Monday 26 August 2013

Book Review: The First Time I Said Goodbye by Claire Allan


Would you hold on tighter if you knew you were saying goodbye forever?

I'm going to start this post by being upfront. The author of this book, Claire Allan, is someone I've known for quite a while, certainly before she achieved her official job title of "author" and amazing bestseller status - I have tried very hard to not let this cloud my judgement when reviewing her latest release. I will say however that I'm in awe of how Claire set her sights on her goals and achieved them. And then some!  Not only is she a best selling author, she also has a day job and two young children - it makes me feel very lazy! Claire has now written seven novels and The First Time I Said Goodbye is her latest which is released in September 2013.

The First Time I Said Goodbye follows the story of Annabel Jackson and her mother Stella. We learn how Stella, as a young lady, fell for a charming US marine, Ray, who has based in her home town of Derry in the 1950's. It's a whirlwind romance that has the full blessing of her loving family and Stella is excited to be heading off to a new life in America with her dashing beau. That is, until a tragedy unfolds and changes the course of their lives forever. At the same time, we also follow her grown-up daughter Annabel - who is grieving for the recent loss of her father and is unsettled in her long-term relationship with a somewhat seemingly unsupportive boyfriend Craig. Annabel agrees to travel to Ireland with her mother from their home in the US and it's the making of this journey that opens the story up for us and see's Annabel learning more about her mother, a side she has never seen before and also more about herself and what she wants for her own life.

I LOVED this book. I was completely absorbed in it and whilst it's a cliche, I really couldn't put it down I was enjoying it that much.  It happens to follow one of my favourite formats ever - a dual time frame. The book switches seamlessly between the present day lives of Annabel and Stella and back to Stella's days in the late 1950s. Claire describes 1959 Derry perfectly. I've never been to Northern Ireland myself but through her excellent descriptions I was able to build up a good visual image of what life would have looked like back then - hell,  it made me want to dress up and go to one of the dances and get myself a dashing US marine! 

All of the characters were extremely loveable, whilst being imperfect and slightly flawed which I think made them all the more believable.  I truly cared about what happened to the characters, even the ones that played more minor roles in the story, and was rooting for them all the way. Claire is great at describing and making you feel the emotions of the characters. That's not just evident in this book but also in the tear-jerking "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?".

Out of all Claire Allan's books this is by far my favourite. Each and every book she has written are well worth reading however I personally feel she has grown as an author over the years and her writing, which is always excellent, just keeps getting better and better. Her first book releases had more humour in them where the last couple of books she has written have had a real depth of emotion in them. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

My one disappointment? I want to know what happens next! Sequel please?

You can find out more about the author Claire Allan and the books she was written by visiting her website. You can also keep up with Claire and hear details about the launch for The First Time I Said Goodbye by following on Twitter or Facebook


1 comment:

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