Wednesday 25 March 2015

The Life Intended – by Kristin Harmel

Original Cover
My own copy




















The blurb:

After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Westhoven never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?

At first, Kate blames her pre-wedding jitters on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something about his death and is there a chance his nighttime visits could be more than just wishful thinking?

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I was over the moon and really excited when I opened this bookpost, because I didn’t expect it and I always wanted to read a Kristin Harmel book, but never had the chance to. So thanks again to … at Quercus for sending me a copy.

The blurb of this book sounded very intriguing and the story was even better. Uplifting, moving and just perfect.
Oh and the cover is gorgeous, I fell in love with it immediately.

Kate is happily married to Patrick, the make such a cute couple. But then suddenly he’s taken away from her, dies in a car crash. Now 12 years later Kate hasn’t really moved on. She thinks of him often and wonders how life could have been with him, would they have children now?

Kate is with Dan now, but doesn’t seem entirely happy, she still says yes to his proposal though. When she starts seeing Patrick, in her dreams, she gets more confused and starts to think about what she really wants in life. Not only does she dream of Patrick, but there is also their daughter Hannah. It was so sweet to read about the three of them. These scenes very moving and emotional. It made Kate see life in a different way and when she finds out that their daughter is deaf she starts learning sign language.

Dan doesn’t really understand that. He also seems to dislike the idea of having children and wants Kate to stop having contact with Patrick’s mum Joan. Kate realizes more and more that Dan might not be the one.

Her sister Susan and her best friend Gina are always by her side. Although they seem to struggle understanding the whole dream story.

Through the sign language course new things open up to Kate. She gets to know Andrew, he teacher, and he brings her to work with deaf boys and girls, who are in the foster system. With her music therapy she is able to help these young teenagers and it’s a pleasure to read about these sessions. I also like the way she opens up to Andrew more and more. They get along really well and I kind of felt a spark between them.

The dreams always come back to her and they really wake Kate’s feelings of being a mother. They way she is with Hannah is adorable and maybe Patrick is trying to tell ger something.
These dreams really open her eyes and she changes things in her life and when everything seems lost again, a new door opens, with a lot of surprises, through one of the music therapy girl, but it’s great for Kate. And she might be able to find love and have a family after all.

This story is beautiful, poignant, heart breaking, wonderful, touching and so much more. The writing is brilliant, the characters are authentic and real and the scenes are so vivid and detailed. Kristin is such a talented author and I really want to read more of her stories. She put a lot of research into this book and I enjoyed learning more about foster care, music therapy (I always thought about doing this) and deafness. The story has a beautiful flow and it’s full of love and care. It’s thought provoking and gives a whole new light on life. I think the title is perfect; it fits the story in the most wonderful way. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE MASTERPIECE!!!

Rating:









My possible cast:

Kate: Bethany Joy Lenz
















Patrick: Chris Evans
















Andrew: Chris Pine
















Hannah: Mackenzie Foy
















Allie: Mika Abdalla



















Kristin on Twitter: @kristinharmel
Website: http://kristinharmel.com

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