Caitlin's life is a mess. Her marriage to a man everyone else thinks is perfect has collapsed, along with her self-esteem, and breaking free seems the only option.
Nancy, her four-year-old daughter, used to talk all the time; in the car, at nursery, to her brother Joel. Then her parents split up. Her daddy moves out. And Nancy stops speaking.
Nancy's Auntie Eva, recently widowed and feeling alone, apart from the companionship of two bewildered pugs, is facing a future without her husband or the dreams she gave up for him.
But when Eva agrees to host her niece and nephew once a fortnight, Caitlin and Eva are made to face the different truths about their marriages - and about what they both really want ...
I always look forward to a new book by Lucy Dillon and her
covers are always so enticing and the cover of All I Ever Wanted is no
exception, this will call out to you from the shelves.
When Patrick accepts a job transfer it sparks the end of his
marriage to Caitlin. With two beautiful children at the heart of the separation
cracks start to form. Nancy was once a chatty little girl who would sing and
dance until her hearts content but now Nancy doesn’t speak and big brother Joel
steps up to try and communicate for her but will Nancy ever find her voice?
This is one of those books that will tug at the heart
strings and have you wanting to reach into the pages and pull Nancy out for a
big hug. Both Nancy and Joel were adorable characters who I found extremely
engaging. Joel provided a touch of humour and also was quite admirable in
looking after his little sister, without her talking he knew her well enough to
tell others what she wanted. My heart went out to Nancy and I longed for her to
feel safe enough to talk again.
As well as getting to know the children we see Caitlin and
Patrick attempt to deal with their separation as well as meeting Patrick’s
sister Eva who has her own story weaved around the main plot that all ties in
beautifully.
I was surprised how my opinion on both Caitlin and Patrick altered
throughout the book at the start I felt for one and disliked the other and as
the storyline moved along and certain events happened I found that I switched “sides”
until at the end I just wanted to bang them both together and tell them to grow
up!
This is a subject that many people will relate to from either
the children’s or the parent’s perspective and this makes it feel all too real
and that’s why I am sure Nancy will capture everyone’s hearts. I thoroughly
enjoyed reading All I Ever Wanted and I found it hard to put down, this is
another wonderfully written book that will tug at the heart strings.
Paperback Kindle
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