Book Review : Before Ever After

I just finished this book a couple weeks ago and it's absolutely AMAZING! Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto is not just a love story.... It's pure magic. I don't even know how to explain it other than the fact that it took my breath away. Here is a snippet of the synopsis from the website:

A modern fairy tale about true love, happy endings, new beginnings, and everything in between. Available as a hardcover and eBook August 2011.

Three years after her husband Max’s death, Shelley feels no more adjusted to being a widow than she did that first terrible day. That is, until the doorbell rings. Standing on her front step is a young man who looks so much like Max–same smile, same eyes, same age, same adorable bump in his nose–he could be Max’s long-lost relation. He introduces himself as Paolo, an Italian editor of American coffee table books, and shows Shelley some childhood photos. Paolo tells her that the man in the photos, the bearded man who Paolo says is his grandfather though he never seems to age, is Max. Her Max. And he is alive and well.

As outrageous as Paolo’s claims seem–how could her husband be alive? And if he is, why hasn’t he looked her up? – Shelley desperately wants to know the truth. She and Paolo jet across the globe to track Max down–if it is really Max– and along the way, Shelley recounts the European package tour where they had met. As she relives Max’s stories of bloody Parisian barricades,medieval Austrian kitchens, and buried Roman boathouses, Shelley begins to piece together the story of who her husband was and what these new revelations mean for her “happily ever after.” And as she and Paolo get closer to the truth, Shelley discovers that not all stories end where they are supposed to.

Before Ever After has definitely topped my list of all-time favorite books! I borrowed it from the library and waited forever to read it, so I read it quickly. It's on my Holiday Wishlist so I can actually go back and take my time reading it now that I know what's going to happen. And something else funny that I have to add.... Do you ever have "characters" pop in your head when you're reading a book? Sometimes it happens for me, but not always. I actually find it truly annoying when some do and some don't, which was the case with this book. Only Max really had a clear picture and voice in my mind, and this was him...

Charles Mesure

 For anyone that's read this gem, what do you think? He's on Desperate Housewives this season. I think that may be why he popped in my head. I think he seems pretty dead-on, with the exception that he's slightly older than Max.

XOXO