Review: Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry

WAITING FOR THE STORM

Author: Marie Landry

Pages: eBook

Publisher: Self

Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary

Amazon: Waiting for the Storm

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her beloved 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?

Review: 4 ½ out of 5 stars

What an emotional, heartfelt and captivating story! I absolutely loved Marie Landry’s debut novel Blue Sky Days so when the opportunity arose to read Waiting for the Storm, I jumped at the chance and boy am I glad I did.

Charlotte O’Dell is grief-stricken and lonely after losing her mother and is fulfilling her final wish by spending the summer with her estranged sister Ella and her father who is lost in his own personal grief at a beach house on Angel Island, it’s her chance to move on and heal from her heart-ache and pain with the hope of mending the rift in her broken family.

Ezra {swoon} is Charlotte’s new neighbour and a godsend to her, hired to fix the holiday house they form a bond which was built on a mutual understanding of pain and also friendship; he gave her a sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on and helped her to deal with her fears and her loss and at the same time built a sweet romance whilst dealing with his own personal pain, I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Ezra, he was a character I enjoyed getting to know and as the pieces of his past and present were put together, my opinion of him was boosted, his kindness and his devotion was amazing.

The emotions this book evoked were aplenty, each character was dealing with their own inner turmoil and although they handled things differently they were each enjoyable to read about, it was a story which not only highlighted the pain of losing someone but also the hope that the hurt would eventually heal with time and support.

I loved the way Marie tackled the many real life issues such as abuse, loss, grief and depression, you are drawn into this story and empathise with the characters, some you want to just scream at – Ella, but others you want to smother in a hug – Charlotte, dad & Ezrah.

One thing I did like was the way the sisters relationship changed over the course of the book, I thought in the initial stages there was no hope at all – it was shrouded by jealousy, anger and resentment and although the way they came together wasn’t in the way I would have expected it was nice to see it evolve.

Waiting for the Storm shows Marie’s talent for writing amazing, heart-warming stories with beautiful, believable characters you can’t help but love. This book was emotionally gripping with a satisfying ending to a wonderful tale. I enjoyed every moment!

A review copy of this book was given to me by the author, Marie Landry in exchange for my honest thoughts.

About the author: Marie Landry is the author of BLUE SKY DAYS (contemporary YA—January 2012), UNDRESSED (a collection of short erotic romance stories—October 2012), THE GAME CHANGER (chick lit—November 2012), and WAITING FOR THE STORM (contemporary YA—April 2013). Marie has always been a daydreamer; since early childhood, she's had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews. For more on Marie and her books, please visit marielandry.blogspot.ca or check out her book blog Ramblings of a Daydreamer (sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca)