The protagonist of this emotional novel is Sophie Winter. When she was 15 years old, her brother Scott died in a tragic accident, leaving her scared of relationships and incapable of commitment. Now 31 years old, Sophie works from home as a translator and, apart from her best friend Julia, she lives a pretty isolated life. Until the night a fire destroys her flat and she is saved by a handsome stranger, Ben. Spending more and more time with Ben, Sophie is influenced by his optimism and impulsiveness and she starts to open up to the man who will change her life.
Beautifully written, I was completely drawn into this novel as page after page I read how Sophie and Ben fell in love and the way their beautiful love story developed. A brilliant story about loss and grief but also love and friendship, this book gave me many emotions: I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with the characters. Heartbreaking and thought-provoking, this is one of these novels you are still thinking about days later, wishing it hadn’t ended. (NP)
This Love, by Dani Atkins, is about a woman who has isolated herself. The summary says: "Sophie Winter lives in a self-imposed cocoon - she's a single, thirty-one-year-old translator who works from home in her one-bedroom flat.
This isn't really the life she dreamed of, but then Sophie stopped believing in happy endings a very long time ago, when she was fifteen years old and tragedy struck her family. Her grief has left her scared of commitment and completely risk averse, so she plays it safe and keeps everyone at arm's length. Sophie understands she has a problem, but recognising it and knowing how to fix it are two entirely different things.
One night a serious fire breaks out in the flat below hers. Sophie is trapped in the burning building until a random passer-by, Ben, luckily happens to spot and rescue her. Suddenly her cocoon is shattered - what will be the consequences of this second life-changing event?" This Love is out in March 2017.