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Anyone who has been through a painful divorce, or a bad break-up, or really, faced any sort of momentous romantic rejection (and which of us hasn’t?) will relate to the main protagonist of this book, Claire Everett, and the emotional quandary she faces, heart-wrenchingly detailed in these pages.

A cheating husband who has left her for an (older?) woman, – one in fact, that he is now expecting a child with – signals the end of the world as Claire has known it, the termination of not only fifteen years of what appeared to be happily married life, but the decimation of Claire’s self-esteem, confidence and any form of hope for the future.

As Claire struggles to find a new path, it becomes clear that self-love, a concept impossible for Claire’s wrecked ego to conceive, is a necessary first step to any sort of healing, and a prelude to any “spark’’ she can kindle with a new lover (of which, it just happens, there are several interesting possibilities…..).

With her clumsy charm and self-deprecating humor, Claire is endearingly wobbly – a portrait of a woman in severe pain, prone to syncope or fainting panic attacks, eating excessive amounts of comfort food, and embarrassing herself with drink – all played for laughs, somewhat, but not at the expense of the authors overriding message.

“You’re strong. You don’t need someone to look after you. You’re exactly who you need to be and more than able to live whatever life you choose to lead.“

Going quite a bit deeper than this reader had expected from a contemporary romance novel, there are nuggets of genuine wisdom in this read, – a touching and yes, helpful look at the self-blame games women can so easily fall victim to, and what it could take, (as we see through the eyes of one crushed but maybe not quite defeated young woman), to put all that behind us.

A worthwhile and engaging read, I enjoyed this book, finding Claire and her love struggles, directed inward, refreshingly appealing and a wonderful and welcome new approach from traditional breakup-makeup romance.

My stop today on the #rararesources #blogtour for #thatcertainspark by #isobelhart

A great big thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.