Review: Watch Us Shine (by Marisa de los Santos)

My Rating: 4 stars

When I first picked this book up, I had no idea that it was part of Marisa de los Santos's popular series Love Walked In. This worried me initially, as I hadn't read any of the other books in the series, so I was afraid I would be lost without the backstory or that I wouldn't be able to connect with the characters.  Luckily, this one turned out to be a standalone story that didn't require any knowledge from previous books (though I've heard that it's recommended to read the other books in the series for the best emotional effect).  With that said, even though I wasn't familiar with this particular series or its characters prior to diving into it, one thing I was familiar with was the writing, as I had read de los Santos's previous standalone novel I'd Give Anything and remember being smitten by how beautiful and heartfelt the writing was.  My sentiments toward that book very much apply here as well — the memorable, relatable characters who may act a bit quirky at times, but overall are tremendously endearing; the themes of family, love, forgiveness, truth, regrets, and relationships in all its various forms;  the "messiness" of complicated family dynamics where each member might not agree with or understand one another, but still love each other regardless;  and of course, the emotional nuances that permeate the story, woven into the narrative in a way that felt seamless and effortless.

De los Santos has a way of tackling difficult topics with empathy and grace, which I admire and appreciate.  Her characters are put through some incredibly hard things, and sometimes the decisions they make I might not necessarily agree with, but yet I couldn't help rooting for them wholeheartedly.  I loved all of the characters in here, but I especially connected with Martha, specifically in her role as protector (in this case, of her sister Eleanor), which ends up taking more of a toll on her than anyone could've anticipated. Martha's story was heart wrenching, yet rendered so magnanimously, with an undercurrent of hope and compassion that added emotional nuance, but was never heavy-handed.  

There was actually so much to unpack with this moving, poignant story that it's virtually impossible to do the story justice in the short space of a review.  I definitely recommend picking this one up, especially if you've read the other books in the series.  Over the course of just this book, Cornelia, Eleanor, and their large, extended family already endeared themselves to me to the point that I definitely want to read the previous books in the series so that I can get further acquainted with them.

Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.

Review: I'd Give Anything (by Marisa de los Santos)

My Rating: 5 stars

 

From the beginning of the year until now, I’ve read 21 books and so far, not a single one of them had reached 5 star level for me.  Don’t get me wrong — there were plenty of excellent books in that mix and quite a few that, regardless of whether I rated them 4 or 4.5 stars, I still enjoyed greatly and even loved, but instinctually, somehow, they just didn’t feel like 5 star reads.  Well, with I’d Give Anything, the newest novel by renowned author Marisa de los Santos, it looks like I have finally found my first 5 star read of the year!  

In this beautifully written, heartfelt story, the close friendship between 4 high school seniors — Ginny, Kirsten, Gray, and CJ — is forever changed one night when a fire breaks out during a football game at their school.  Gray’s father, a fire fighter, perishes in the fire and immediately, Gray’s 3 best friends are there for him, ready to support him through the tragedy.  But then Ginny makes a devastating discovery about the fire, which she decides to keep from her 3 friends — this secret not only shatters Ginny’s world, it also ends up destroying their friendship.  Over the next twenty years, Ginny gradually puts the past behind her, and after moving back to her hometown upon graduating from college, she builds a quiet life with her husband Harris and their teenage daughter Avery.  When her husband becomes embroiled in a scandal at work, Ginny experiences turbulence in her carefully constructed life once again and as she tries to deal with the fallout from that scandal, she ends up coming face-to-face with the 20-year-old secret that she thought had been buried long ago.  

For me, the best character-driven stories are the ones where nearly all of the characters (whether main or supporting) are realistically drawn in ways that make them relatable and easy to connect with — pretty much to the point that the characters feel like old friends whom I don’t want to part with even when the story is over.  Ginny and Avery were characters I adored from the getgo and rooted for throughout the story — both were written in a way that felt so raw and real.  It’s refreshing to read about characters whose experiences hew so closely to what many of us may encounter at different points in our lives — as I watched Ginny work through the various challenges she faced, not only with her family, but also with her friends, I recognized some of her struggles and was able to resonate on an emotional level.   All the other characters, regardless of whether they only appeared for a few pages or were a constant throughout the entire story, were also well-developed and memorable.  I also loved the way the various relationships were depicted in this story.  We all know that, in real life, the complexities when it comes to relationships are endless – whether it’s family relationships, friendships, work relationships, or mere acquaintances -- there are so many nuances that are difficult to capture accurately in a fictional story.  Yet this book does it -- and does it well!   

This was a profound read that left me with much food-for-thought, not just as it pertains to relationships, but also life and its intricacies.  It covers a lot of ground in its exploration of themes such as family, love, friendship, truth, regret, forgiveness, and so much more.  One of the insights that stood out the most to me pertained to love and forgiveness, that both are not mutually exclusive of each other insofar as the inability to forgive someone for their actions does not preclude the ability to still love them and care deeply about them.   The ending brought me close to tears, as did several other parts of the story.

I like the way Marisa de los Santos writes as well as the way she is able to tell such an emotionally nuanced story so effortlessly.  I read this book in 2 sittings over the weekend, putting it down only once to tend to the necessities of life and then when I picked it up again, I didn’t want it to end.  If there is anything to complain about with this book, it’s that I wish it had been longer (the ARC was less than 300 pages) so that I could spend more time with these characters.  I’ve actually had several of this author’s works on my TBR for quite some time, but didn’t have a chance to get to any of them previously — well, now I will definitely be exploring her backlist while I wait patiently for her next book, whenever that may be.

Received ARC from William Morrow (HarperCollins) via Edelweiss.