ME WITHOUT YOU
Kelly Rimmer
Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
October 10, 2023
352 pages
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This is the story of Callum and Lilah.
I was drawn to this book because I have read others by the author and enjoyed them. I did not realize that this one is actually a re-release of an earlier book.
Callum and Lilah meet at the beginning. Their relationship starts off contentiously right from the start and continues that way. For much of the book it is a non-relationship. It is obvious that something is going on in the background but it does not come to light until the book is well into the second half. While I did know the secret because of a blurb I had read, I did not enjoy the way it was playing out. The combativeness of two people in a relationship just wore me out.
Callum fell in love quickly and hard, but Lilah kept him at a distance even though she seemed to enjoy being with him. There turn out to be reasons for her behaviour. I wish these reasons had been revealed earlier.
I slogged through the first part of the book. To me, it just seemed to be the same push and pull between the characters, over and over. The last half was a huge improvement. I found it enlightening and much more interesting. I also learned that there is a huge difference between giving up and acceptance.
The ending was very dramatic. Heartfelt and emotional.
I think if the structure of the book was changed, it would have appealed to me more. But, there were a lot of similarities to Jojo Moyes Me Before You. Even the title is close.
Such a hard book to rate. I can only give the part 2 stars. It was such a slog for me. I’m not sure what made me push on but in the end, I was glad I did. I see from the other reviews that I am in the minority. But the last part was 5 stars. Such a difference. That leaves me with 3.5 which I will promote to 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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