Twenty-something Elena has a good job and a nice boyfriend, but she wants more from life. She and her boyfriend, Harry, travel to Mexico for a vacation that could renew their relationship or end it - but neither of them is expecting the catastrophic earthquake that injures them both. In the earthquake's aftermath, Elena is changed: traumatized, but also inspired by the man she met just before the quake, who helped her survive it. But Harry is changed, too, and he needs Elena more than ever. None of their lives will ever be the same - and it will take them years to unearth all the secrets that were buried during the quake.

I was not expecting this book to be as serious as it was. The tone of the publisher's summary suggests a bit of a lark, but the novel lingers on the earthquake and its aftermath in a way that is often upsetting and difficult to read. Moreover, the story is told from Elena's point of view, and the narration of a character suffering from anxiety and possibly depression can be, well, anxious and depressing.

This is not to say the book isn't well-written, because it is. The major characters are well-realized, and the depiction of Elena's coping mechanisms and thought processes is particularly masterful. The events of the story are predictable, but they feel powerful nonetheless, a testament to the author's skill at crafting a strong plot and deep characters. Unfortunately, the structure of the book (its first half is at the time of the earthquake, its second half is in the present) requires tight pacing and doesn't allow for much detail about Elena's daily life in the present. I found myself wanting to know more about her - but, although it was frustrating, my desire to know more means the author did something right!

A somewhat sad romance. 4 stars.

A devastating event destroys the Mexico vacation of a couple and causes life altering effects for years to come. In this emotional novel, the lives of three people are examined, finding secrets, lies, and huge fissures.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Debbie Johnson really weaves beautiful stories. The first one of hers I read, Maybe One Day, was packed with intense emotion: love, heartbreak, grief, PTSD, etc. It’s actually, in that respect, not too different from the core of this one. A traumatic event rips two people apart. Many years pass as they live separate lives, but the feelings never fade and the potential for a happy reunion sustains both the characters and the readers.

However, there’s a definite twist to this story in that it’s a love triangle. Harry and Elena have been together since college and have taken a trip to Mexico; in her mind, to figure out if their relationship has run its course or if this time together will help them reconnect. When disaster strikes as Elena has just met Alex, the course of their lives is thrown off-kilter. Circumstances occur and decisions are made, whether through guilt, pity or perhaps love, that force them all to give up on their dreams and expectations and forge new paths.

It isn’t until a decade has passed that a documentary on the anniversary of the moment Alex and Elena met stirs up painful memories and forces all three of them to face the past that they’ve buried. Sometimes people do “the wrong thing for all the right reasons” and the time comes to make painful, but inevitable decisions about what the future might look like if they have the courage to be honest with themselves and each other.

Johnson is a masterful storyteller. She deftly weaves a stunning love story from the ashes of disaster, drawing characters who are flawed but have the best of intentions. She’s delicate and respectful in her handling of grief and survivor guilt, and navigates the lives of her characters in a way that helps her readers find empathy for all of them and hope that they’ll each find their happy ending. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from William Morrow Paperbacks through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A trip to exotic Mexico, it’s what Elena Godwin has saved and planned for for, well, what seems like forever. She’s hoping the trip, which she’s taking with her kind of immature boyfriend, will add some much needed excitement to her life. That excitement comes in the form of an earthquake, and the nightmare that follows, changes Elena forever.Ten years later, she still can’t get the . man who saved her life that night. And when fate throws them together again a decade later, Elena is forced to question everything about her life since that fateful night