This is the 1st book I've read by Pamela Harju. Well written. I enjoyed this book. There were some twists which were great! I can’t wait to read more of her books. It's not your run-of-the-mill story of two people finding love again. It's more interesting than that for sure.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review.

i enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I enjoyed that this love story wasn't just a typical love story.

At first, I thought this would be a regular run-of-the-mill story of two people finding love again. I was surprised with the ending for sure. I somehow felt that it was a cliffhanger ending. While the end does resolve questions, I could not understand if the book falls into horror or dapples into the topic of mental health. I liked that I did not have all the answers at the end. And trust me, I hate cliffhanger endings. But this one did leave a mark.

The book intensely focuses on Jeff and Hazel and their social situation, including Hazel's bond with her colleagues at work or neighbors. I found certain elements far-fetched- including their financial stability to buy the huge house that they end up living in. As the story unwinds, reflecting on Jeff's past, it becomes easier to understand why he behaves in a particular manner. While I could sympathize with Hazel, I could not root for the main characters. There was a loss of connection on an emotional level between the main characters, and their chemistry felt purely physical.

I would give the book 3 out of 5 stars. It is a good read, and some may like the ending and find it intriguing.

I was surprised liked this as much as I did. Loved the cover and that it took place in the Victorian era. Parts of this were tragic AF but there were some other characters that were un-likeable. Overall, I enjoyed the story with the two main characters and still recommend this.

Thanks to Netgalley, Pamela Harju and Books Go Social for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 1/12/21

I'm not really sure what I read or whether I liked what I read, so I'm giving this book a "safe" rating. I appreciate the author's tribute to rock music/Grunge phenomenon in the "Story about the Story" section at the very end but other than that, the content matter of the core plot left much to be desired -- this may also be because it's this author's first for me. Moreover, neither of the main characters seemed compelling enough to root for (not their sorrow, not their togetherness, which felt more physical than mental but maybe that's more my problem and not Ms. Harju's) and the climax felt rather anti-climactic to me (still trying to figure that one out to be honest, so don't take my word for it). Apart from a couple of proofing issues, the writing flowed easily.

I'm glad I could read this story though, if I were someone who made a playlist in my book reviews, then I'd have quite the list for this one.

Thank you, BookGoSocial, for providing me with a free copy for review.