Can what is now lost, be found again?

Synopsis

I left at dawn on a rainy day. 

I left as he slept, believing that he’d still find me in his arms when he woke up. I left, taking everything I’d promised him. I took it all, and neither of us would ever have it again. 

I left, turning my back on everything I knew, believing I could never be part of it.

I left the man who loved me, the family who raised me. I left my home, my roots, my dreams. I left my whole life behind in search of a past that was never mine. I hurt everyone who loved me, and broke him into so many pieces that I know I’llnever deserve his forgiveness.

But I’m here, now, trying to rebuild everything I’ve destroyed. I’m trying to find what I thought I’d lost. And although he says that he’ll never be the same, though he says that there’s nothing left of him, I can’t abandon him again. I can’t say goodbye to us.

They say that you always find your way back to happiness, but I’ve found my way back to the only place I’ve ever felt at home.

I’ve found my way back to him.

My review

Niamh has returned back home after leaving her home, family and boyfriend on a rainy day several years ago. Now she has returned, but where once she was part of the community, she feels like a stranger now.
She knows that she has hurt a lot of people by leaving, especially Noah while searching for her past. But now that she is back, she wants to fix everything that she broke. Even if her family welcomes her back with open arms, she also knows that make things right with Noah will be the most difficult bit. Because her leaving, made sure that Noah is no longer the same man, and perhaps never will be. So it’s up to Niamh to show him that now she is back to stay, with him. 

I always love a story about second chances (or even third ones), and having read previous books of this author, I had to give new book also a shot. 

In this book, there is no question of who has been through the most, as both Niamh and Noah didn’t have an easy time, or still don’t. 

It’s not clear from the start what made Niamh leave in first instance (or second instance), yet it’s obvious that her leaving broke Noah. And no matter how long has passed, Noah is still a broken man, especially as he still carries around the guilt of what happened while he was trying to cope.
I know, I am talking very vaguely, but I cannot and will not tell the details, because it’s up to you to discover the depth of it all. 

Niamh is facing the difficulty of returning home while she hurt so many people with her leaving, not only Noah. Even if her family is truly happy to see her again, there are other people wary of her return. And I could understand them, as they had to face her absence, trying to build up again what she ‘demolished’.
It would be easy to see Niamh as the ‘bad character’, however, she is not.
She had her own reasons to leave, reasons that I could understand. What she had learned, crushed her whole world and I saw that her search was what she needed, even if it didn’t give her all the answers she needed. 

I also admired her, because it couldn’t have been easy to return. Yet she ahs this determination to show everyone that she is back to stay, and will fight for her loved ones, whatever it takes, even if some will keep on pushing her away. 

Even if that person is Noah, the man she has always loved, and who loves her the most. His tale is truly an even sadder one. because his whole world collapsed, he is proof how a broken heart looks like.
He is facing also other several issues, and I liked it how the author shows us that it’s okay when you’re not okay, that you have nothing to be ashamed of.
I could perfectly understand his reluctance of just welcoming Niamh back, for his own sake. He has been hurt by her in the past and he cannot survive another heartbreak again. 

It was sweet to see the efforts that Niamh made to show Noah she was truly back. And for sure it was also sweet to see how Noah truly lightens up with Niamh back in his life. Of course that doesn’t mean that all issues are resolved, but that makes this book realistic. Problems don’t just disappear in one blink, it is a work in progress…  

This story is a story about heartbreak, but also about healing hearts. It shows the strength of love, that it truly can conquer it all when you have found that special person. It also shows that nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes or have our issues, and that’s okay.