Good Monday, everyone! I told you I had something fun planned for today, and here it is: Distance and Time by Mel Henry. This book really threw me for a loop, mainly because I thought it was going to be one thing, and then it turned out to be the exact opposite. It took me a few days to really sort through my thoughts and feelings about this one. I've had a month now to do that, and I still fluctuate between happiness and extreme anger about the characters and their choices.
What's the story about, you may be asking? Let me tell you:
Carlene Cooper was your average
teenager. Average, that is, except for her relationship with Josh McCarthy,
member of teen mega-group, South Station Boyz. Young love blossomed at a chance
meeting when Carly was a senior in high school and Josh was just discovering
what stardom really meant. Despite their chemistry, it was no surprise to
anyone when their very different lives took very different paths a few months
down the road.
Years later, their paths cross again,
and they must decide if the spark they felt back then is strong enough to
rekindle. Josh has built a name for himself in show business, but Carly, too,
has planted roots as a journalist in New York City. Will they be able to
successfully merge their lives and overcome the obstacles that drove them apart
a decade earlier?
Just as she comes to the decision that will change their
lives one way or the other, tragedy strikes and Detective Trey Foster enters
her life unexpectedly. Now, Carly is faced with another choice. Will she choose
the man she's spent her whole life loving, or will she push it aside for a
chance at happiness out of the spotlight?
This book. Let me tell you a thing. When I first started reading this book, I thought I had stumbled upon another one of those "girls meets dream boy, falls instantly in love, and they live happily ever after" books. No way. Not this one. Mel Henry decided to start the book off this way and then veer it so off course that I'm not even sure we were on a road anymore.
And that's not a bad thing.
Carly is awesome, mainly because she stays true to herself and her goals even when faced with Josh and his infinite glory. She keeps her dreams in mind as they navigate their relationship and even thought it sometimes made me want to shake her a scream, "He's a boy bander, Carly!", she never once gave into him if she knew it was the wrong decision. Josh, for his part, was charming, sweet, and caring, but it was clear that he sometimes thought everyone would move around their lives to accommodate him. This book deals with real problems and real consequences, and while it was sometimes heartbreaking to read, I'm glad that there were parts where no one swooped in to save the day. Sometimes bad things happen and you just have to deal with them. That's what happened to these characters. They looked their problems in the face and either dealt with them or let them overcome their will. Not to spoil anything, but one of the problems Carly has to face is so real that you keep praying someone will intervene, but, like real life, no one does.
And just who decided to write this messy crying novel?
Mel Henry has been an avid reader since stealing her first
Harlequin from her mom’s nightstand in second grade. Because some words were
too big for her seven-year-old vocabulary, she took to writing her own stories
(much to the relief of her teacher) and has been doing so ever since.
After having held various jobs in her life that brought her
no satisfaction and only a piddly income, she decided to publish her first
book. She figured being a starving artist instead of just starving sounded much
more interesting. Being able to do it in her pajamas and no make-up are just
perks to the job.
Living in Iowa with her husband and a couple of teenaged
kids, Mel’s an avid cook (sometimes by choice), traveler (always by choice),
and a hardcore warrior against chronic Lyme disease (definitely not by choice).
She loves concerts, thunderstorms, and good coffee. She loathes conspiracy
theories, egotistical people, and sushi.
She is currently collaborating with three other authors on a
project, and has the foundation in place for her next series. In the meantime,
you can find her current works on Amazon and other online booksellers.
Get in contact with her by...
Goodreads
Author: https://www.goodreads.com/MelHenry
Bottom line? Go buy this book. It's awesome and not the typical love story. It's real and it has depth and it keeps you wondering until the last page and beyond.
iTunes:
We're not over yet...
Coming soon!
Book 2 - Better in Time
Released April 1, 2015
Synopsis
Still reeling from a break-up
with his first love, Carly, Josh McCarthy is replanting his roots in Los
Angeles in an attempt to start over. Once part of South Station Boyz (a teen
super-group in the ‘90s), and a lengthy stint with a Broadway theater company,
success is something that has always come easily to Josh—at least where his
career is concerned. Love, on the other hand, has been a struggle.
With a new role on a hit TV
show and a change of scenery, Josh is hoping to get back on track in every aspect of his life,
with or without Carly. Meeting model-turned-agent, Abby Levy, should be the
answer to his “without Carly” equation. So why do his thoughts keep driving
back to her? Every day, to his own detriment, he finds new ways to compare his
new love to his old one. He just wants to move on and not feel her absence
anymore.
Now faced with another major
life decision, Josh decides to take a trip back to the Big Apple—back to
Carly—to either reclaim his lost love or to finally gain the closure he needs to
move on. What will he decide, and can everything really get Better in Time?
Click below to win a $10 giftcard!
Seriously, I can't reiterate enough that you should buy this book. Sure, it has some real tear-jerking scenes, but Mel Henry writes some of the sweetest, happiest love scenes in the world, and that makes up for the puffy eyes.
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