My Life in Shambles

I went into My Life in Shambles expecting a quintessential Karina Halle romance novel. Trademark Karina Halle consists of a deliciously well thought out love story, heart wrenching angst and drama, steamy sex and colorful characters all woven together seamlessly in a story set against the sweeping backdrop of some foreign land I\’ve never seen but will surely be left salivating over in the end. Check, check, check and check, it was all there. What I did not go in anticipating was a story that would speak directly to my heart and soul, a story that I would relate to on a profoundly personal level for reasons I can\’t explain without spoiling some plot details. What I didn\’t plan on was falling deeper in love with one of my all time favorite authors because she\’d be delivering a supremely remarkable novel that blew me away as much with its romance as it did with its authenticity. Far more than a love story between an Irish rugby player and an American writer, My Life in Shambles is a book that I desperately needed. I highlighted half this book because it seriously clicked into place all the jagged pieces of my life that I\’ve been struggling to fit together for what seems like forever. I felt like Oprah Winfrey was following me around saying \”there\’s your AHA moment\” everytime I turned the page. There\’s so much on these pages that we can relate to about our family dysfunction and our fears about life. It seems so obvious to me now having read it here on these pages but honestly some of these truth bombs have evaded me for years. Because of that, this book was far more impactful than most books I\’ve read. I needed this story in my life and it\’ll undoubtedly change my expectations of what I think my family should look like and it\’ll absolutely effect how I interact with them forever. As Halle so poignantly demonstrates with Padraig and Valerie, we just need to love no matter what. The edges between us may never fit just right but it\’s good enough if we just stay close. I could cry all over again thinking back on what I just read. It was MAGIC on a purely relatable level. This love story might have been catalyzed by a stroke of fate, sure, but it\’s really about an honest portrayal of the ups and downs of life. It\’s real. For me, it was too real, beautifully real, having been touched by so many facets of this book in my own life. You could feel the author\’s entire heart bleeding into these words and because of that, my entire heart was immersed in these pages, soaking up every drop as I read. It\’s heartbreakingly painful but it\’s unimaginably hopeful and I could not have possibly loved it more.

I don\’t know what compels you to read a story. For me it can be a number of things, the author, the synopsis, but rarely the cover. I\’m not a cover snob, I usually don\’t care one way or the other. It\’s the content I\’m after. Every now and then a cover will \”speak\” to me. THIS cover…man did it ever speak to me. I could only hope the content would too. Karina Halle has become one of my all time favorite authors. I read all her books as soon as they release. I usually know what to expect…something amazing, something worth reading. She\’s an author who pours everything into her stories, whether it\’s dark, or light, dirty, or sweet, every single story is worth reading. My favorites, tend to be the highly emotional, soul searching, epic loves stories, like Love, in English. If you haven\’t already read Vera and Mateo\’s story, you must. To this day, it\’s still my favorite Halle book. However, My Life in Shambles now holds spot #2. I\’m a firm believer in destiny. Everything we do, is supposed to happen, all the choices we make, the people we meet, the places we go, it all leads in one direction. We are shaped by all of those experiences, and often times we hold ourselves back. We let our fears, our insecurities, our past, keep us from making bold moves, from opening ourselves to new ideas, to saying yes to new adventures. My Life in Shambles, is about all of those things, to not be afraid to say yes to new people, new places, new adventures. Padraig and Valerie are both at a crossroads in their lives. Neither knows where things are heading, both are afraid of the future. Their stories while, unique and different, are still very much the same. They grapple with deep family issues, with loss, and uncertainty. Together though, they bring this calmness, it\’s something that allows both of them to see more clearly, to fall in love so quickly. There are so many things to love in this story. From the Irish setting to the wonderful side characters like Nan and the Major, even Hooter McGavin adds his own beauty to this book. The bonds of family are strong even when they\’re flawed and sometimes painful. I cannot adequately express my love for this story. I\’m a sucker for the angst, for those couples that feel with all of their being. Who love to hard, you can\’t ever imagine they would survive apart. Padraig and Valerie are one of those couples. This is their love story and it\’s epic. * I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Readers Copy of this book *

When I saw that Karina Halle had a new release I was so excited and couldnt 1-click fast enough! My Life in Shambles was so so beautiful. Exquisite writing that captivated me from start to finish. Amazing and complex characters that melted my heart and had me rooting for them both Valerie has lost so much, her home, her fiance, her job, everything that shaped her current life. So when her sisters (who I loved, by the way) invite her to join them on their trip to Ireland, she agrees. She decides to take some time to re-evaluate whats important to her and to say yes to new adventures. Its here that she meets Padraig. Padraig is a huge rugby star in Ireland, but what draws Valerie to him isnt his fame or money, its the recognition of another soul being lost, feeling broken and the wish for someone to share their pain with. Both Padraig and Valerie have suffered immeasurably in their lives. They have overcome such pain and loss. My admiration for them both grew with every page! I loved Valerie so much for being there for Padraig and giving him the love he has been desperately searching for since losing his mother, since his father shut down and cast him aside in his own grief. Valerie agrees to go home with him to Shambles and pretend to be his fiance to give his dying father some peace on his death bed. To know that he will not be alone, that he has someone to love. But it didnt take long for their words and their feelings to become real Sadly Padraig is facing a new enemy that he cannot hide from and I have to say that this part of the story almost broke me. To see him face what he did, the possibility of whats to come? It broke my heart. I cannot imagine living with that kind of fear. His courage blew me away. Karina Halle has written something truly magical here. Its real and it hurts. Its heart-warming and beautiful. I laughed out loud with his Nan at the B&B and with Valerie and her sisters. I cried like a baby. I closed my kindle at the end of this book with the biggest smile on my face and so much love in my heart! You are fierce, Valerie Stephens. A wild bird that could fly away but chooses to stay with me, and I am forever grateful for that. Believe me, I am. *** Valerie? he whispers into the darkness. Yeah? I I hear him wetting his lips. Im scared. I feel a pinch in my heart. Its okay to be scared. I dont want to go through this alone, he whispers as he kisses the top of my head. *** Valerie, I whisper to her. Tell me you love me. Tell me you love me and Ill tell ye I love you more.

What a great read, absolutely loved it. I have only read a couple of Karina\’s books, but I think i will have a look at her other one\’s now too. I loved that Valerie was not perfect, she had scars and curves. Brilliant. Now…Padraig, well what a man. What a beautiful soul. I don\’t usually like Insta love books, but this was so lovely and well written that you understood the love as you fell in love just as quick too. Great book ********* 10/10

I loved this book well worth the read couldn\’t put it down Loved the characters just seemed so real have to admit she\’d more than a few tears but had me smiling at the end. Brilliant

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