Welcome to my stop on the Waiting for the Storm tour hosted by Xpresso Tours!
You can view the full tour schedule here.
Waiting for the Storm
by: Marie LandryPublication Date: April 9, 2013
Genre: Contemporary
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-copy provided by Xpresso tours and the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 205 pages
Order Links: Amazon
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.
After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…
Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?
After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…
Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?
My Review:
Waiting For the Storm is a beautiful story that tells of loss, grief, friendship, and love. Marie Landry has done a wonderful job of constructing a very moving story about a family dealing with loss and also helping them to heal and move forward with their lives.
We first meet our main character Charlotte at her mother's funeral. We discover she has been taking care of her sick mom for the past year and her friendships have deteriorated. I felt bad for Charlotte, because she needed her friends to be there for her in a way that they weren't. Dealing with a terminal illness is never an easy thing and unfortunately it makes people uncomfortable. Charlotte isn't angry with them, but really she is more hurt. She needed someone to lean on during this time and her sister and her father were not around to help her. Charlotte's relationship with her sister, Ella, is rather strained. Ella used to be withdrawn, preferring her solitude, until Charlotte decided to stay at home and take courses her senior year in order to help with her mom. Now Ella finally feels she doesn't have to live in her older sister's shadow and really spins out of control: partying, boys, etc. The two are not close like they used to be and you can see just how much Ella resents Charlotte. Their father also wasn't around much, as his grief over losing his wife was unbearable and he couldn't stand to watch her be taken from him. This puts a lot of responsibility on Charlotte's shoulders and we meet a girl who is dealing with the loss of her mother and her best friend.
After Charlotte's mom's passing, the three had promised to spend time at her favorite childhood getaway- Angel Island. Charlotte's family of three now packs up and heads to their new destination and also a place their mother loved. It's so disheartening to see the divide between these three. Instead of leaning on one another and supporting each other, they almost seem more like strangers. Upon arrival to the island, Ella immediately heads out to make friends and their father recluses away (Charlotte calls him Zombie Dad) and Charlotte is left to worry about them. However, Charlotte ends up befriending the boy next door, Ezra, who also happens to be helping fix up their cottage. Their friendship is incredibly sweet and he ends up being just the person Charlotte needs to help her deal with her grief. Ezra is patient and kind and is willing to listen to Charlotte and just be there for her. Of course, their friendship leads to something more and in Ezra, Charlotte starts to find genuine happiness. He is there to be a shoulder to cry on as well as a welcome distraction from her laboring thoughts about her family. Ezra understands Charlotte in a way no one else can but is keeping a few secrets of his own. Trust is a huge deal to Charlotte and she has opened up to Ezra in a way she never thought she could, so naturally she wants him to entrust her with his secrets. After finding out Ezra has been keeping a massive secret from her, Charlotte is beyond hurt and ends up pushing him away. However, Charlotte has to decide if keeping Ezra at a distance is really what she wants or if she can forgive him for keeping something so huge and move forward.
What starts out as a story about loss and grief quickly turns into one of healing and new beginnings. New friendships are formed, familial bonds are reinforced, and love is found when it's least expected. Waiting For the Storm is the perfect read to pick up if you're in the mood for a sweet story that will put a smile on your face.
About the Author:
Giveaway:
Enter to win an e-book copy of Waiting For the Storm by Marie Landry.
-Open internationally.
-This giveaway will run 7/29-8/6
-Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
