Widowed at twenty-five, Sawyer Hartwell has no choice but to return to her hometown. Broke and alone, the intention was to heal and find herself again, but how can she heal in a place filled with so much sorrow and memories she yearns to forget?
Dean Preston has regretted leaving Willowhaven since the day he rode off on his motorcycle six years ago, destroying the only love he had ever known. Returning too late, he's found small comfort in a new life with Lily, but with Sawyer back he's not sure of anything anymore.
The time has come for Sawyer and Dean to face the past, to learn from their mistakes. The road to healing is paved with old wounds, each one threatening to tear them down completely. Carrying their own scars close to their hearts, they must both confront what's gone before or lose their second chance.
The measure of who we are is what we survive. Who we become is up to us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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“I wake, rolling to my side and feel for Grayson on the other side of
the bed. My hand reaches for his bare chest, but he’s not there. My eyes open,
taking in my old bedroom and I remember. Remembering is the worst part. There’s
a brief moment between sleeping and waking where Grayson lives. In those few
perfect moments, he’s not gone. He’s alive, and he’s sleeping peacefully next
to me. I roll back to my side of the bed and let the tears fall down my face,
into my hair, wetting my pillowcase. My hand stays splayed on the empty sheet
beside me, stroking the material as I imagine him there.” – Me After You
From the very first
page you become invested in Sawyer’s story. She’s so broken and she has so many
little moments that people can relate to. I love her as a protagonist. She can
be dark and angsty sometimes but she’s healing. That’s the whole point of this
story. It’s about healing and doing what you need to do to recover from a
tragedy. And of course there are two men that she’s loved and lost who are
melt-in-your-mouth perfect. There were a few moments where I just wanted to
thank Mindy Hayes for writing such wonderful male protagonists. Yes, I count
her former husband, Grayson, as a protagonist because he’s such an integral
part of the story. Then there’s Dean. He’s a modern love story. He’s lovesick
and desperate and lonely and so incredibly sweet to Sawyer (most of the time)
that you will fall in love with him just as hard as she did.
It’s all thanks to
Mindy Hayes’ beautiful writing style. I love her first person narrative. It’s so
emotional and beautifully written. She has this incredible ability to create poetry
through her words – especially when it comes to Dean and Sawyer. You're left
yelling at the page: "you were so perfect together. What happened? There
has to be a reason, I know there has to be a reason. Tell me your story." And
she does. She tells a beautiful story about two people who need to heal and are
drawn to each other even after so many years apart. It’s a fantastic love
story.
And speaking of
gushing, here are my random notes while reading:
- Such a sad opening. Two pages and I
already want to hug Sawyer
- Oh my goodness I'm already in love with
poor Grayson. Her memories of him are perfect. I want some hot chocolate
- And then there's Dean. I'll tell you more
about him in a minute
- Sawyer is such a believable character in
my mind. Mindy just bottled up all that relatable, emotional energy. Brava
- As far as first kisses go: I'm a tiny bit
melting around the ankles. It was pretty sweet
- Ah small town life: makes for great gossip
- "My heart recognizes him" - I
mean, how beautiful is that line
- Poor Dean is the love struck darling
- So many questions that need answers. Mindy makes sure you have to
keep reading
- Poor Lily. I feel like I'm going to keep
saying that about her
- You gotta love a girl who can get away
with making death jokes about your best friend's dead husband
- Every group has a Josh
- Damn it, Dean. Stop being love sick and
sweet
- I can already see the horrible disasters
that shall arise. I can't wait
- Yup, you totally love Dean through
Sawyer's eyes
- I give up: Dean and Sawyer are now a
favourite couple of mine
- Oh right, there's still so much of the
story we don't know. I love this pacing
- Poor Lily
- Less Poor Lily
- It's a dandelion and I'm a puddle
- There's something about Mindy's prose that
makes me want to write love poems
- I'm gushing again, aren't I?
- Sorry
- Crap. *hugs character I didn't really
expect to want to hug*
- One sentence and I'm scoffing at Alice for
inadvertently creating more conflict
- Definitely less Poor Lily as I go through
- I do appreciate that Mindy is trying to do
justice to the relationship that Dean and Lily have. It can't be easy for
them
- I didn't think it was possible to love
Dean more
- "Holy emo Preston, Batman."
- I can tell this is going to end badly and
I already love it
- Aiden you're a hopeless, endearing little
turd
- Josh's new leap into jerk-dom is
unsurprising
- Poor Lily
- Dean just tugs at your heart strings like
a freaking harp
- Excellent: sex fantasies. We're making
progress
- Dean willing to give and Sawyer not giving
in return is kind of bugging me
- Much better - ugh, so gooey
- Her change was sudden but natural - I'll
grant you
- Miscommunication - the sincerest form of
relationship issues
- Jesus, Dean, I already love you. Stop it,
already
- If that's really the reason you did what
you did, I'm going to kick your ass
- What the f*ck?
- Don't do it.
- Holy sh*t. I'm speechless - mostly
- Sweetie, that's sweet but kind of stalker-ish
- Oh wow, I really wasn't expecting that
last bit
As I was finishing reading the Epilogue this song came on and I actually laughed out loud at how appropriate it was so as a little bonus here is a song that makes me think of Me After You.
And a giveaway...
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