I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh Published by Waterfall Press on October 30, 2018
Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Romance, Women
Pages: 368
Source: NetGalley
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An emotional novel of family, friendship and forgiveness from Courtney Walsh, the New York Times bestselling author of Hometown Girl.
Lyndie St. James is thrilled that her best friend, Elle, is getting married but unprepared for the emotional storm of the wedding week and returning to her childhood summer home of Sweethaven. The idyllic cottage community harbors some of her best--and worst--memories. It's not only the tragic death of her childhood friend Cassie that has haunted her for ten years, it's the other secrets she's buried that have kept her from moving on.
But Lyndie isn't the only one with secrets.
Cassie's mother, father and brother, still struggling with the loss, have been drifting further and further apart. And Elle herself, the last to see Cassie alive, carries an impossible burden of guilt. Now reunited, each of them has a choice: to reveal the truths of that night or continue to live in its shadow. That means embarking on a personal journey of the heart--to escape the darkness and all its regrets and to finally come to terms with the past and, especially, with each other.
I’ve been a fan of Courtney Walsh since the first book of her’s I had the privilege of reading. She gives me such rich communities filled with relate-able people and a romance that typically isn’t over the top. Ya’ll know that romance isn’t the seller for me in a book and story is. I can take or leave a romance but when it’s built into something that captures my attention then I’ll take it. ‘Things Left Unsaid’ is a romance, it’s actually a couple of romances, but it’s so much more than that as well. It’s a known fact that earlier this year my best friend past away. Last year? Another good friend passed as well. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning, still. Sometimes, I get caught up in life and for a moment I might forget . . . until I go to make that phone call I can never make again. I’ve not even made the one year anniversary so I certainly can’t begin to fathom the 10 year anniversary. I do hope, however, that I’ve achieved a greater since of healing in 10 years. I like to believe that I am forever moving forward, even when it feels less than incremental, and won’t stagnate like so many of this community have. I guess, literally, only time will tell.
OK, so I mentioned all the romance this book brings us. It’s the culmination of a forbidden romance a decade in the making, it’s the ignition of a romance that was avoided a decade ago, and it’s the rekindling of a romance that went stagnate for a decade. Cementing love through a wedding, finding love in a past crush, and finally finding healing in a marriage. All based around the 10th anniversary of a best friend, a sister, a daughter. I told you, all the romance. However, it was sweet and so well integrated that it didn’t set my slow burnout of romance on edge. It worked for me. Walsh avoided all the romance cliches that drive me batty. I think I adore her even more now. There are, however, a couple of things I didn’t adore. Yup, this is the part I dread.
Pacing. I feel like it took so long to actually get into the story. I had to hear everyone’s ‘head talk’ and circle talk, and almost self-pity feeling mumbo jumbo that I was ready to Gibbs’ smack every last one of them. I struggled to truly buy into the idea that some things weren’t resolved in the intervening decade of when this group was last together. The hurt read so fresh that it was hard to believe it had been a decade. I mean I can understand a lingering ache, a stab of hurt as these memories are being brought back to the forefront but I struggled to buy that it was this fresh after so much time. That is why this book is only four stars from me. The thing is though, that while I was distracted by the need to smack these guys into actual real life communication I also adored them. I was drawn into their romances and pain. I was drawn into their hurts and their joys. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a solid romance, a good redemption story, or just needs to work through some loss and hurt of their own. There is no wrong audience for this book!
About Courtney Walsh
When I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend. Her name was Kellen and she had auburn hair and freckles. She wore a patchwork brown dress and brown Mary Janes.
Come to think of it, she was very brown, but she went with me everywhere.
I suppose it’s unacceptable to have imaginary friends once one becomes an adult. That’s why I decided to become a writer. To give myself creative license to dream up all kinds of imaginary friends…and then, to tell their stories.
I’ve always been a person with a pure love for creating characters and bringing them to life. In high school and college, I turned to the stage. Later, it was scrapbooking. Now, it’s fiction. Funny how it all comes together, no?
See, I believe we all have a story to tell. We all have stories that make us laugh or shed a tear. We may even have that one that stops the heart. And I suppose that’s why I write…to capture those stories. To give them a place to breathe. To remember how it is that I got here in the first place.
I learn so much more when I’m paying attention.
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