How long can you keep running away?

Synopsis

Running away is what Tabitha Callahan does best until saying goodbye becomes too hard…

When successful songwriter Tabitha Callahan swaps a summer of sadness for pet sitting around the world, she intends to use the time to heal her broken heart.

Tabitha can’t believe her luck when she picks up a housesit on the rugged and beautiful Portuguese island of Madeira.

The villa is luxurious, the views breath-taking and her charges, a gorgeous but aloof cat and two cute and friendly Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, are perfect companions while she works on some new material and attempts to reconcile her past.

However, her peace is shattered when an unexpected house guest puts paid to her much-needed time alone, forcing her to confront not only her feelings but what she actually wants from life.

New friends and old dominate her time on the island, along with deep-rooted regret and unspoken sorrow.

Will a year of running away be enough to put the past to rest and allow someone new to inch into her heart?

My review

Tabitha Callahan, an amazing songwriter,  has used her pet sitting around the world as an excuse as she isn’t ready to face her broken heart.
Her latest job brings her to the wonderful island of Madeira, where she will look after a gorgeous cat and two delightful Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. With a breath-taking view in a great villa, Tabitha hopes to have the opportunity to work on some new material.
But what she doesn’t take in account is the unexpected guest at the door, the son of the owners of the villa, who hopes he can crash there for a short time.
Because with now an extra presence in the villa, Tabitha may realize that running away from everything and everyone may not be the answer, but that maybe now is the time to face her past, feelings and what she truly wants from life.
And facing those feelings also include facing the feelings that start to develop for Raff and the feelings she has for an old friend also residing on the island… 

So, my brother went on holiday to Madeira last year, and I was honestly a bit envious of it! But now I can gladly say I have been there too, while reading this amazing book! Isn’t that just wonderful, how a book can just take you to amazing place? 

Being a great animal – lover myself, I was intrigued by Tabitha, as she has found the perfect combination of going on holidays and ‘working’ at the same time, by looking after lovely pets. Of course, she is doing her main work as a songwriter at the same time, but just how amazing is it to travel all around the world, getting to see wonderful places and being surrounded by animals that will love you unconditionally? 

However, no matter how lovely Tabitha’s life seems to appear, it’s clear that it’s just not… She had her heart broken, but not only in the way I expected it to be…
While she truly loved her boyfriend, it takes strength and courage to walk away when it’s not the right kind of love.
But what truly wrenched my heart was the aftermath… While she was hesitant at first, only after losing she realized how much she truly wanted what she no longer had (taking very cryptic here I know…). 

While in Madeira, she also wants to grab the opportunity to reconnect somehow with her former, now famous, best friend. Maybe this subplot was a bit superficial, as I felt that it could be a little more present in the story, I also understood that it was important to make us understand Tabitha’s state of mind better, but it would take much more for Tabitha to heal completely. 

Tabitha’s story for sure saddened me, even if the more her story evolved, we saw her seeing the light somehow. And while running away may be the best solution for a specific moment, it cannot be the permanent answer…  

However, I was not prepared for Raff’s story. At the start, I have to admit, his laid – back attitude, his lack in understanding, made me didn’t actually fall for him immediately. But the more I got to know this man, the more I saw that he had so many demons defeated and still was trying to defeat…
It felt so wrong everything he had endured, and all because of a clash of expectations…
For the little I have seen from his parents, and the more I got to know what happened, the more I understood why there was no love lost between Raff and his parents…
And even towards the end, I could see why he wasn’t ready yet, as he wasn’t at the same place where Tabitha was. Yet I kept hoping… 

This story shows us that stepping away from everything, the right moment will come to see things more clearly. But walking away won’t solve all our problems, as we still need to confront them and talk openly about what’s haunting. Only then we can be able to see what direction we want our lives to take and move forwards to a life filled with happiness, joy and love…