April & Oliver by Tess Callahan

April & Oliver: A Novel by Tess Callahan
(Fiction)

April is devoted to her brother Buddy, and knows that no matter how many ups or downs life throws her way he will always be there to help her through. What she doesn't consider is who will get her through when Buddy himself is no longer around. Killed in a tragic automobile accident, Buddy's death rips through April, tearing her to the core. Of all the things in April's messed up life, Buddy was the one thing, the one person she could truly count on. Without him, April's world grows bleak and dim, even more so than before.

It's not as though she's got a lot going for her. Stuck in a dead end job tending bar and caught up in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship, April finds her world completely coming apart at the seems. The downward spiral only quickens when Oliver, April's childhood best friend, shows up at her brother's funeral- with his new fiance'. As a child, April derived her deepest pleasure from the times she spent with Oliver and Buddy. They were inseparable. Unfortunately, as they grew up, April and Oliver also grew apart.

The skeletons in April's closet prevented her from going to college and making something of herself, but Oliver seized his opportunity when it arrived. The day that Oliver went off without April was the day he started living for himself, but even within his now sober and sensible world Oliver finds there is something missing. He's about to have everything a guy could ever hope for- a successful career and a gorgeous wife. Yet when Oliver returns home for Buddy's funeral it's as if the past all comes rushing back to him with full force.

Oliver always cared deeply for the audacious and broken April, and seeing her again after so many years causes a need to stir inside of him. A need to fix her. A need to heal her. A need to understand her. It's not as though he sets out on a road to claim her as his own. Be that as it may, the sexually charged atmosphere that was once thought to be extinguished only rushes to a full blaze once again. Neither knows what he or she really wants from the other, yet both find themselves drawn inexplicably together despite all that they know about one another.

Rich in story and drama, April & Oliver is a page turner that will make you fall in love with its disfunctional characters as they get back to the basics of who they are and why. Not to worry though, it's not all hearts and roses. And there's certainly plenty of angst to go around. However, this is a book that, when all is said and done, I believe will leave readers with a satisfied, heart warming grin on their faces. It's a story that comes together in such an irresistible way readers can't help but be drawn to the painful and romantic narrative. Perhaps it is one which will even cause readers to travel back in time, if be it briefly, to consider their own first love, possibly in a different light than ever before.

April & Oliver is, simply put, one I can't help but recommend!

****CAN'T GET BLOGGER TO ALLOW ME TO POST ANY IMAGES, BUT I'LL GET A COVER PIC POSTED AS SOON AS BLOGGER IS BACK TO NORMAL.****

~Bookish Mom, aka RebekahC