The In-Between Hour by Barbara Claypole White

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18006104-the-in-between-hour

Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

SUMMARY

What could be worse than losing your child? Having to pretend he's still alive...

Bestselling author Will Shepard is caught in the twilight of grief, after his young son dies in a car accident. But when his father's aging mind erases the memory, Will rewrites the truth. The story he spins brings unexpected relief…until he's forced to return to rural North Carolina, trapping himself in a lie. 

Holistic veterinarian Hannah Linden is a healer who opens her heart to strays but can only watch, powerless, as her grown son struggles with inner demons. When she rents her guest cottage to Will and his dad, she finds solace in trying to mend their broken world, even while her own shatters. 

As their lives connect and collide, Will and Hannah become each other's only hope—if they can find their way into a new story, one that begins with love.

REVIEW

I just finished reading this book, and am trying to put my thoughts in to words, and am finding it difficult to express how much I loved this book! The characters were so well done, and the scenery is so vivid I felt like I was there with them.

I think my favourite character is Jacob, he is so alive and colourful even though he is getting older and losing his memory. He is so full of love, and really do what he thought was best for his son when he was younger, and it made me realise that when we are young we always see our parents as "parents" and never as "people". 

The theme of mental illness is ongoing through this book, and for personal reasons there was a few times that I found myself having to put it down and take a deep breath before picking it back up again. I think that the author did a great job of getting in to someones mind that has depression and understanding where they may be coming from, and also making a point that medication is not the be all and end all of the situation, there is so much more that goes in to it.

I also really liked how all of the characters in this book were not perfect, they all came with their baggage, and yet they were all able to put it aside when one of them was in need of the others and help, it is the true meaning of family, whether born or made. The friendships that were made you can tell will last a lifetime, and I love that.

The relationship between Will and Hannah was not an easy one, there was an attraction at first sight, and I think that we can all relate to that, but they had to work at it, it did not come easily, and they turned in to friends before they were anything else, and I like when that happens in a story, I find it to be more realistic than the whole love at first sight. 

There were ups and downs in this book for sure, and that is life right? Nothing goes smoothly all the time, if you are looking for a book that gives you reality over anything else, this one is for you! I give this book a 5/5!