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Monday, September 12, 2016

The Life Intended Review and Quotes by Kristin Harmel



The ending of "The Life Intended" got me. It is going mysterious, slow and I am very impatient. BUT when I got a hang of this flow, things got better.
I don't understand Kate. She's not from my era. If... If I met her, I think I would hate her. But I can sympathize with her.

So, the story starts with a surprise. I won't say what, it would ruin the fun. Just know there will be three guys involved. Patrick, Dan and Andrew.
She's married (happily) with Patrick.
Then, let's see the excerption below.

I twist my engagement ring on my finger as I wait for Dan to finish his food, and I’m hit with a new wave of shame. 
I never should have said yes to him, never should have taken the ring. Misgivings were already rumbling in the pit of my belly, but I had grown accustomed to ignoring them, since I thought there was no real pressure to make up my mind.
In fact, I realize as Dan chews, maybe I never should have gotten serious with him in the first place. The first time I met Patrick, there was an instant spark between us, a glimmer of something that seemed to grow brighter and brighter the longer we talked. I felt butterflies and tingles and all the things you read about in bad romance novels.
There were nerves, of course, which perhaps I mistook for something else. But most of all, there were whispers of logic.”

Why is she engaged with Dan again?

“I find Andrew waiting for me outside St. Anne’s, which is housed in a converted midcentury church on a busy street corner in Astoria. He’s sitting on the front steps, and he stands when he sees me approaching.
“You found the place,” he says, brushing the dirt off his faded jeans and grinning at me as he comes down the front walkway. We shake hands, which feels too formal, then he gives me an awkward hug.
I smile. “I guess I’m overdressed, huh?” He’s in a vintage-looking Batman T-shirt, while I’m still wearing a silk blouse, pencil skirt, and kitten heels from a day at the office.
“Not at all,” he says. “This is just comfortable, for when I need to get down and play with the kids—or fix stuff around the foster houses. I’m known far and wide as the man who can work magic with a screwdriver and a drill.”
“And here I’m just the woman who thinks she can change lives with a guitar and a pair of maracas,” I say with a wink, tipping my big canvas bag so that he can see the small collection of instruments I have inside.”
“Well, I guess we make a pretty good pair then,” he says. He takes my bag off my shoulder, and when I start to protest, he just gives me a look. “I may be dressed like a five-year-old, but I’m still a gentleman. I’m carrying your bag for you.”
“Just don’t try to take my guitar, or I’ll have to hurt you,” I shoot back with a smile.
“Ooh, a fictional violent streak. Edgy.”

So, she seemed to be a little too friendly with Andrew too.
But obviously Dan is out of picture, concerning romancing issues. But she ain't no little girl. She is like 40? I am not sure about her age but she's no blooming flower. So, her decisions about Dan or Patrick or Andrew will not be like normal romance relationship. Life will be involved. Judgement will be involved. A lot of things not related with love will be involved.
This is heart-touching.
With Hannah becoming the issue (oops spoiler alert)
Sorry, let's continue with the praising...

The ending is beautiful, so not heart-breaking obviously. And along the way with the book, I was just hoping she will make the right decisions about her life decisions.

Quote time yay!


I loved him deeply, but I never really knew that every second we had together was a gift until he was gone.

It reminds me suddenly that in real life, Patrick and I used to fight sometimes, big and messy...And I hadn't been scared to argue with him, because I'd never feared him walking away.
So why am I so scared to fight with Dan now? Or with anyone in my life, for that matter? I've spend the last decade thinking of myself as even-tempered and reasonable. But what if I've just been a chicken? What if I'm so terrified of losing the people I love that I've been slowly giving away pieces of myself just to avoid confrontation?

So you can't compare the present with the past, not really, because you're a different person than you were. You have to look forward to the things you want, not back at the things you once had.

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