This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks.
Over the past year, I have made a conscious effort to read more books. Reading has always been a love of mine but it seems over the years I have not made it a priority. I have been having a hard time connecting with books lately, if you know what I mean? I have picked up three different books in the past few months that I have wanted to like, tried to like, but just didn’t. I ultimately ended up either returning them to the store or the library where they came from. I’ve just been feeling lackluster about my book choices lately. The Girl He Used To Know by New York Times Bestselling Author Tracey Garvis Graves came my way and I began to read it the day it arrived. The book begins, taking us to Chicago, IL where I was born and raised, living there all my life until just last year, to be exact. Right away, I’m interested in the local connection and that gets me through the first few pages. What takes me through the next chapters and all the way through to the end of the book, is much more than that.
The Girl He Used To Know is the story of Annika and Jonathan, two people who fell in love in college. That is the most basic description for one of the most wonderfully written love stories that I have read in a very long while. The background of their relationship is told so beautifully, step-by-step we learn about the twists and turns of their time together in college. From those very first pages in the book, I was absolutely captivated by the characters and their relationship. We learn little by little that Annika is more than beautiful, she is incredibly unique. I don’t want to give away too many details but I have not read a book with a character like hers before. She reminds me a lot of someone that I love with all my heart. I kept notes, and by page 56 I had already fallen in love with Annika. The way she carries herself through life and the relationship brings both a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. Once I began, I was reading this book everywhere: in bed first thing in the morning, after lunch out on our patio, and at night before I went to sleep. Each day I could not wait to peel away more layers of the story.
Even the secondary characters are so well-written and complimentary to the story. I can tell you I shed more than a few tears learning that Annika’s friend Janice is about the best friend anyone could ask for. All throughout the book, I found myself re-reading a passage or two because I found them so poignant. One of my favorite quotes is from Jonathan: “The affection I once felt for Annika might have gone dormant for a while, but it roars out of hibernation and makes me feel better about life than I have in a long time.” It is words like these that just give me butterflies and take me back to a time in my life when love was new and fresh. While reading, I was often reminded of my own love story through the story told in this book. Ray and I were brought back together with a chance meeting much like the one told here. It’s the kind of thing that happens once in a lifetime. Honestly, without that meeting, I would not be living the life I have today with Ray and our two kids, now age 10 and 12! It’s exhilarating to think about…fate will take your breath away.
When we learn the events that caused Annika and Jonathan to part ways after college, I was unprepared. This is not a predictable book with a predictable plot. I loved that about this story. I can admit I was also fully unprepared for the events that unfolded toward the end of the book. There were literally so many ups and downs in this story and I was rooting for this couple from start to finish. I have not been so invested in two characters and a story line in so very long! Gosh, it felt good to really fall in love with a book. I think if you give The Girl He Used To Know a chance, you will find yourself immersed in the world of these two characters as well. If you believe in fate and true love you will immediately bond with this book. If you don’t…well you may just get pulled in to this story anyway. The story of Annika and Jonathan just has a way of sweeping you off your feet!
The Girl He Used To Know is available on April 2 – pre-order your copy here!
