A review by shaunnareads
Come to Me Quietly by A.L. Jackson

5.0

"Hearts have a way of finding their own way home."

This is a cheesy way to start a review, but oh goodness, this book pulled on my heartstrings. Although I often enjoy a book, and I generally feel a connection with well-written characters in a novel, it's not so common that I feel genuinely emotional whilst reading a book. I went through pretty much every emotion on the spectrum during the course of A.L. Jackson's Come to Me Quietly, though. The novel is a beautifully written account of two broken people trying to repair what they once had. Jackson's novel has so much feeling throughout - love, passion, self-destruction, pain, longing, forgiveness - all of which come together and form an achingly captivating story that will stay in your mind long after you've read the last page.

Come to Me Quietly is a dual-perspective novel told, in alternating chapters, from the point of view of both Aly and Jared. Aly is a young woman who has simply gone through the motions - living life, but not really feeling it - after the sudden departure of her best friend Jared, when she was only 14 years old. Jared had his reasons for leaving. He needed to escape everyone. Everything. Six years on, and he's still struggling with his demons, convinced that he doesn't deserve anything good in his life. Things all change for both of these characters, however, when Jared finds himself on an old friend's sofa, and is awakened in the middle of the night by none other than the girl he left behind so many years ago.

Although startling at first, these two characters quickly fall back into the role of best friends but, far from being the young teenagers they were six years ago, they find themselves struggling with feelings for one another - both old and new. The relationship develops slowly between the two characters. Oh, how I love a fictional relationship with a slow burn. It simmers at first, and slowly becomes more and more passionate until it's something outwith their own control. I loved how realistic and emotional the whole thing felt, and I wish more novels had the same kind of captivating, fervent romance.

Aly was a wonderful heroine. Far from the Bella Swan archetype that is often found in YA and NA romance, Aly is passionate, strong and determined. She is determined to help Jared through his self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies, and prove to him that he is more than deserving of the love that she's held for him for so long.

Jared broke my heart many a time during the course of the novel. He was a fantastic character with many complexities, and the level of dedication and respect he held for Aly throughout the novel was very admirable. I often wished that he'd stop torturing himself but, when you find out the details of his past, it becomes clearer why he feels he is undeserving of love and kindness.

By the end of this novel, as I said earlier, I was a bit of an emotional wreck. I thought about the novel for days after, and found it difficult to read anything else for a week or two after I finished it, because nothing gripped me or evoked the same kind of emotional response as this novel did. I'm very excited to read the sequel to this novel, which is waiting on my Kindle as I type this!

If you're a fan of second chance love stories, and love a book that will make you feel as though you've been on an emotional rollercoaster by the time you're done, then Come to Me Quietly is the book for you. I absolutely loved it, and I would highly recommend it to fans of similar genres.