NEW REVIEW: Dear Emily (Forever Family, #1) by Trudy Stiles

Dear Emily by Trudy Stiles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Two women. Carly and Tabitha. They each have suffered life-altering events that have left them both traumatically damaged. 

Carly Sloan’s life was perfect until her security and innocence was torn from her. The vast repercussions from horrific events threaten to destroy her stability and her chances for a happily ever after. Kyle Finnegan comes into Carly’s life at the height of her turmoil. Can he help her find what she desires most?

Tabitha Fletcher has constantly suffered from a very young age. She has been hiding from her past, which was full of sadness, loss and abuse. She has been so brutally damaged that she has very little hope for redemption. The revolving door of men only leads her deeper into misery. 

What circumstance brings these two women together and can they help each other heal? And will they each find what they need? 

Redemption.
Love.
Family.

“Dear Emily” is the first book in the “Forever Family” series.

This book is not suitable for young readers. It is intended for mature adults only (18+). It contains strong language, adult/sexual situations, non-consensual sex and some violence.

My Review

And I stand corrected…again

I'm going to let you in on a secret. I...did not want to read Dear Emily. Nope, just like the guy who won't buy drinks for an ugly, I judged a book by it's synopsis. It sounded like a beautiful story. A beautiful story following the lives of two women. Lives that intertwine and all that shit, but it also sounded like a huge est fest; one I'd need some major chocolate and a tampon just to finish. I seriously needed someone to bring a little sausage to the party.

Dude...I was wrong.

I was wrong about what I'd find when I opened the pages of Dear Emily. I was wrong about pretty much everything!

Romance may not be mentioned in the synopsis (or "blurb" if you will, but I really hate that word, blurb....it sounds like burp vomit...."someone blurbed"), but romance was definitely at the pulse of Dear Emily. It coursed through the pages and enriched the story in a way that had me hanging on to each word. I think I'm still hanging on.

I was also apprehensive about the story because of the alternating between past and present, in addition to the dual story lines. But Trudy Stiles took my apprehension and crushed it. She crushed it with an insurmountable talent for creating fluency and cohesion while progressing the story. I never once felt confused by the alternating stories or timelines. The two stories became one, and it was flawless.

I was blown away by the story's originality.

I was blown away by the romance and passion.

I was blown away by the heartache and pain.

I was blown away that I whole heartedly invested my emotions into the lives of these two women.

I cared.

Dam you Trudy Stiles, you made me care.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that I feel as if I somehow missed out. Missed out on story. Trudy Stiles did an amazing job basically combining two books in one, but in doing that it meant we were only allowed to experience certain moments. I love the unique way in which the story was told, but at the same time I would have loved getting to experience more development of Carly and Kyle's relationship. I wanted more moments. Even with Tabitha and Alex, I craved more. More. More. More...and more. You can just attribute my selfishness to this amazingly unique and beautifully story. I never once felt like this story was rushed; I just felt that I had to sacrifice some development that could have further enhanced this amazing book in order to be able to include everything.

I can't believe that I almost missed out on this experience due to my misguided ignorance. Don't make the same mistake that I did!

READ ON!

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