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Review
4.5 beautifully heart-wrenching stars
A. Meredith Walters writes the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, emotional stories, and she has given us another very special read with this one. It’s an amazing second-chance romance that is both heartbreaking and beautiful, and that had me captivated from start to finish. (And her writing is stunning, so you’ll have to deal with my epic quoting).
“A happy story doesn’t always have a happy ending.”
Imogen is a Social Worker working in the Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital, and her latest case is a homeless man who has been brought into the ICU after being badly beaten. The man is scruffy, destitute and horribly injured, but she recognises him as the grown-up version of the boy who was once her whole world.
The boy I loved … My savior. My protector.
He had helped me when he didn’t have to.
He had taken care of me. He had made sure I was warm. Fed. That I had a place to lay my head at night.
Even when he couldn’t keep himself safe, he made sure that I had been. He put me first. Always.
God, I had missed him.
As a 16 year old, Imogen ran away from home. Desperate and alone on the streets, 18 year old Yossarian Frazier (Yoss) saved her from a bad situation, and took her under his wing. He provided for her, cared for her and protected her, and the two of them became the best of friends, eventually falling in love under the most awful of circumstances.
We had felt like a force of nature. Unstoppable. Destined. We thrived on the passion and confidence of youth that left no room for doubt. We loved each other. And in the ugly world we had inhabited, it was a light we had clung to.
Even when I had nothing, he was everything.
But decisions were made, promises were broken, and they lost each other. Now, 15 years later, Yoss is back in Imogen’s life. She sees the opportunity as the second chance she always wanted, and she is not prepared to let him go again.
Losing him once had almost destroyed me.
Losing him again would surely annihilate me.
OMG, this is an incredible love story. Neither Imogen or Yoss have recovered from the loss of all that they shared together, and their love for each other shines through every encounter.
She had no idea that everything would always revolve around her. That when things were at their bleakest, she had always been, would always be, my happy life.
Imogen and Yoss’ history together is revealed in alternating chapters between past and present, and what they found together was incredible. I could feel their connection and their intense love for each other. It was all-consuming and life changing, and all the more beautiful because they found it in the middle of such a dangerous and desperate situation.
“Imi. I love you. God I love you,” he groaned into my mouth as we started to move together. His tears fell on my face, mingling with my own. We sobbed. We laughed. We promised. We fell apart. And when it was over I knew that neither of us would ever be the same. I loved him with the foolish loyalty of a naïve heart. Every piece of me belonged to the lost, lonely boy who had saved me. He held on and I would never let go. Because I knew that when I gave him my heart, he’d never give it back.
And so much more than just a teenage love story, the story of their past is a bleak and painful glimpse into life on the streets for the homeless, and my heart ached at the desperation of their situation and all that they and their friends went through just to survive. It makes what they managed to find together so much more special as they clung to each other and dreamed of something better for themselves.
“We’ll walk on the beach, Imi, and we’ll dance on the sand. Because one day soon, I promise you that all this ugly will become something beautiful.”
… “I know, Yoss. One day soon”.
Yoss is such an amazing character, and he truly is the heart of this story – protective and loving with a huge heart, despite the hopelessness of his situation he never stopped trying to make life better for himself and for those he cared about. But he has been through hell, and the things he was forced to do in order to survive and protect his loved ones are heart breaking and soul-shattering. And though he and Imogen are both desperate to reconnect, he feels ashamed and completely unworthy of her and wants so much more for her than what he is able to offer. His vulnerability broke my heart.
“Why in the hell would you want anything to do with my shit life, whatever’s left of it?” His voice quavered and his hand shook in mine.
I leaned in. He met me halfway. I rested my forehead against his. “Because I love you.”
Imogen is a wonderful character, and I love that she isn’t afraid to put herself out there and show Yoss all that she still feels for him. She’s honest with him from the very start and her love for him, her acceptance of him, and her absolute commitment to him is a beautiful thing.
“It’s been fifteen years, Imi. You don’t know anything about the person I’ve become. How can you say we’re anything to each other?”
I put my hand on his chest, ignoring the feel of his ribs beneath his skin. I pressed my palm over his heart. Thud. Thud. Thud.
“I know who you are in here. I trusted the eighteen-year-old boy who made sure I was fed. Who protected me. Who loved me. And I trust the man he became. Sure, people can change, but I see who you are.”
The story is written in dual POV so we get to see every heart-clenching moment of their reconnection, and it is so beautifully done! Walters has done an amazing job with these characters, and though their situation is one that very few of us would be able to relate to, I felt everything that they went through. It’s not an easy journey for them, and though they have always dreamed of a future together, the reality of that is not so easily achieved. I loved this part of the story, and honestly I would have liked a little more time spent in the present, seeing them figuring things out and finding their way forward, but the story still kept me glued to my kindle the whole way through, desperate to see how it was all going to work out. And yes, they do get their happy ending.
Intense and dark in places, this is a deeply emotional, captivating story that is wonderfully written and heart-achingly beautiful.
I loved it, and can’t wait for more in After Tomorrow.
4.5 stars
One Day Soon
One Day Soon (#1.5)
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After Tomorrow (#1.5)
Coming soon