Thursday 31 July 2014

Guest Book Review: Julie Cohen - Where Love Lies

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Lately, Felicity just can't shake a shadow of uncertainty. Her husband Quinn is the kindest person she knows and loves her peculiarities more than Felicity feels she deserves. But suddenly it's as if she doesn't quite belong.

Then Felicity experiences something extraordinary: a scent of perfume in the air which evokes memories that have been settled within her for a long time, untouched and undisturbed. As it happens again and again, the memories of a man Felicity hasn't seen for ten years also flutter to the surface. And so do the feelings of being deeply, exquisitely in love . . .


Overwhelmed and bewildered by her emotions, Felicity tries to resist sinking blissfully into the past. But what if something truly isn't as it should be? What if her mind has been playing tricks on her heart?


Which would you trust?

Amazon links: Kindle or Hardcover

In ‘Where Love Lies’ Julie Cohen has written a beautiful, moving, thought provoking story focusing on the themes of love, loss and  family relationships.  This is not a light-hearted chick lit read but a novel in which Julie Cohen has cemented herself as a go to author for me as she deals with the themes of the novel in a deep and insightful way . The writing is outstanding, numerous times I had to stop and reread sentences because Julie has just such an unbelievable way with words. To be honest there were several quotes I just wanted to write down and frame because they rang so true for me.

The novel focuses on three main characters Felicity, Quinn and Ewan. Felicity and Quinn have been married for just over a year and live in the village where Quinn grew up –Tallingford. One evening Felicity is on her way to meet Quinn  for dinner when something unusual  happens, she smells a strange scent which takes her back to her past-frangipani .She searches for the source of the scent but reaches a dead end.  From here on more odd things happen to Felicity that cause her to question her relationship with Quinn , she had already felt uneasy maybe that she had rushed into marriage and she wasn’t good enough to deserve such a loyal and caring husband.

Soon Felicity realises that the scent of frangipani is giving her an overwhelming feeling of love for her former  flame Ewan and this turns her world upside down- should she have stayed with Ewan or was she destined to be with Quinn? She embarks upon a search for answers and moves to London for something breathing space where she locates Ewan who is at a critical turning point after several unhappy incidents cause him to question everything in his life. Felicity and Ewan are two lost souls at this point struggling to find their way and this overwhelming feeling of love that keeps emerging; she has to make a decision should she follow her head or her heart?

Several times I really wanted to shake Felicity for abandoning Quinn who was loving, caring , supportive and so understanding. Yes, his family may have been trying but that is all part and parcel of being in a relationship.  Half way through the novel we discover what is causing these emotions of pure love and I certainly did not see that twist coming and it explained alot of Felicity’s actions and made me want to reread the first half of the book considering everything that had happened in a different light.

Overall ‘Where Love Lies ‘is a stunning achievement, which raises plenty of questions surrounding love and that question which should we trust our head or our heart? Buy it now you won’t be disappointed.

I'd like to thank Emma for reviewing this eBook for me which we received from the publisher via NetGalley.  

2 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great holiday read. :) x

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  2. Sounds fantastic and I love that it's a smell that triggers it all. Smells always remind me of places and things. On my to read now :)

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