While the premise and much of Vivi’s narrative was fraught with tension, family drama, and uncertainty; there were more pleasant elements to be found in the back and forth over thirty years of the Raynor family narrative. I adored every generation and timeline of this lively and loving clan, although they also endured more than their fair share of tragedy as well.
I cannot imagine the ghoulish and demoralizing effect of waiting for someone to die so I could continue to have a chance at living. Or to rush to the hospital for that long-awaited surgery, only to be stopped in my tracks when the donor’s family would not consent. Devastating. I learned so much about this process that I would have never stopped to consider. I also picked up a new word and a phrase to add to my Brit Vocabulary List with pong – which is British informal for an unpleasant smell, and “What’s that when it’s at home?” – which apparently means ‘I have no clue what you are talking about.’ I will be eagerly waiting for a chance to slip these into use.
I was provided with a review copy of this poignant and thought-provoking book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
About the Author
Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of more than forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense, and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, James; stepsons, Michael and Luke; and mischievous dogs, Coco and Lulu.
Find out more at her website, and connect with her on Facebook.
TLC Tours rejected me.. 😂 😂 Ah well. I got rejected for this book too.. Ah well
She used to be one of my fav authors. I am an organ donor. This book sounds so good and emotional. Great review
It is their loss, Precious. They missed out on an exceptional post from a thoughtful reviewer.
Oh DJ thank you for saying that.. It felt really insulting, I think I was sad for a couple of days… You have really really helped me with your words. I have had other tour organizers asking me if I was a person of color… I wanted to give a medical explanation about melanin and hormones released by the brain. I restrained and didn’t bother with them… 🤷♀️ What is wrong with the people of today?
How does skin play a part? I have seen enough surgeries to know our insides are the same liver kidney intestines spleen…
Sorry for the long rant
Hi Shalini, I’m really sorry that you felt rejected by us. That certainly wasn’t my intention. As I mentioned, I’ve been asked to focus on readers in the US for the tours that I do, so my hands are tied as far as having you on tours. I think you write thoughtful reviews, and I’d love to have a tour that I could invite you to be on!
I understand Trish, but some days getting rejected because of borders feels extremely bad. Life is already very difficult, books are an outlet.
This is an exceptional review.
Thank you, Robin. Your praise means everything to me!
Oh my goodness, this book sounds heart breaking. Organ donation is such an important topic and I’m so glad it’s starting to get a bit more attention in books.
This one sounds fantastic.
That is such a beautiful cover.
Oh this looks good.
I have a friend who is a double transplant recipient and I know she has struggled knowing someone else had to die so she could keep living. I think recipients feel a lot of guilt in that. This sounds like a great book, thank you for being on this tour. Sara @ TLC Book Tours
Oh wow, this one sounds like an emotional read! Great review DJ!
Great review. However I don’t think it would be for me as I’m not a lover of books moving back and forth in time.
What a story. This seems like something that would sit with you for quite a while…
Great review. This one seems intense!