Synopsis
From RT Book Reviews New Adult Award Winner, K.K. Allen comes a new and suspenseful small town mountain romance.
Lost in the shadows of a tragedy that stripped Aurora June of everything she once loved, she’s back in the small town of Balsam Grove, North Carolina, ready to face all she’s kept locked away for seven years. Or so she thinks.
As one of the victims of a string of mysterious disappearances in the small, picturesque Appalachian Mountain town, darkness has become her home—her safe blanket when the world reveals its true colors. But as the walls of darkness start to move in on her, she knows the only way to free herself from her past is to face it, head-on. She just needs to figure out how.
Upon arrival, Aurora isn’t expecting her first collision to be with the boy she left all those years ago. The boy who betrayed her trust with no regrets. The boy who is no longer a boy, but a man with the same stormy eyes that swept her into his current before she ever learned to swim.
She’d thought he was safe. He’d thought their path was mapped out. Turns out neither of them was ready for the crash at the bottom of the cascade.
Véleményem a könyvről
Amikor először megláttam ezt a lélegzetelállító borítót, azonnal tudtam, hogy kell nekem ez a könyv. Szerencsére nem kellett csalódnom, olyannyira, hogy 2018 egyik kedvenceként fejeztem be ezt a kötetet. Ez egy izgalmas, fordulatos, gyönyörű stílussal megírt regény, szépséges üzenettel.
A könyv prológusa egyből a mélybe löki az olvasókat. A történet egy bírósági tárgyaláson kezdődik, ahol elítélnek egy férfit hat nő feltételezhető meggyilkolásáért, és a hetedik lány gyilkossági kísérletéért. A hetedik lány nem más, mint Aurora June, aki bár túlélte az esetet, mégis azóta is abban a három nap sötétségben ragadt, amire nem képes emlékezni.
Hét évvel később, amikor már úgy érzi, hogy nem élhet tovább ebben a zsibbadtságban, visszatér arra helyre, amely a rémálmok mellett oly sok boldog emléket is tartogat, Balsam Grove-ba, az Appalache-hegység mélyén megbúvó kis városkába, amely számos vízesés otthona. Aurora nem tudja pontosan, hogy mi az, amit keres, de úgy érzi, hogy ez a hely lesz az, ahol rá fog találni, és amely segíthet neki visszatalálni az életbe. Azonban a lány fogadtatása cseppet sem meleg a kisvárosban, ugyanis a városlakók nem akarják, hogy sok évnyi nyugalom után Aurora visszatérése újra felbolygassa a város csendjét.
Aurora csupán 8 éves volt, amikor először megpillantotta a tőle 4 évvel idősebb Jaxson Millert. Mire Aurora 15 éves lett, egyfajta barátság fonódott közöttük a nyár alatt, amely két évvel egy titkos kapcsolattá alakult. Azonban románcuk hirtelen ért véget Aurora elköltözésével a tárgyalás után. Hét év telt el mióta utoljára látták egymást, és amióta mindketten összetörött szível mondtak búcsút egymásnak. Azóta sok minden változott, de számos dolog maradt ugyanaz…
Az írónő stílusa egyszerűen levett a lábamról. Annyira szépen volt megírva ez a könyv! A szereplőket megkedveltem, nagyon szép karakterfejlődéseknek lehettünk szemtanúi, és az írónő nagyon jól mutatta be a gyógyulás folyamatát a karakterek gondolatain keresztül. Egyedül Aurora gyerekkori legjobb barátja, Scott esetében nem éreztem semmiféle kötődést. Úgy érzem, hogy nagyon felületesen volt bemutatva a kettejük kapcsolata, holott igencsak nagy szerepet kapott a könyvben. Sok visszaemlékezés volt a kötetben, és szerintem jó lett volna, ha ezt kihasználva erre a szálra is fektetett volna egy kis hangsúlyt az írónő, SPOILER> {mert így a könyv végén vele történek sem ütöttek akkorát.}. Jax és Aurora kapcsolata gyönyörű, lassan épülő volt, és nagyon szép volt a kötetben a vízesés, mint visszatérő motívum.
A könyv krimi szála nagyon izgalmas volt, és bármennyire későt is mutatott tegnap az óra, egyszerűen nem tudtam letenni a könyvet, amíg az utolsó oldalra nem értem. Nagy fordulatokat tartogatott a történet, habár hogy őszinte legyek, nekem kezdetektől volt egy sejtésem a történet végkimenetelével kapcsolatban, de még így is képes volt jó néhány helyen meglepni az írónő.
Összességében nagyon ajánlom ezt a könyvet mindenkinek, aki szereti a ’suspense’ műfajt és szeretne egy gyönyörű második esély történetet olvasni.
My Review in English
When I saw this breathtakingly beautiful cover at the first time, I immediately knew that I need to read this book. Luckily it didn’t disappoint me, moreover it became one of my favorite reads of 2018. It’s a beautiful, thrilling story with amazing twists and turns and exceptional writing style.
The prologue immediately throws the reader into the deep. The story begins at a court hearing where a man is convicted for the assumable murder of six women and the attempt of murder of the seventh girl. The seventh girl is no other than Aurora June, who although survived the event, is still trapped into that 3 days of darkness that she can’t remember.
Seven years later, when she realizes that she can’t live in this numbness anymore, she returns to that one place that besides all the nightmares holds so many beautiful memories, too, Balsam Groove, a little town in the heart of the Appalachians which is a home of many waterfalls. Aurora doesn’t know exactly what she is looking for, but she feels that this is the place where she will find the thing what can help her find her way back to life. But her return to the little town is not welcomed at all since the townspeople don’t want Aurora’s return to disturb the peace of the town after so many years.
Aurora was only 8 years old when she and the four years older Jaxon Miller met at the first time. By the time Aurora became 15, a kind-of friendship bonded between them during the summer what 2 years later bloomed into a secret relationship. But their relationship suddenly ended when Aurora left town after the incident and the court hearings. 7 years passed since they saw each other, since they said goodbye with broken hearts. Since then so many things changed but so many things remained the same.
The writing style of the Author swept me off my feet. It was so beautifully written! I loved the characters, their development was exceptional, and the way the Author showed the process of healing was really amazing. Only Aurora’s childhood best friend, Scott couldn’t get close to my heart. I feel like the relationship between the two of them was very superficially presented, though he had a quite big role in the book. Several chapters took place in the past, and I think it would have been great if the Author would have use this opportunity to reflect a little more of their relationship, SPOILER> {because this way the end of the book couldn’t hit me that hard either.} The relationship between Jax and Aurora was slow-building and beautiful, and I also loved the waterfall as a recurring motif in the story.
The suspense thread of the book was really thrilling, and although it was really-really late at night when I finished this book I still couldn’t put it down. The story had some big twists and although I already had a feeling what the big turn in the story will be, the Author still could surprise me several times. Overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves suspense and who would like to read a beautiful second chance story.
My Favorite Quotes From the Book
“Darkness is no longer something I fear. Not when the light lives within me. Because that’s the thing about weaknesses. They somehow have the power to make you stronger.”
“To understand truth, one must find courage to seek light in the darkness.”
“Unfortunately, I’d already learned that distractions come and go, but the darkness always remains. It was up to me to keep the light that still burned inside me from flickering out.”
“Who would have known that the things I shut out to survive were the same things that could bring me back to life? Because that’s how I’ve felt since coming back here. Like I’ve been waking up, trading darkness for light.”
“It’s funny how our memories latch onto the comfort of an embrace, the warmth of a
smile, the tingling of affection when we find love. Those feelings are hard to part with, even when they no longer belong to us.”
“I thought it was this place that made me feel whole, but now I’m starting to realize it was you.”
“You came into my life like the fastest river, unsure of where you would end up. And then you leapt- from that rock at Hollow Falls when you were fifteen years old. You leapt and you crashed into my world. Even then, I saw you. I didn’t realize what it meant- I wouldn’t allow myself to figure it out- but I could feel it.”
5- Finding our way back home- Stars
About the Author
K.K. Allen is an award-winning author and Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences graduate from the University of Washington who writes heartfelt and inspirational Contemporary Romance stories mainly about “Capturing the Edge of Innocence.” K.K. currently resides in central Florida, works full time as a Digital Producer for a leading online educational institution, and is the mother to a ridiculously handsome little dude who owns her heart.
K.K.’s publishing journey began in June 2014 with the YA Contemporary Fantasy trilogy, The Summer Solstice. In 2016, K.K. published her first Contemporary Romance, Up in the Treehouse, which went on to win the Romantic Times 2016 Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best New Adult Book of the Year. With K.K.’s love for inspirational and coming of age stories involving heartfelt narratives and honest emotions, you can be assured to always be surprised by what K.K. releases next.
Stay tuned for more information about upcoming projects by connecting with K.K. in all the social media spaces.
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