Review: "Without You Here" by Carter Ashby


Note: This ebook was provided by Patchwork Press Cooperative via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There were two things about Without You Here that immediately grabbed my attention: the cover and the synopsis. There was something about the tale of a twenty-something young woman and a forty-something man in mourning that had me clicking my mouse on NetGalley, requesting the publisher to grant me permission to read and review it. While this wasn't a terrible read, it did flounder a bit and not all my expectations were met.

Henrietta Berlynn "Ettie" McInenny breaks up with her boyfriend at the beginning of the story and makes her way to a nearby bar. There she notices a sad but good looking older man and decides to sit next to him. She's flirty and finally catches his attention when she continues trying to make conversation with him. They spend what was supposed to be a one-night stand together but she gives him her number and he invites her to another day together. She then begins to have deeper feelings for him but is hurt when he refuses to pursue something more.

Wyatt Jackson is still mourning the loss of his wife two years after her passing but when he meets a woman young enough to be his daughter, he throws caution to the wind and sleeps with her. While there's something about her that tempts him endlessly, the ghosts of his 20-year marriage and late wife continue to haunt him, making it impossible for him to even consider anything more with this young woman. Just when he attempts to think of something more with her, he discovers something that makes him realize that maybe their situation is simply hopeless.

I found myself having a love-hate relationship with this book. I liked the twist, one I didn't see coming and was happily surprised it was revealed so early in the story. It provided much needed conflict for the main characters, making the story more interesting. However, I simply could not muster much feeling for Ettie. She was immature and impulsive and acted more like a high school student than someone in her final year of college. My heart broke for Wyatt because it was obvious the guy was tormented. He deserved to finally find happiness but there were moments I couldn't help but think he deserved better than Ettie.

I also had an issue with the shifting points of view. If the story was told from two opposing first person POVs, I would have been completely fine with  it. The thing is, you had the first person POV coming from Ettie and then the third person POV and they weren't in any particular order or pattern so you ended up wondering which one you were going to get per chapter. It just made things unnecessarily more muddled.

So, I'm torn between giving Without You Here three or four stars. I felt like the book had so much potential because of the twist and the 20-year age difference between Ettie and Wyatt but, like I mentioned in the beginning, not all my expectations were met. There were also some editing issues but nothing major. I could give it a 3.5-star rating but that would make me round it off to four stars on Goodreads and I don't know if I'm really feeling it as a four-star book. Goodness, this is more difficult than I thought. Okay...I'm giving it three stars. Meh.

Date read: 16 October 2014

Learn more about author Carter Ashby here.

Grab a copy of Without You Here and Ms. Ashby's other books on Amazon.

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