When to help you have to return to a place that holds a lot of pain…

Synopsis

Brand new from best-selling author Jo Bartlett, an emotional and uplifting read, guaranteed to break your heart and put it back together again.

A family in turmoil…

Phoebe Spencer left home a long time ago, desperate to get away from her mother’s emotional manipulation. She knows her life is better away from her family, but she can’t help feeling she’s simply running away from her problems…

Then Phoebe hears that her younger sister Lucy has disappeared, leaving behind her four-year old daughter, Darcy. Phoebe’s certain Lucy will be back soon – she’d never leave Darcy alone – and then Phoebe can get on with her life again.

But as the days pass there’s still no sign of Lucy, and everyone begins to fear the worst. Phoebe has toconsider the terrible truth that Lucy might never come home. And as their mother makes it clear she wants to take control of Darcy’s life, Phoebe must do all she can to protect the girl her sister left behind – no matter the cost to her.

A brand new emotional read from bestselling author Jo Bartlett.

My review

After growing up with an emotional manipulative mother, Phoebe Spencer couldn’t wait to leave home, as the situation became truly unbearable.
But when Phoebe hears now that her younger sister Lucy has disappeared and left her four – year old daughter Darcy, Phoebe has no option to return home to look after Darcy.
Yet Phoebe is certain that Lucy will quickly return, making it possible for Phoebe to run away once again from her mother.
But when days pass and Lucy is still missing, it seems that the worst fears are becoming reality… And with Phoebe’s mother wanting to take Darcy in custody, it’s up to Phoebe to protect Darcy not only of a devastating truth about Lucy, but also to protect Darcy from the same poison Phoebe and Lucy grew up with. But at what cost?

Jo Bartlett has written magnificent series that I absolutely devoured. So was it a difficult decision to pick up another book written by her? Absolutely not! Did I love it? Absolutely yes! Did the story break my heart in one million little pieces for several reasons? Absolutely yes!

After I finished this book, I found myself in a way grateful for the family I have. Because no matter how much at times they annoy me, I have a rather normal family and that is not something everyone can say.

Because it’s obvious that Phoebe’s family is a dysfunctional one. At first I didn’t completely understood how it really was for Phoebe and for Lucy. But the more I saw with my own eyes, the more I could comprehend why Phoebe had the urge to escape from her mother.
It even angered me how her mother just got away with it all, just to keep the peace but not seeing how it would affect the lives of Phoebe and Lucy.

Phoebe’s reluctance to return was obvious and it made sense. Yet I also liked her sense of responsibility in it. Because she understood that she had to return home, not for herself, or her parents, but for little Darcy. Leaving Darcy in the clutches of Phoebe’s mother is unthinkable and it would only end in another terrorized child.

It was a tiny bit funny to see out of depth Phoebe was, as she was responsible for Darcy’s care now. But it was also heartwarming to see how she leant on who she could count for help. And her neighbor (or rather, Lucy’s neighbor…) Jamie for sure has been her rock, in so many different ways.

Darcy for sure stole my heart. A child of this age still as that innocence, not understanding the world and not understanding the finality of things. But she also shows a resilience, as we see her adapting rather quickly to a changed situation, a situation without her mother in it.
We also see how easy it is for children to love someone. Her aunt Phoebe was practically a stranger to her, but Darcy accepts Phoebe easily in her life.

This wasn’t always an easy book to digest, as it handles serious matters. It’s not easy to understand what people are going through and what makes them take certain decisions, decisions that are irreversible.
But it wasn’t only a difficult story to digest, it was also a story somehow filled with so much love in it.
We see Phoebe returning to her even personal hell, for her sister and her niece. And even if she doesn’t have a clue about raising a child, she is slowly learning the trick, out of love for that little girl who doesn’t have anyone left in her corner. And we see Phoebe fighting to protect Darcy. And she lets Darcy understand that even if her mommy isn’t there, she will always have Phoebe.

Jo Bartlett wrote once again a story that makes you realizes that perhaps no matter how often we complain, in most cases we should be counting our blessings, because not everyone is that fortunate. But even if we are in fact unfortunate and have a difficult family situation, and tragedy has struck, there will always be someone for us to rely on.
And we can also be the person to rely on when someone else has to face a difficult situation, and even if we are out of our own depth, love will make the difficult journey a feasible journey where even we can learn a lot from…