Random Reads is a segment I created to tackle my TBR list in light of the mandatory quarantines going on due to the Coronavirus. I have created a list of all review requested books I have accumulated (there are A LOT) and, using a random generator, I have it select the book I read and review. Today's Random Read is...
Because You're the Love of My Life by Sarah Kleck
Publication date: September 25th, 2018
Publisher: EsKay Publishing
Pages: 341
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
How do you recognize the love of your life? Do you have butterflies in your stomach? Do you see showers of sparks and fireworks as soon as he steps into the room? Or, is your big love composed of something quieter?
Annie longs for nothing more in her life than someone to love her with his whole heart. With Holden, this wish seems fulfilled, and the two build their own world. But how much pain can happiness bear? When something utterly shocking happens, Annie's life becomes unstable, and nothing is as it once was. Then, she unexpectedly bumps into her teenage love Seth, and her life is completely thrown off balance--especially when fate intends its own tragic story.
Available at:
Free in Kindle Unlimited!!
Review:
I have absolutely loved being able to do this segment during quarantine. I always have such a hard time deciding between the books I have on what to read next. Randomizing it takes all the pressure off me to read certain books before others. All of my books I have read thus far and forthright during Random Reads are books provided by NetGalley. Maybe I will eventually get to that 80% review rating that they say is ideal.
Annie has big dreams for her future and a majority of them involve her high school boyfriend, Seth. Coming from a rocky home life, Annie finds solace in the arms of a boy who seems to feel she hung the moon. That all starts to slip when Seth goes off to college, leaving Annie behind to finish out her senior year alone. The separation proves too much for the young couple and with Annie's relationship with her family not improving she jumps at the chance to attend a college 3,000 miles away from everyone she's ever known. It is there that she meets Holden. Holden was the sweet, playboy of the school who takes an instant liking to Annie. Nobody thought the couple would last, not even the couple themselves, but days turn into months and months turn into years before they know it. However their lives together are not without obstacles. From jealousy to loss to betrayal, the couple navigates their lives together. When Annie runs into Seth once more she calls into question everything she has with Holden and what she could have had with Seth. Can Holden and Annie keep their love alive or is a old flame going to snuff it out completely?
I normally write reviews detailing the characteristics of each character and their role in the story... I needed to shorten that and simply outline the story as a whole. There was too much muddling around in my brain that I needed to express. It has been a long time since I have found a book that utterly WRECKED me. I started reading at 8am and finished at noon. I didn't eat. I didn't clean my house. I just devoured the book. I couldn't get enough. I loved Annie. Annie and Holden tackled a lot of issues that every relationship faces one way or another and even some that we never hope to be confronted with.
The book had a morality to it. A stance on improving relationships and cherishing what you have even if it's no longer melt-your-panties passionate anymore. A lot of married couples can understand how it feels when their relationship with their spouse turns from tear-your-clothes-off hot to a companionable love and affection that is no more lacking in love than in the beginning. It made me feel more normal about the shift in my marriage in that exact fashion.
When I reached the end of this book I laid my Kindle down and wept blubbering, "oh my God... oh my God. Oh my God!! Sarah Kleck has absolutely destroyed me and I love her for it!" If you heed no other words from me on this blog, listen to me when I say... read Because You're the Love of My Life and tell me how shattered you are afterwards. I'll have a hug and a strong cup of coffee waiting.
