I’ve just finished reading the book and, honestly, it was such a rollercoaster of emotions that I just had to get my thoughts into words. I have mixed feelings reading this throughout this book (I’ll censor out any major spoilers even though I’ve tagged on the flair).
1. **Do you think there is such a thing as too much tragedy in a book** i.e. multiple tragedies that strike the same person over and over again? I know that in reality, there are people who suffer from multiple tragedies. I suppose with this book, about the last 10% of the ending was so shocking and out of the blue. Ella has had so many deaths in her family, >!her daughter’s illness, and then she lost her little boy too!<? Just as things were getting good in her life. It was so very sudden and felt rushed at the end. From that point it just felt like I finished the book simply because there were a few more pages (I loved the epilogue though – nice touch from Maisie). I feel more heartbroken at the fact that >!Maisie lost her other half as the twin bond is something so special and unique!<.
2. **Do you think Beckett’s lies (although he was aware of it) were justified?** I understand how much Beckett’s trauma, guilt and grief made him want to hide the truth from Ella. I don’t know if I’m biased regarding this because I have severe trust issues from people lying in my past, so I couldn’t see Beckett’s motivations as justified by any measure. It seemed to me that he wanted to keep the promise to Ryan more than not hurting Ella (and the kids by extension). I know he viewed Ryan as a brother. If he told Ella the truth at the beginning – and revealed his identity – and Ella does indeed push him away as he assumed, I think that is a much more forgivable mistake than lying for almost a whole year. Being ghosted is just horrible and >!the fact that Ella never knew what happened to Chaos must have hurt a lot worse!<.
3. **What do you think of Ella’s character?** Overall, I think she was an okay character. I just feel that some parts didn’t really make sense. At the part when she was >!content with her relationship with Beckett!<, she mentioned that she was aware of the shadows of his past that she was not privy too. She was aware of the fact that he knew more about her and she didn’t know large chunks of him/ his past (I’d consider this a red flag; even if it is not malicious intent, I’d still be somewhat wary). She accepted it and was content with how things were. But when she found out the truth of who he really was (>!after seeing the letters Beckett showed her), she cut him out of her life immediately and her kids lives too, making them feel unloved!<. I understand how hurt she must have felt but I would have assumed she knew this when she accepted him, and let him into her life *and* her kids lives. Would it have made more sense for her to exercise caution and still have some boundaries although remaining fairly close (like being just friends)? I’m just thinking with the kids’ emotions in the mix, it complicates the situation so much more.
4. Maisie’s/Margaret’s name – random question but at the beginning when the name Margaret was used, Maisie corrected it saying it is “Maisie”. Throughout the book a few times Margaret was used but it was not corrected. I figured maybe it was her actual name but they just call her Maisie instead, but I don’t think I came across any explanation for this. I just wondered since the names were used interchangeably in the book at times.
P/S: Apologies for the block of text. I haven’t been emotionally charged by a book in a while. If you read it (thank you!) and have read the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂
by sloth_and_bubbles