The Last Charm
by Ella Allbright / Nikki Moore

A moving and heartwarming love story perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day in December…

Leila’s charm bracelet tells a story of love, a story of loss, a story of hope.

This is the story of her … and the story of Jake.

When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake.

So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago…

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

‘Along with my dad, my grandad taught me about the kind of person I want to be… Someone who can look at themselves in the mirror and be proud. Someone,’ I finish, my voice echoing through the church, ‘who makes the people around them better just for knowing them. That’s what he gave me,’ I say in a fierce voice. ‘That’s who he was. I’ll miss him, but he’ll still be with us all, because every time one of us does something good that we can be proud of, and every time we look in the mirror and feel it, he’ll be there.’

My Review:

I am ruined – Nikki Moore broke me and turned me inside out more than once. This crafty author hit all the feels, several times each and with a poignancy that still stings my eyes and constricts my throat when I consider how the events were staged. Ms. Moore’s character development was nothing short of phenomenal with a full cast of oddly compelling and uniquely damaged individuals.   I never fully joined team Leila as she was an immature and self-absorbed prickly pear who was often overflowing with resentment; prone to stubborn, impulsive, and hypersensitive behaviors; and was rather horrid, petty, and harsh in her treatment of the lovely Jake.   Jake had numerous challenges of his own and was undeserving of her vile comments and wrath, yet he accepted her abuse as he had his horrific childhood. Jake’s storylines were tragic so, of course, I adored him!

The writing was emotive and left a deep bruise on my coronary muscle. Despite her rather prolific career with words, this was my first exposure to the agile scribblings and emotive storytelling of Nikki Moore/Ella Allbright, and while I was conflicted most of the way through and eager to administer a few well-primed pinches to the bratty main character, I would not have been able to walk away from this complex and maddeningly paced tale had my hair been on fire.