DIGITAL DOMAIN
Open my Eyes - Jennifer Collin (2014)
Emily is in the middle of a divorce from her cheating husband. One night with her sister's best friend, Ben, leads to nine months of heartache, fear of the unknown and contemplating motherhood - single and alone. Ben owns the popular coffee house Bean Drinkin' and even though he has never been in a real relationship, his heart still pines after the one woman he can't have. When fashion designer Hayley rents the space next door, Ben starts to believe he can finally move on. That is until Emily shows up at his coffee house. Cue the wedding bells of Emily's sister Charlotte, a poorly speech by the mother of the bride, a overdosed brother hiding in the bathroom and of course the heartstopping reconnection of two people clearly in love. Open My Eyes is a book that cannot simply be judged by its cover, which only gives the reader the wrong impression about the novel. It's a funny and entertaining story full of drama and romance. As the novel takes the reader on a journey of whether or not Ben and Emily finally get together, there is a robbery and a host of friends who create a plan for Ben to get his girl. Readers will squirm at Emily's ex-husband and cringe at the thought of Ben being with anyone else but Emily. Many readers will understand Emily's fear of pending motherhood but most of all, will be able to connect with the characters and identify character traits seen every day amongst their own circle of friends and family. Personally, I would have like a deeper storyline when it comes to Emily's brother and needed more closure when it came to him and his friends. It felt as though their story ended too soon. Overall, a very good novel for light reading. (MP)
