Sunday, May 8, 2016

Book Review: In This Life by Christine Brae

I have already posted my review of this book on my Goodreads two months ago. There was quite a drama that happened when the author's fans started attacking my review for it being "nasty" and "class-less". They never commented back after I replied back and after a lot of my friend came in to my defense which I really appreciated, so that was the end of it.

I guess, I'am putting this short introduction here to.... I don't know, maybe to warn you beforehand that my review will have a lot of cussing on it because this book stirred a lot of emotion from me as a reader. So if you liked and loved this book, just turn back now and run far away on this review, because I won't be changing or editing my original review and there's a chance you'll get offended and it will end up with me ruining your day. You've been warned.

In This Life
by 
Christine Brae
Genre: New-Adult, Contemporary, Romance


Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
They’re in each other all along.
RUMI

It starts out so simply. Anna runs away to Thailand, drags her best friend Dante with her and spends a few weeks away, taking on other people’s problems while getting away from her own. She meets the enigmatic Jude Grayson, and for as long as it’s clear to both of them that it ends when they leave, she thinks she’s got the perfect fling planned out.

Or does she?

Anna returns home to find that her life is no longer the way it once was, and that she can’t stop thinking about him. She learns through tragedy that nothing she’s ever believed in has turned out to be true. The worst part? The people she loved were keeping a secret from her. And that no matter what she does, no matter how hard she fights against it, every path she takes keeps leading her back to Jude. 

This is a story about love, found in a faraway place by two very unlikely people. It is also a story about friendship and loyalty and fighting for what you have despite the illogical mystery of fate. With the struggle between morality and guilt, faith and acceptance, there comes a learning that even the best-laid plans are powerless against the alignment of the universe.


From the beaches of Thailand to the streets of New York, three friends, Anna, Dante, and Jude will learn the hard way that once providence steps in, there is nothing in the world that can change what is truly meant to be. 



EDIT:

What a disappointment. I knew there was something fishy when people are suddenly reacting badly to a review I wrote 3 weeks later. I forgot to add that this book was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Well, I didn't know that my honesty will be a big deal. Now I have one more reason to add why I hated this book.

I originally said that I'd love to try more books from this author, that I won't be closing my door because I love the writing style.I'am taking that back. This will be the first and the last book. Because I'am going to close my door forever. I was being fair, but I was still called out. *smh Well, we can never please everyone after all.

Original Review:

Oh Dear. This was messy.

The only strong point of this book I believe was the writing style. It has a hint of melancholy that creeps right into you. Not to mention those twist and turns(only on the first half) that amused me. However, the characters were so cheesy and dramatic that even the only thing I actually liked in this book lost its appeal on me.

"It is a story of a girl who loved two men in her life. It wasn't a love triangle; she wasn't confused nor was she apologetic."
In other words, this girl, our heroine is a selfish bitch. She doesn't want to loose both her first love whom she met 5 years ago and fell in love with in the span of 10 days and her best friend who helped her throughout the hardships of her life, the one who stayed when her first love didn't. It is not an easy choice, I know that much. But there if there's anything I learned in this life(I mean, literally, not this book LOL. I just have this overwhelming need to emphasize that.), is that there is no easy choice, so this girl should just suck it up and learn how to let go of the other person because you can't fucking love both 2 men at once in the same level. It's unfair and selfish and cruel.

"I wasn't ashamed to declare with confidence that it was possible to love two people at the same time. They were ensconced in two very different compartments of my heart-the smiles they elicited, the feelings they caused- they were distinctive to each one and divergent to both."
I really really want to understand and really thought this over. After all I have never really been in love in my life, but no matter how much I think about this, I just can't agree with it. Either, you love someone as a friend or a family or love him as a man, romantically. Because there is no way in hell it's alright to fuck with both of them because you "both" love them. And oh, by the way that quote was a shit, because this is definitely a love triangle for me, unless I've been wrong about the meaning of love triangle all this time.

Then there's Jude. This two really suit each other because while Anna was a drama queen, Jude was the drama king. What a perfect couple. Jude is a possessive asshole and a selfish bastard who always tries to be on a safe side. He's willing to give up on something only if he can get something in return- aka Anna's love.

"I certainly didn't think that this was the right time and place to remind her that if I had my way and if she loved me, I would give it all up."
Bullshit. If you can't give up on something because of your own reasons, be man enough to at least give up something because it didn't deserve the half attention you were giving it and no one, and nothing deserves to be a second choice, thrown and put aside when you realized that this wasn't what you really wanted all this time.

"This book is a testament to that time, that darkness and the hope that was never realized. It is a lesson learned-that fate is fate and what's meant to be will be. "
I'm sorry but that one was a total bullshit too. This book meant to teach us about fate.. I do not agree. I think this book is more of how you have to stand up on the choices you made. No matter how bad or good they are. That sometimes, along the way, you'll get to hurt people and even yourself but you still stand up and continue to live because life really does go on. Fate does not have anything to do with that! Just stop make it seem sound better or more appealing than it really is.

Really I could spend the whole day ranting about this book, but I thought it wasn't needed. I believe that this book can be enjoyed by people who have the same belief and standpoint with the author, it just so happen that we have different beliefs in life when it comes to Love and Fate. I'm more on the realism side than the romanticism one you see.

If you love overly drama and cheesy books, you might actually love and enjoy this book. This is my first Christine Brae book and was really looking forward to it, too bad this book just wasn't for me. But I'm sure that this isn't going to be my last Christine Brae book, I'd love to try and read more from this author in the future, not going to close my door.

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Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Christine is the author of The Light in the Wound, His Wounded Light and Insipid. Her new book, In This Life, is set to release in January 2016.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.

Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin Literary Management.



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