Happy publication day, Anna Mansell! I am delighted to be one of the bloggers kicking off the blog tour today, many thanks to Bookouture for inviting me to take part and for the ARC! Here is my review of ‘I Wanted To Tell You’:
‘Sometimes I think that if I’d found a way to talk, we’d be together now…’
When Helen finds a bundle of unsent love letters, tied with a red ribbon, and signed only ‘the love you wished I could be’, she wonders who they could belong to.
The same day, however, her husband Alex announces he’s leaving. She’d believed their love would last a lifetime, but now he’s gone and she hadn’t even realised there was anything wrong.
Desperate to understand, Helen doesn’t know where to look for answers. But the letters keep drawing her back. As she reads the words of loneliness, loss and regret, something in them helps her start to make sense of it all… Even as she realises someone has been keeping heart-breaking secrets.
But who do the letters belong to? Can the sender ever be reunited with the one they love, or is it too late? And when Helen finds out the truth about Alex, can she find it in her heart to forgive him, or will he never be the love she wished he could be?
What does TWG think?
Oh, Anna Mansell, what have you done to me?!
What a fabulous bunch of characters in this book! Helen finds herself in a bit of a sticky situation in her marriage, completely unaware of the demons her husband, Alex, is trying to fight. Whereas, Geoff, is trying his hardest to fight battles for both himself and his wife. I’m trying to be careful with spoilers here, so of course there is a lot more to each of the characters lives than the above.
Have you ever been the type of person to sit and write your feelings down, hoping they make a lot more sense written down than in your head? Many of you are probably nodding your head right now! I’ve never been good at expressing my own feelings yet someone in this book seemed to be pretty good at it. Funny how we are all different, isn’t it?
I was so pleased that Helen found comfort in someone elses written feelings at a time she needed them the most – I had no idea how her situation with Alex was going to pan out, but the emotional element of it regarding mental health was very powerful and very relatable.
Geoff and Connie, wow, what a storyline written from the heart, and what a relationship to aspire to! I was captivated by their relationship, but the situation they had unfortunately found themselves in was utterly heartbreaking. I didn’t just read about two characters where Geoff and Connie were concerned, I felt like I had found long lost family. I will hold my hands up and say that I cried – I’m not ashamed to admit it! I don’t think that I would have been able to stop the tears from falling even if I tried. Their connection is a beautiful gift to be discovered – relish in it!
‘I Wanted To Tell You’ is a thought provoking, insanely beautiful and poignant read which left me with half a heart broken, and half a heart filled with a joy. Anna Mansell has delivered in every sense of the word, and I am sure that she has made a very important person proud.
I am jealous of every person who gets to read this book for the first time and discover the beauty which lay beneath each of the characters barriers, whilst also being part of a powerful and beautifully written story of love, life, loss, and strength.
About the author.
The Writing Garnet 
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