I’m always a little afraid of starting a book by Emma Scott because I know she’ll take my heart through a wringer. And she did! She makes me cry but also gives me immense happiness. What a beautiful story, so much emotion and heart! I felt profound feelings of loss and love, two lovers who are soulmates, have the perfect chemistry, and as the story evolves, they also evolve into a perfect entanglement.
Xander has felt loss in his childhood when his mother left him and his father. His father is a wonderful man, a genius, who through the development of the story goes in a mental decline due to neurological illness. Xander, who is also a genius, feels the weight of honoring his father by continuing his work. He also feels an enduring love for a little girl who gave him grace when he was lonely and sad, just after his mother left. Through the years, he wrote her many letters without a response, but he never forgot her.
Likewise, Emilia never forgot that remarkable boy she met at a park who captivated her with his brilliant and beautiful mind, his kindness and for seeing her, not just the rich girl.
When they meet again, both have their destinies written for them, but once they get past their miscommunication, their closeness is too much to sustain any level of separation, because they are entangled, endlessly and completely.
While Xander’s father was a fountain of love and joy (and worry), Emilia’s father was evil through and through. Xander felt pressed on continuing his father’s work, and Emilia felt oppressed by her father’s expectations. I felt suspense and worry as the book progressed because their love was so beautiful but it felt like everything was against them. There are sub-plots that add levels to the story and show us that family is not just the one you grow with, but the one you make with friends.
I hurt for Emilia’s hope of saving her family and keeping them together, but also marveled at her fortitude when her house of cards fell down. Xander was so strong, feeling like life was giving him punches one after another, and yet standing strong, loving and being there. His brilliant mind was such that he absorbed and admired the brilliance of Emilia’s creativity and how it shone similar to his. There’s a scene I loved where he shows her how he sees the world in equations while she sees the same things with her images. Very Impressive!
There’s a meaningful phrase in the book, referring to the origin of the atoms that comprise our bodies:
“I love to think we’re pieces of the huge stars that light up the universe. They came together to make us, then dissolve away when we die. But we never wink out for good. We just keep going, our little pieces of light, coming together again and again, forever.”
But for me, the little pieces of light were bright moments during the story that stayed in my mind and gave me joy, like when Xander’s Math club had a party in Xander’s house and honored his father; when Ms. Alvarez helped Emilia obtain entrance and financial aid to UCLA; the few times that Emilia’s mother stood up for her; when Xander’s team won the first regatta and he won the respect and admiration of the coach and the team; when the doctor treating Dr. Ford and said he was kind and full of joy and his favorite patient.
As in all her books, the author shares some of her life experiences. I felt her immense sadness and loss in the final scenes when Xander and Emilia’s worlds crack down, and also felt her resilience when both our lovers get up and forge on, honoring the people they lost.
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About the author
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in seven languages and featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit www.emmascottwrites.com
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