Wren finds herself putting a pause on going to college, and she loses a lot of her close friends in her time of mourning, and she is judged by many. The book brings into question, if it’s “okay” to become reclusive for awhile after a traumatic event, even though there’s relationships to maintain, and life to live, and ultimately responsibilities to carry out. I enjoyed the way the author let the reader inside Wren’s mind, as this made her more relatable and understandable. This novel’s main theme is in regards to death and illness, and grief. Both Cal and Wren are broken people, because of their own life circumstances, and they come together to build each other up during a really difficult time. This isn’t exactly a love story, it’s more about two people dealing with hard situations and retreating to a place they can enjoy the quietness and solitude that they need to be able to eventually move on. There were so many beautiful quotes throughout the book that I made note of! The writing style was so poetic, and beautiful, and you could really feel the guilt and the pain that the main character, Wren felt. This was a really powerful story, and after I finished reading it, I found myself wanting to read more. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away.

I took this book with me everywhere I went! For those of you who haven’t had a chance to check this book out, I’ll provide the Goodreads description below:Ī resonant debut novel about retreating from the world after losing everything-and the connections that force you to rejoin it. It was so good, I literally read it in almost one sitting. Yesterday I both started and finished this novel.

Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara