#BlogTour! #Review – If Ever I Fall by S.D.Robertson (@SDRauthor) @AvonBooksUK

Dan’s life has fallen apart at the seams. He’s lost his house, his job is on the line, and now he’s going to lose his family too. All he’s ever wanted is to keep them together, but is everything beyond repair?

Maria is drowning in grief. She spends her days writing letters that will never be answered. Nights are spent trying to hold terrible memories at bay, to escape the pain that threatens to engulf her.

Jack wakes up confused and alone. He doesn’t know who he is, how he got there, or why he finds himself on a deserted clifftop, but will piecing together the past leave him a broken man?

In the face of real tragedy, can these three people find a way to reconcile their past with a new future? And is love enough to carry them through?

What does TWG think?

After reading this novel, I felt quite similar to a bag of liquorice all sorts; completely out of sorts. Having read multiple posts on social media in regards to the book being a real tear-jerker, I found myself wondering if I truly was an Ice Queen..

If Ever I Fall is written as though it has three separate personalities, all with their own stories to tell. The storyline switches between those three personalities multiple times, however, it isn’t as straight forward as you might think.
There’s Dan, a man who is very close to losing hope; Maria (his wife) who’s only form of grief release is through letters, and, finally, there is Jack, a….man.

I couldn’t warm to Dan as much as I would have liked as I found his character a little cold. I had my fingers crossed that that would change as the storyline progressed and it did, but only by a little bit. When the storyline changed to Maria and her letters, at first I was a little bit confused as to why she was writing letters and to whom, but sure enough, things became clear and I was quite taken aback by the emotional value those letters and her actions contained. The whole situation caught me off guard, but in a good way as it gave the storyline more of an edge. Very cleverly written.

The third personality we come across in the storyline, is Jack’s, the wildcard of the book in my opinion. As soon as we were introduced to his life I wondered where on Earth did he come from? One minute I was looking at Maria’s letters, and the next I was faced with a man who only knew that he was a man, because he has eyes to see the important ‘clue’. It took me a while to work out where he fit in with the rest of the storyline and what his purpose was, I have to admit.

For me, the storyline went on a rollercoaster ride. It peaked at certain points and it also dipped at certain points too. S.D.Robertson most certainly has a way with words and it is evidently clear by this novel and his previous one, that he has the knack when it comes to enchanting his readers. He comes across, via his storylines, that he understands what it will take to make the reader feel some sort of emotion, whether it be positively or negatively. Even when I found the storyline dipping, the authors writing ‘hugged’ me into the storyline, does that make sense? Let me try to explain; when I came across moments where I felt as though there was a little puzzle piece missing from somewhere; S.D.Robertson  natural and warm storytelling made me feel warm within, enough to continue. In simple terms I was pretty mesmerised by how he wrote the novel to be honest. Really, really beautiful.

That said, for once I didn’t cry yet a lot of people classed this as a tear jerker. Now, before you go all ‘oh em gee’ on me for not crying (believe me, I was shocked myself), my emotions shut down (no, I’m not telling you which part of the storyline that happened!). I became numb and exceptionally cold. Maybe that was because of shock, I don’t know, although it’s highly likely due to the fact my mouth was open and my hand was over it. I wish I could say I loved the entire storyline, but for me, there were multiple parts of the book where a question mark hovered above

Overall, ‘If Ever I Fall’ is a novel which will head straight for your emotions in a way that only YOU know. S.D.Robertson has written a truly lovely book which highlights the true extents of love, grief and hope.

Thank you Avon/Netgalley.

Buy now!