I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In the Context of Love by Linda K. Sienkiewicz
Genres: NA, Contemporary
Pages: 272
Goodreads
Angelica had always suspected there was something deeply disturbing about her family, but the truth was more than she bargained for.After a devastating family secret derails every aspect of her life she is caught up in a whirlwind of bad decisions and wrong turns. Her journey of self discovery carries her backward as she once again learns to believe in love and the power of redemption.An intensely charged story about family secrets, love, and lust by debut novelist Linda K. Sienkiewicz.
Pre-Warning*: This book deals with topics such as abusive relationships, sex, mental health, and drug use.
*I will be including this section in reviews of books that I think contain sensitive material that may be upsetting to some so you can decide whether to continue reading
This is a beautiful story about first love, the “what ifs“, tragedy and the imperfections of life. It follows Angelica from her first love in high school and how that catapulted hard changes throughout her adult life. It’s a sort of coming-of-age story, but not with one event sparking an epiphany. It’s a story that shows that we never stop learning or growing and will always encounter moral and ethical issues throughout our life that will challenge us, and potentially damage us, to our core. It’s a story that is real, heartbreaking and inspiring all at once.
Angelica had a moderate upbringing with the typical over-bearing mother until she meets Joe. When Joe mysteriously vanishes, she discovers a secret in her family that completely derails her life. She goes through emotional and physical changes to try to rebel against and ignore the issues that are clearly there. It’s a raw and gritty story that you’ll feel emotionally connected to.
The main character and narrator is Angelica. She spends most of her life in a limbo of bad decisions and a feeling of low self-worth. She puts herself in questionable situations and makes many bad decisions. Sometimes those decisions would frustrate me. While discovering the truth can be painful, I’m not the type of person to sulk. So, when she spent so much of her young life sulking, all I wanted was for her to pick herself up and move on. I realize not everyone is like that, so with that said, I enjoyed the realness of Angelica as a woman who is struggling to find her place and overcome the challenges thrown at her.
Other characters, while not fully developed (due to the POV), are all written very well. Even though, as a reader, you don’t receive too much information about the secondary characters, their personalities stand out and their relationship and role in Angelica’s life is written wonderfully.
The story is told through second person to Angelica’s first love – a sort of love-letter recap of her life and struggles since he entered and left her life. This took me a bit to get used to, but by the end of the book, I was in love with that style. Reading Angelica’s story like she was telling someone she is in love with made her story feel more raw, more gritty and a little more painful. Sienkiewicz writes beautifully – down to the dialogue. You’ll get captured into Angelica’s story and won’t want to let go.
With that said, the pacing is a little slow. It follows her life from high school to adulthood. So there are times that seem to be chugging along while other times felt like it jumped years without explanation. However, Sienkiewicz’s writing makes up for that. Like I said, her writing is captivating.
If you haven’t noticed it yet, I loved this book. I devoured it in 2 days. Sienkiewicz’s writing brought this story to life. You’ll feel a range of emotions throughout from devastating heart breaks to intense love. It’s beautifully written and an inspiring story about picking up the pieces of your life and making it what you want. I definitely recommend this book to everyone (almost). *This is an adult novel, there are mentions of rape, domestic violence, drug use and sex. So, I recommend this book to adults and older teenagers.
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| Overall: | 4.5 / 5 |
2 Comments
Wow, In the Context of Love sounds like it was masterfully written and the characters seem to have been wonderfully developed. I’m so glad you enjoyed it despite the sensitive subjects at hand. I don’t typically read from this genre, but I know a few friends that might enjoy this! Thanks for sharing such a lovely review 🙂
It was really a wonderful story 🙂 The author has written a lot of poetry, so that may have contributed to the writing style. I hope whoever you recommend it to likes it!