Book: Dear Darling
Author: Elle Mckenzie
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Hosted By:Francessca’s Romance Reviews
Synopsis
Saffron Vale has a letter to write—a letter telling her husband she is leaving.
Yet, the moment her pen touches the paper, her heart starts to ache. A lifetime of love and promises swim in the first stroke of ink, making her doubt herself. Every smear of punctuation becomes a joy shared by lovers who were always meant to be. Every heartache drowns in the blank space, which tells a far greater story than her pen ever could.
With over twenty years of memories tying her to the man she loves and the children her heart beats for, Saffron has to make the hardest choice of her life. Will she find the strength to write the letter that will end it all, or will she face a future of the unknown?
Dear Darling is a novel about love and loss, happiness and anguish, and one woman’s struggle to find an answer to an impossible question.
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Excerpt
Tapping the pen against my soft lips, back and forth, back and forth, my hand shakes as the cool plastic skims my mouth. Time is passing slowly as I sit at the kitchen table, trying to write the hardest thing I've ever had to write. My relatively short life has been full of happiness, trauma, anguish, loss, and hope. But it has mostly been full of love, which has been enough to get us through all the other stuff. Love isn't enough to stop this pain, though.
I don't know what to write. What do I say to the man I've loved fiercely for twenty-one years? How do I tell the man I adore I'm leaving him? Any way I do this, whatever I write, it's going to break his heart. My heart is shattered. It’s been dusted into a thousand tiny shards, which are splintering inside my broken body, and I don't think it's repairable this time. I can't keep putting it off, though. He needs to know the truth, and I have to be the one to tell him.
Looking around at our house at our belongings and all the things we have accumulated during our time together, I feel a tightness in my chest. It's not a lot, but it's ours. It's our home, it's where we have raised our children, where we have laughed, where we have cried, where we have fought for our marriage. It has memories. Some of them good, some of them bad, but they are ours.
Together.
As a family.
We may not be a perfect family—we've been through things most families would have been broken by—but we are a family, and it's hard to imagine how they'll feel when I'm no longer here. When I walk out that door and don't come back.
When I leave them.
A tear trickles down my cheek, burning my skin as I imagine my children's faces when he tells them I'm gone. The guilt threatens to overwhelm me, but I shove it away. I have to do this.
I have to go.
My mother once told me, “Your time on Earth is measured by the number of times you smile and laugh,” and I've done both of them. Lately though, I've found it hard to smile. Nothing excites me any more—not now that I know the truth. The truth is ugly, it's hard to bear, and when I think about it, bile rises from my stomach. The truth is too hard to handle. In fact, I know I can't handle it.
That is why I have to go.
Running my hand over the soft sheet of paper, my fingers trace over the indentations from the lines as they travel down. Taking a deep breath, I grasp the pen tightly in my hand and position it onto the first line, which seals my fate. My hand shakes and the words stain the page like soot on snow. The ink melts onto the paper as my heart freezes, and two little words pour out like a fountain of tears.
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Early Feedback
Well that story chewed me up and spat me out the other side a complete emotional mess. ~ Jezabell Girl and friends
Such a great read Heartbreaking but great... I can’t wait for Elle Next book really do love her writing. ~ WLTB Blog
This story definitely had all the feels and it certainly didn't end how I expected it too which is a good thing I might add.~ Goodreads Review
I can honestly say I don't think I can fault this book, the writing was perfection, and the beautiful story flowed well - so well that I couldn't stop reading it until it was finished. ~ Goodreads Review
About The Author
When she was a child, Elle wrote several stories and had a dream of becoming a journalist. Unfortunately, life changed her course and she didn't get to fulfil her dream.
Two years ago, Elle decided to start writing again and Figure 8 was born.
Released in 2015, Figure 8 was her first novel, a romantic thriller set in Manchester, England.
Since then, Elle has written two more books, Lust and Dear Darling.
Elle resides in Cheshire with her husband, three children, and two dogs.
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