Thursday 14 August 2014

Review: Pieces of You by Ella Harper

Lucy. I don’t even know how to start this letter.
Something happened. Something terrible . . .

Lucy was always sure of one thing – her future with husband and soulmate Luke. But after eight long, heartbreaking years trying to have a baby, that future is crumbling before her eyes.
When a terrible accident puts Luke into a coma, Lucy is forced to reassess everything she thought she wanted.

Then a woman arrives with a shocking secret that will force Lucy to make the hardest decision of her life. 




Review: wow this book was a total emotional rollercoater, I feel exhausted having just read it, but in a good way. This book deals with the taboo of infertility and actually a ton of other taboos that affect a lot of people in life. I don't want to give away any spoilers though so I won't go into those too much! The storyline can be really depressing at times as poor Lucy is hit by blow after blow after blow in very quick succession and so I urge you to read this in short bursts or else with someone lovely and friendly around to give you a cuddle! Do NOT read this book too much in public as you will have to be explaining the tears to the people at the next table in the coffee shop... (I had to get extra napkins during the ending!)

I really liked Lucy as a character and even though she is slightly older than me and married I felt I could related to her. She deals so well with everything that is thrown at her, I actually felt proud of her by the end of the book with the way she handled herself and arranged her life in the most careful and organised way. She makes a decision at the end of the book though that I thought was really out of character and kind of went against a lot of the values I thought she had. Luke is an amazing person and I defy anyone not to fall in love with him, he is beautifully described as well so you feel like this gorgeous piece of man is standing right in front of you whilst reading about him. You will definitely find yourself awwing at the little things that he does for Lucy. Unfortunately he also makes a bad decision at some point during the book that will make you want to scream, 'what? No!' 

The other characters in the book also play strong roles and each have their own voices in decimated chapters. Luke's mother Patricia doesn't seem to deal with things as well as Lucy does but really steps up to the mark when Lucy can no longer cope. I admired her for this. Luke's sister Angell also seems to have had a lot thrown at her and more is to come in this novel, I think a spin off novel about her story would be a fabulous idea as she plays a massive part in this novel. Likes brother Ade provides something of a lynchpin in the novel, all will become clear when you read the book and I found myself really warming to him a novel about his story would also be interesting! 

As I have mentioned above, the storyline of the book is a toughie... There is much trauma and a lot of emotions are felt, there are joyful moments, sentimental moments and truly heartbreaking moments but overall it is definitely a worthwhile book to read. The writing is lovely and the descriptions incredibly vivid. I loved the way the story was structured with the different voices and it made for an easy read in that respect. I was a little disappointed with the ending, it was all wrapped up rather swiftly and you are left wondering about various aspects of Luke and Lucy's life and I think perhaps this is why I am so keen for some sort of spin off novel from one of the other characters. I don't think you would enjoy this novel if you were dealing with some sort of fertility issues yourself but I don't think you have to be in the baby making business to appreciate the issues in the novel or identify with the characters within. 

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