⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A spectacularly written, madly immersive age gap romance.
Travelling on the tube in an evening like any
other, Anna Mayhew's ordered and orderly world is shaken by the arrival of
a panic-stricken young woman into the carriage. With no one else stepping up to
help the obviously distressed woman, Anna offers help which is gratefully
accepted. Anna takes the stranger to a coffe shop to calm her down and slowly
the woman regains composure. But just enough to be less panicked as long as
Anna is around. Suspecting that there is a stalker, Anna overcomes her own
fears and takes the stranger, Jess, home where the overwrought woman literally collapses in Anna's bed into deep sleep.
Thus begins Anna's and Jess' journey. Jess' unexpected
arrival in her life helps Anna slowly peel of layers of fear and protection
that she'd donned over the years. Anna's presence in her life helps Jess gain
more control of herself and her life.
This is a long book in which we savoured every word, lived
every emotion and were submerged in every moment.
Jessica Lambert and Anna Mayhew. Two wonderful characters.
Two women so strong and so vulnerable. So complete with well-defined strengths
and fears. We were swept away by the detail with which they've been brought to
life and totally swept into them, individually and as a couple. When they have
a fallout in the narrative -- we've never so strongly and desperately rooted
for any two people to get back together.
Ashton creates two women with their own demons and doesn't
waver in their characterisation all through giving them both remarkable
dimension and depth. It is unspeakably beautiful to see how they support each
other in facing their demons. It is particularly wonderful the way Ashton
writes one of them on the autism spectrum and encompasses the many behaviours,
good and bad, in her characterisation.
Describing nano-emotions and micro-feelings, Ashton's
brilliance and her sparklingly real ladies had us completely in the zone. We
appreciated that they both were actresses who loved the profession and embraced
it. While one had trouble coping with the attendant attention because of
personality issues, the other welcomed and sought it. And that is really how it
works.
This is an awesome book which we actively and vehemently
recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
