Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson (5 stars)

About Someone Else's Love Story

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (November 19, 2013)

I fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint, in a Circle K

For single mom Shandi Pierce, life is a juggling act. She’s finishing college; raising her delightful three-year-old genius son, Nathan, aka Natty Bumppo; and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced Christian mother and Jewish father. She’s got enough to deal with before she gets caught in the middle of a stickup in a gas station mini-mart and falls in love with a great wall of a man named William Ashe, who steps between the armed robber and her son to shield the child from danger.

Shandi doesn’t know that her blond god has his own baggage. When he looked down the barrel of the gun in the gas station he believed it was destiny: it’s been exactly one year since a tragic act of physics shattered his universe. But William doesn’t define destiny the way other people do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in science and numbers, destiny to him is about choice.

Now, William and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head-on, making choices that will reveal unexpected truths about love, life, and the world they think they know.

Someone Else’s Love Story is Joshilyn Jackson’s funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness; about falling in love and learning that things aren’t always what they seem—or what we hope they will be. It’s a story about discovering what we want and ultimately finding what we need.

Review

How many love stories start with a shooting at a convenience store between a man in deep despair over loss and a woman who has yet to know real love although she's a single mom?

When William saves Shandi's life, and the life of her young son, she's smitten. He's a hero in her eyes, and she wants to fall in love--in fact, she's in love with the idea of loving him. William is tortured over lost love. Their worlds collide. As much as Shandi would love to have a fairy tale ending, they both have lessons to learn. Love is part of the equation but not in the most obvious way.

There is something so sweet and completely unexpected about this charming and realistic love story. Joshilyn Jackson slowly builds the characters with glimpses into who they are in a brilliant and captivating weaving of story. Both Shandi and William are broken and teach each other important aspects about love.

Too often, fictional romances heat up quickly and leave you breathless but without much foundation for the characters' futures. This story, however, builds up to a satisfying climax of answers, love, and truth. The kinds of qualities you can base a lifetime of fulfillment on. Beautifully written and compelling--highly recommended for readers who love a character-drive story with tremendous heart and soul.

Rating: 5 stars

About Joshilyn Jackson

Joshilyn Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including gods in Alabama and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty. Her books have been translated into a dozen languages. A former actor, Jackson is also an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband and their two children.

Find out more about Joshilyn at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to TLC for my review copy.

Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed; the opinions expressed are my own.

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