Live by Mary Ann Rivers

Live
by Mary Ann Rivers
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
Destiny is caught in the web of her family and all of it's problems and sadness. When she meets Hefin, she's pretty much hit rock bottom. She's not one to let life keep her down though and things start to look up for her even as her family's in the midst of more pain. Hefin is stuck and getting ready to make some of his own decisions. There's no way to see these two working out at the start of the book, although most of the conflict is internal. Destiny is so rooted in her life even though it's sad, and Hefin is ready to move on, to finally make his life more satisfying.

I wasn't sure what to think of Hefin. He seemed really nice and likable, but at the same time it felt a bit like he saw his attraction to Destiny as equivalent to his relationship with his ex-wife. I wasn't sure in the beginning if he really understood what went wrong in his first relationship, in order to make this one work. By the end of the book, I was pretty sure, in a snuggly, content sort of way, that these two would last.

This book was really compelling. It's not really an escapist book. It's down to earth and sort of gritty. These people live in their bodies always. They're emotional but it doesn't feel like they sit ruminating on things very often. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean, but it feels like they're very physical, like even when they're emotionally somewhere else, they truly live inside their bodies in a way that is very real and authentic. Both are just fine with their sexuality. The sexuality is rather explicit and pervasive, but not exactly in an erotic way. These characters are awkward and really open with each other.

Thinking about bodies, this book also has quite a bit of a gory feel to it. Wounds can be described pretty specifically in a sort-of gross way and there was a general earthy, body-conscious feel to some of the situations. Words like “sacral dimples” are used and made me feel very tied to the physicality of the characters in a way I don't find with many books.

Most of the book is overrun with a sense of sadness. Like the message is: people need to take every scrap of happiness they can find, wherever they can find it, because life is still filled with pain and sorrow. Hefin and Destiny are both able to compartmentalize quite a bit. It felt real in the sense that I'm sure most people can do similar things to hold on to their happiness even when the world is falling apart around them. But it was still sad to see.

I loved the language in this book. There's something so poetic and earthy about Mary Ann Rivers' writing. It takes a little longer for me to read than normal because I'm not used to some of the words in the order they're presented, but it's all very beautiful and touching.

These two characters spend most of the book trying to figure out how to live in the moment. There's so much bad and confusing happening around them, and they work the whole time trying to figure out how to find happiness in spite of all the problems surrounding them. It's a great message to have and a compelling story, but there was a lot of sadness to deal with. I did get one good laugh out loud moment. So if you're looking for a compelling and earthy romance, this is the one for you.

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.