RATING: BUY IT

WINNER: KUBR’s March YOU CHOOSE Contest

This month, KU Book Reviews’ FB readers nominated and selected A Lover’s Lament by K.L. Grayson + BT Urruela as the featured book in KUBR’s March YOU CHOOSE contest. One of my favorite parts of running the blog, aside from sharing great KU finds with readers, is learning about great KU finds from readers. The quality of books in the program is better than I’ve ever seen and every new discovery is like a little treasure. A Lover’s Lament is no exception.

A Lover’s Lament is the story of Katie + Devin. After losing touch for a decade, they reconnect in a way that almost seems fated. Their reconnection begins through letters and I have to say, as many times as I’ve read books with letters back and forth, this was by far one of the most moving, engaging and heart-thumping exchanges I’ve ever read. You feel their bond. You experience their past and their present. You see how their words affect the other in monumental ways. And, the absolute honesty they each so freely share with the other is a thing of beauty.

I have no clue how Ms. Grayson and Mr. Urruela handled the writing and if they each wrote the respective female and male roles, but I can say, that however they chose to do it, it absolutely worked.

As many readers know, Mr. Urruela is an Army veteran and his experience speaks so clearly throughout this novel. I have read a number of books that dealt with the realities of war, but I was particularly moved by Devin’s time in Baghdad. His moments of solitude, the not-so-simple day-to-day tasks and even the times that his squad was on duty, but not in danger, felt so incredibly genuine and sincere. I’ll be honest, war is not generally something I like reading about, but I not only liked it in this instance, I appreciated it as well.

Aside from the beautiful love story and the experience of war, the one thing that kept hitting me right in the gut was the sense that we truly never know what a single moment will bring in life. The book deals with loss very early on. The impact of that loss, plus not knowing what would happen to Devin, often had me reflecting on my own life and the fragility of our lives. How loss impacts all of those around us on a daily basis. Not in a morbid way whatsoever, but it hit very close to home and that feeling has lingered far beyond the last page of the book.

I don’t know if there are plans for Ms. Grayson and Mr. Urruela to write more books together, but I certainly hope that’s the case.

As of 3.9.16, A Lover’s Lament is available on Kindle Unlimited.