Oh, wow! This story elicited so many different emotions in me! Normally I’m strictly romance stories kind of girl, but I enjoyed reading this from start to finish. It was very well written. The characters all had depth and layers which are awesome. I felt bad for Martin having to go through that mess with his ex-wife Alexis and not being able to see his twins. That was horrible for him. I couldn’t imagine having to deal with that.

At first I thought Danielle was way too controlling and I couldn’t understand her intense hatred for Martin. The more I read the more I understood. I started to sympathize with her. It made sense why she was filled with such hatred. I would have probably reacted the same way. Betrayal eats at you like a poison. Though I had hoped she would come around if only to free herself of that hatred. Everyone deserves peace in their lives.

Arnold and Cindy’s love is what we all secretly want. To have someone love you for that long is amazing. To wake up knowing this person loves your flaws and all. Yeah, they struggled from time to time, but they stuck with each other through it all. What relationship doesn’t have its ups and downs? That’s how the strongest relationships are built. The situation between Jeremy and Nana was sad. I kept expecting him to mess up and say something.

The more I read and found out about the feuding between the Thompson family and the Fosters the more I was torn between siding with one or the other. They were both wronged. To keep it going for eighty years though was a little much. They put their own children through something that had nothing really to do with them. In a way, I get it and in a way I think it should have been settled. Just like Maree, Justin, and Martin did in the end. That gesture showed how they had grown as individuals. Something I feel their parents should have been able to do.

Overall I liked how each character was in some way, shape, or form intertwined with each other. The way they interacted was very believable. They acted just like a normal family or small town would. They had drama, suspense, murder, love, and family togetherness. Then add in an 80-year long family feud and it all makes for an amazing story.

The author, Ian Bradshaw, did an excellent job of pulling emotions from everywhere. With every turn of the page you discovered a new twist. When you thought you knew what was going to happen something changed that made you rethink. Just when you think this character is going to be the one you cannot stand something is revealed that makes you understand why they are the way the are. May not have started out as my normal read, but I am glad I read it.

Pages: 318 | ISBN: 9781742845432