Published October 11th 2014 (first published October 7th 2014)
I had my whole life mapped out. Perfect guy. Perfect friends. Everything was exactly the way I wanted it.
That was until that night--the one I can’t remember. It’s all my fault, and now the memories are all I have left of him. Of us.
My guilt drowns me until Sam Shea steps back into my life and helps me to the surface. He slowly opens my heart and crawls deep inside before I even realize what’s happening. I know I don’t deserve him.
While I’m trying to get used to my new life, pieces of that night slowly start to come back to me. Lies and secrets shatter everything I thought I knew.
Maybe I’m not the only one living with regret.
My Thoughts
"The world is a beautiful place if you open your eyes to it. Sometimes ugliness steps in front of you, though, and you have to walk around it for the color and light to come into view again."
Living With Regret by Lisa DeJong is the final installment in the When It Rains series. From book one, I’ve been hooked on these characters that easily grabbed hold of my heart and attention. They each uniquely took me on an emotional journey that was heart-rending and hopeful for the three main characters.
From book one, I was eager to jump into Rachel’s story because it was evident early on in the series that something tragic happened to both her and Cory, and I was curious how the characters in this series would react and adjust to the tragedy that took place in this book. I think it was smart to save Rachel’s story for last because of all the ancillary events taking place in the background. I enjoyed revisiting with Kate, but I have to say I missed Emery in this novel. I would have liked to hear a snippet or two of how she was doing. However, having Kate weave in and out of the story made it more heartfelt and enjoyable.
In this installment of Living With Regret, Rachel suffers a tragic loss which is revealed in the first pages of the book. When she begins her journey toward recovery, an old friend named Sam Shea comes to her to help guide her through the darkness she seems to constantly stumble upon. Their relationship started at a very young age, but they eventually fell apart when Rachel started dating Cory and went on to college.
As the novel progresses, we witness the struggle of her recovery and I have to say, she tugged at my heart the entire time. I felt her loss and confusion, mainly because of the flawless narrative DeJong used to tell her tale. I appreciated the fact that there was a constant mystery to the day that changed Rachel’s life. As a reader, I had to work toward the truth, which wasn’t revealed until the final chapters. A small part of me predicted the outcome, but it still had an element of shock once everything unfolded.
Overall, I enjoyed Rachel and Sam’s story. I felt they blended perfectly as a pair and their ending was hopeful and hard-earned. The When It Rains series was both captivating and emotional, which was perfect for my current reading mood. Great series that included a cast I won’t soon forget.
4 Suns
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