Ava Lawton can’t believe her run of bad luck. It’s supposed to be an exciting time in her life: fresh out of college, living in a new state, with a new job, and away from her family at last.
But when she’s forced to quit her job, everything falls apart quickly. Suddenly, she’s alone in a crowd, with no one to turn to.
At her lowest point, a stranger gives her a message that brings her hope.
Now is the time to live life her own way.
Now is the time to choose to be happy.
And maybe it’s time to let a beautiful stranger be part of her life.
5+ STARS!
Review written back in summer 2014.
My Casting:
Holy, freakin’, wow! Oh my goodness!!! Oh, the feels!!!
I never read stand alone novellas. The only time I will ever read a novella is if it is part of a series, and I need to read it to get the full story. And even then, they kinda irritate me. I just don’t feel like they have enough page space to fully draw me in and for me to invest in the story and the characters. I never feel the level of emotion that I do with a full length novel. The few that I’ve read before now have left me feeling a little nonplussed and a bit ‘Meh, that was nice.’
I have never, ever, read a novella that completely consumed me as much as Playing in the Rain did!!
“Don’t let life be something that happens while you’re looking in the other direction.”
So, why did I read it?! Because I’m a little JHB fangirl, that’s why! I love Jane’s work. Every time she writes something, I get so excited. So, when she sent me this novella, I have to say, I kind of thought, ‘Well… it will probably be a nice way to waste a few hours, because it’s Jane, and I always enjoy her work, but it’s a novella, so it probably isn’t going to rock my world.’ I was sooooo wrong!!!
I had an afternoon off of work for the first time in ages, so I sat down and started Playing in the Rain. A few hours later I was a total mess!! I’d finished the book and I had tears pouring down my face, soaking into the neck of my t-shirt, my nose was running in the most attractive way and my dogs were looking at me like they somebody should dosomething, because, clearly their mum had lost her mind!
“So you really are just going to have an endless summer of gratification?”
He smiled widely. “It sounds even better when you say it like that.”
This book needs to come with a health warning. It is soooooo sad. I am a total happy ending junkie, so I didn’t know whether to kiss Jane or strangle her when I finished this book. So, right then, I was thanking God that it was a novella, because I think if I’d read this book over a couple days, I would have been a dysfunctional heap on the floor by the end.
“He crashed into my life, like an ocean wave out of a millpond sea. He changed everything.”
This short, all-consuming, emotional, heartbreaking, heart-warming story is the best example of what a talented, skilful writer Jane is. I was absolutely, completely and utterly blown away by this book! You won’t believe how much she packs into this story and how attached to those characters you will feel after just a few hours of reading!!
Coby and Ava, but Coby especially, stole my heart! Their story will stay with me for a very long time. Even just writing this review brings a lump to my throat.
‘Some days diamonds, some days stone.’ It’s about making the most of what you get in life; you know, taking the rough with the smooth.
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I totally agree with your review! After reading the E book, I then bought the PB. I called Playing in the Rain; The Little Book that Could! It packed in those few pages, far more than some 400 page novels could. I loved it so much, I wanted to leave copies out for others to read and enjoy. I would have left it in the coffee shop, or on a park bench. I wanted people to fall in love with Jane Harvey Berrick’s work as much as I have.
Lovely review. Thank you. ❤
Sounds great! Thanks!