My edition: Paperback, published on 1st November 2013 by Head of Zeus, 304 pages.Description: Rachel's life is perfect. A handsome boyfriend, great friends and the prospect of starting at university in a few weeks means she's never been happier. But in a single heartbeat her world falls apart forever.
Five years later, Rachel is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy that changed everything. Returning to her hometown for the first time in years, she finds herself consumed by thoughts of the life that could have been. But when a sudden fall lands her in hospital, Rachel awakes to discover that the life she had dreamed about just might be real after all.
Unable to trust her own memories, Rachel begins to be drawn further into this new world where the man she lost is alive and well but where she is engaged to be married to someone else...
Rating:
Fractured is a novel that is much loved by my fellow bloggers, several of whom declared it one of the best reads of 2013. So of course after reading all the praise I didn't think it could be quite as amazing as everyone said it is, but I was wrong, because it most definitely is.
Let's start with the delicate and enticing cover, which is an eye-catching first encounter with the book. The drawing is very well thought-out as in two contrasting colours it depicts the different lives Rachel finds herself living within the story: One all alone, the other with the love of her life by her side. Which one is reality and which is just a reflection of the other stays a mystery until almost the very end of the novel, and while slightly predictable to me it was still an emotional roller-coaster to get to that conclusion.
This is a really unique book within the women's fiction genre right now. I've read a whole slew of chick-lit and romance novels in the past year and while most of them were certainly delightful there are few I still vividly remember as they all kind of start to blend together into one big bubble of designer handbags and eligible bachelors. But not Fractured. The story is different, though-provoking and packs an emotional punch which will stay with the reader long after turning the final page.
It's not just the heart-breaking (love) story that makes this such a memorable novel either, it's also largely due to the wonderfully written main character of Rachel. She is socially awkward and has many flaws, yet despite this she is a very likeable person. And as the reader journeys with her through a confusing time in her life you want nothing more then for her to find happiness, in whichever of the two stories turn out to be the reality.
I don't want to write more about Fractured's contents as that may spoil the enjoyment for new readers, but I can say that this beautiful, mesmerising and haunting novel was a worthy book to reach my Goodreads 2013 reading challenge with (which was to read 125 books in one year). I highly recommend it and I look forward to Dani Atkins' next novel, because if her debut is already this good, I can't imagine how amazing her next book will be.
You can purchase a copy of the novel from Waterstones, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com or your own preferred retailer.
Would you like to know more about the author? You can connect with her online at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DaniAtkinsAuthor
Twitter: @AtkinsDani
Many thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
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