Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Excerpt from the book:
I sat with my back to the stage. My friends and I were laughing hysterically at the fools we had made of ourselves during our poor rendition of Aretha Franklin’s song, Respect. Downing a few drinks prior to our performance gave me enough liquid courage to embarrass myself on stage. I had immersed myself so deeply in the conversation that I barely noticed karaoke had ended and a band had started setting up on stage.
In the background, a voice emerged from the microphone. “Testing…one, two, three. Testing…”
The hair on the back of my neck stood upright. My body seemed to recognize the smooth and soothing voice, but my mind could not recall it. I quickly spun around in my seat and peered at the figure on stage. However, we sat too far away, and the terrible lighting in the bar restricted my view.
“What’s the matter, Kaitlyn?” Shannon sounded concerned. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“That voice…it sounds so familiar. I’ve heard it before,” I stammered.
Review:
I'm not sure how to begin. I have several emotions about this book. I enjoyed it. But there were times I hated what the main character was going through and had some serious emotions. The struggle of her first years through the flashbacks was tough. I wanted to throat punch her jackass of a boyfriend Trevor several times. Although I struggle with the decisions that Kaitlyn makes, it doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the book or the storyline. This is fiction. It's not my decisions, nor would it be something that I could do. However, just as in real life, I found myself not wanting to judge the decisions of the main character of the book. It's a highly entertaining story and Melanie delivers on great story flow. The characters develop nicely and you get a good feel for what Kaitlyn struggles with in everyday mundane life. This is a very well written debut novel. Congrats Melanie!! YAY!!
Melanie Dawn is a thinker, a dreamer, and a hopeless romantic. When her head isn't in the clouds, she spends her time as a jack of all trades to her family. Melanie resides in the hills of North Carolina with her husband, her three children, and her cat. She enjoys lazy summer afternoons cruising around the lake on the pontoon boat with her family.Melanie graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in Psychology and earned her MA in School Counseling from Appalachian State University. She spent the first six years after graduate school as a middle school counselor. Those were years she deems as some of the best years of her life. That is, until she had children of her own. The last seven years have been spent as a stay-at-home mom. She has learned some tough life lessons, like what the inner absorbent pellets of a diaper look like scattered in the washing machine. She has also learned the strength of the willpower of a two year old lacking a nap. Through it all, Melanie has learned how to roll with the punches and appreciate the time she has been able to spend at home with her children.Now that her last child has started Kindergarten, Melanie is ready to add a new chapter in her life. That chapter begins with her debut novel—So Much It Hurts.
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Thank you Melanie Dawn for an ARC for an honest review. No compensation was received for this review.
