I Wanted To Tell You: An emotional and heartbreaking story about love and loss by Anna Mansell
Published by Bookouture on November 29th 2018
Genres: Domestic Life, Friendship, Literature & Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 332
Format: ARC, eBook
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‘Sometimes I think that if I’d found a way to talk, we’d be together now…’
When Helen finds a bundle of unsent love letters, tied with a red ribbon, and signed only ‘the love you wished I could be’, she wonders who they could belong to.
The same day, however, her husband Alex announces he’s leaving. She’d believed their love would last a lifetime, but now he’s gone and she hadn’t even realised there was anything wrong.
Desperate to understand, Helen doesn’t know where to look for answers. But the letters keep drawing her back. As she reads the words of loneliness, loss and regret, something in them helps her start to make sense of it all… Even as she realises someone has been keeping heart-breaking secrets.
But who do the letters belong to? Can the sender ever be reunited with the one they love, or is it too late? And when Helen finds out the truth about Alex, can she find it in her heart to forgive him, or will he never be the love she wished he could be?
An emotional, unmissable read, exploring the devastation of loss, the power of love to heal, and the truths that bind us all together. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Diane Chamberlain and Daniela Sacerdoti.
I had never heard of author, Anna Mansell, but after I read the synopsis and seeing what I Wanted To Tell You was about, I knew simply had to read it.
Helen is a soft-hearted and kind bus driver who lets homeless man named James ride on her bus for free. She also drops an elderly man named Geoff off at his door. Helen even checks on Geoff if he isn’t waiting for the bus on the days he usually rides the bus. Helen is happily married to Alex, who she believes is her soul mate and that they were meant to be together. Alex is out of work and falls into a depression. He leaves home telling Helen he needs “space”.
When Helen finds some unaddressed letters on the bus she decides to read them. She cannot help herself, and finds herself reading them whenever she has a minute to spare. Helen finds the letters comforting, and they provide her with confidence and seem to exactly fit her current situation. Although Helen feels a bit guilty keeping the letters, she can’t bear the thought of parting with the letters. She continues to wonder who wrote them.
I Wanted To Tell You is a great read full of empathy and love. It kept me plugged in and kept me reading because I was enthralled with the main characters and their different problems that caused them to believe they were in such impossible situations. The author’s writing compelled me to care about the outcome of the characters’ problems of mental health, lack of confidence, marital problems, and more.
Anna had a brush with ‘fame’ as a magician’s assistant back in 1977. She later decided that being sawn in half by her father, at barely 6 months old, was too submissive a role, vowing to channel the trauma in to something much more pro-actively creative. Having failed at acting, singing and professional murder mystery parties (she was ALWAYs the one to die!), she fell to something much more solitary: writing.
How To Mend a Broken Heart was her first novel and her life was not on the line in order to write it, or The Lost Wife. Anna lives on a dairy farm in Cornwall with her two children, her husband, and her ex-racing greyhound, Olive Dog.
Connect with Ms. Mansell on Twitter ~~ @AnnaMansell.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley in exchange for my review. I would like to thank Bookouture for allowing me the opportunity to participate, read and review this book. My views are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone else!
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