REVIEW~TWELVE HOUSES by OLGA SOAJE

 

 

BLURB

Can anything good follow the best thing that ever happened to you?

Amelia Weiss loved her husband of thirty-five years very much, but now he’s left her a widow. Without him, she is unable to work in her sculpture studio without crying. She no longer has a bridge to her estranged daughter. And she can’t seem to keep her mind in the present.

But when her daughter reaches out asking for her help and her agent threatens a lawsuit if Amelia doesn’t deliver for an upcoming exhibit, she’s forced to make a choice. Will she reengage with her life and the people in it—allowing room for things to be different than they were before? Or, will she remain stuck in the past, choosing her memories over real-life relationships?

Thrust fully into the present, Amelia stumbles into a surprising journey of self-discovery.

REVIEWED BY: ANNE

Rating: 5 STARS

An arc was provided for an honest review.

 I am writing this review almost immediately after finishing the book in the hope that the raw emotions that I am feeling are evident. This is not my usual choice of book but I am so glad that I have had the privilege of reading it.

Amelia, at 58 is widowed suddenly.  Nathan her husband of 35 years was the love of her life.  Not just a husband but also a friend, protector and her strength.  They have two grown up children, Chloe their daughter was emotionally cut off from Amelia. David their son shared a strong bond with his mother.

The grief of Nathan's death that Amelia is living with prevents her from being creative and she cannot continue with her work as a famous sculptor, she finds it hard to function. We read flashbacks of how Amelia and Nathan met and the strong bond they had formed. Whilst pregnant with Chloe, their first child, Nathan makes a promise to never leave Amelia but of course this is a promise he couldn't keep with his unexpected sudden death.

The bond between mother and daughter starts to heal with Chloe's pregnancy and Amelia temporarily gives up her life to move to be near her daughter. This is where the story moves on to Amelia accepting that Nathan is gone but also still struggling with grief. With the introduction of James to the story we are given hope for a happy ending for Amelia.

At times in the story she could hear Nathan talking to her, guiding her, giving her direction.

Her internal struggle about moving on or continuing to live a life consumed by grief was the main focus of the latter part of the book. In moving on she felt like she was betraying Natan.

That is as far as I am going to explain the story; this book deserves to be read for the reader to find out what happens to Amelia.

This book is so well written with such raw emotion felt on every page. It has a great supporting cast who in their own way helped Amelia to start living again.  I felt her guilt at falling in love again, her hurt and despair at being left by Nathan and the strength she gained from her family and friends who each handled her grief in their own way.

Amelia is such a realistic character, I am sure anyone who has suffered such a profound loss would be able to relate to this story of self discovery, when everything you have ever known and loved is tragically taken away from you.

It was the final pages that tipped me over the edge when Amelia finally accepted the choices she had made and put herself first.

If you want to read a beautifully written, well developed story about love, loss, despair and an amazing journey of self discovery then I urge you to read this book. Thank you Olga Soaje, this book was an amazing read.

 

LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19072504-twelve-houses?from_search=true

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Houses-Olga-Soaje-ebook/dp/B00HALNOXC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402748014&sr=1-1&keywords=twelve+houses