How lives can change in just 24 hours…

Synopsis

What would you do if you had just twenty-four hours to change your life?

Ailish Ryan has been in hiding since her husband’s affair ended their marriage. But when a friend forces her to face her new reality, will she choose to revisit the past or embrace a brand new future?

Ailish’s daughter, Emmy, thought her boyfriend was nothing like her cheating father, but now she’s not so sure. As the hours pass, she turns detective to find out if she picked the right man, or if history is repeating itself.

Grandmother, Minnie Ryan is on a mission to deliver a very special gift to a lifelong friend. But will grit and a touch of divine intervention be enough to overcome the obstacles that fate is putting in her way?

Dario Moretti has spent his whole life working in the family business, but now it’s in trouble and he’s all out of options. Will he have the strength to let it go, even if it means hurting the people he loves?

The clock is ticking… but will twenty-four hours be long enough to heal four broken hearts?

My review

Ailish Ryan hasn’t been herself since the discovery of her husband’s affair and the subsequential divorce. Instead of learning to embrace her new life, she went into hiding and has been letting things go.
But the news concerning her best friend is perhaps the perfect occasion to turn things around?
Also Ailish’s daughter Emmy, is going through a difficult time. Because discovering that her own father, who seemed to be perfect, could be a deceiving person, scarred her too. And with her boyfriend acting weird lately, Emmy is afraid that she will make the same discovery her mother made not so long ago.
And Emmy’s grandmother, Minnie Ryan, has a special mission of her own. Because with the support of her husband, she wants to give a lifelong friend the gift of a lifetime. But will it be so easy as Minnie hopes it will be?
All the above is happening while Dario Moretti has to make the most difficult decision, as the family business has not recovered since the pandemic… But will everyone accept the choice he eventually will make?
So many decisions and choices that will affect everyone’s life, in only a time span of 24 hours…

When the timespan in a book is only 24 hours, it may seem impossible to have a captivating story. Well, perhaps in many cases that would be, but not when it’s a book written by Shari Low. Because once again, I found myself completely submerged in this wonderful story!

Of course initially it takes some time to put all the pieces of the whole puzzle of the main characters together. But luckily we have a great help for that at the start of the book! 😊

Each main character, Ailish, Emmy, Minnie and Dario, have had a lot in life, no matter how young or old they are, but all four of them have also lost, or are on the verge of losing a lot, with some kind of heartbreak being involved.

I was sad for Ailish, because a few years she thought she had it all, a great family, a loving and devoted husband and even the relationship with her mother – in – law, Minnie, is a good one.
But to discover the unfaithfulness of your husband, and the way she did, I can understand why Ailish has been struggling since then…

But it was also sweet to see how the news concerning one of her best friends, is the little nudge Ailish needs to make a change. With the right incentive, and even some good – meant blackmailing, we see not only a change in Ailish’s exterior, but also the realization that standing still, even hiding, is not the answer. No matter how much someone and the past has hurt you, you have to look forward and chin up!

We also see how one choice affects more people than you may initially think. Because the affair and subsequential divorce, isn’t only affecting Ailish, but also broke something in Emmy. And that is an aspect that is often overseen. No matter how old the children may be, still a minor or already an adult, it also breaks your own heart.
We see how Emmy, who used to be close with her father, saw him as her hero, now saw that image totally crushed. And it also affects her own relationship.
Of course it doesn’t help that her boyfriend is acting weirdly, and for sure I could understand her suspicions, only fuelled by the history of her father’s choices…

Minnie’s tale for sure broke my gentle heart… She is the kind of granny that everyone wants. And the love she has for her husband is so obvious in everything she does and says to him. I truly admire couples that after so many years together still have that fire of love burning. Their lives together have had their ups and downs, but most of the flashbacks put a bittersweet smile on my face.
Bittersweet , because right from the start I had an idea of what was going on, and I even was a bit afraid of the direction Shari Low would go with this wonderful character…

Dario’s story was perhaps different compare to the tale of the three generations. But that doesn’t mean it was less in any way. In his story we see how the pandemic is still affecting people and businesses, as now – and let’s be honest about it – we live slightly differently compared to the
pre – pandemic time. Not only are the prices of just everything still rocketing high, and if I look at myself, I am not that eager of eating out any more. And there is also of course the overload of possible choices…
As Dario is running a family business, he not only has a legacy to keep, but the restaurant is also his own son’s future. So having to make the choice isn’t easy, as it affects more than just him…

Yet I would have loved to go to this kind of restaurant myself, because it’s a family restaurant in the real meaning of the word. When you are there, you are treated as one of them. There is so much warmth and love that you can feel from just reading, so imagine if you were there for real…

I loved seeing how all these different stories were entwined. Obviously Ailish, Emmy and Minnie were linked as being part of the same family, but seeing how also Dario was somehow linked to the women, was really great.
And I absolutely enjoyed reading how much can happen in just one day. It can truly be a life – changing 24 hours! And with learning the background of each character, it was a delight getting to know them better.

Shari Low for sure knows how to captivate her audience! Her stories are always heart – warming, heart – breaking, bittersweet but also realistic. There is never over  the top events taking place, and the main characters are complex just like real people. And this story is luckily for us, loyal readers and fans, not the exception!