Review & Giveaway: Before We Say Goodbye by Julie MacLennan

Before We Say Goodbye

by Julie MacLennan

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BLURB:

Life is about to change forever for four strangers who share a train journey just before Christmas.

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My Review:

I enjoyed this book, I was completely glued to the pages, it was so compelling that I could not put it down. The plot is well constructed, the author introduces us to little by little the various characters and their problems, their stories, their tragedies.
Missing a few days before Christmas in London and it is snowing The train from London arrives in Scotland is overdue for a line fault. Six strangers meet while waiting on the dock. They are people injured, vulnerable, tormented, which have no Christmas spirit. Kate is a sweet lady of a certain age, has a difficult relationship with her daughter and a past that haunts her and threatens to ruin her life with Robert. Damien Hunt is a powerful businessman, owns one of the largest chains of luxury hotels. He's a rich man but he lacks the most important thing: love. He's alone, has lost his parents when he was twenty-one and is hostile to engage in a true love story. He is located on the train because due to unforeseen and shocking news loses his plane. Deirdra Ryan is a beautiful young woman who is returning home in York to spend Christmas with her family. She's a good and sweet  woman and had a really big pain. Waiting for the train there is also Alessandro Conti with two his adorable sons, Luca and Nari. He's a freelance photographer and a loving father but sad and troubled. Finally the train leaves and the various characters will cross again during the trip. It will be a different journey, these meetings will change their lives forever.
I loved all the characters in this novel are so realistic, true, tender, vulnerable. Luca, the eldest son of Alessandro, is a boy of nine years really adorable and funny, you can not become attached to him. He's nice, chatty, it is he who does meet all the characters of the book. Kate inspires tenderness from the very first meeting: she looks so disoriented, alone, she has forgotten even the train ticket.
It 's a novel deep, touching, poignant, melancholic, to be read from cover to cover.
Highly recommend!

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EXCERPT:

‘Yes, Amanda?’

‘Edward Blake on Line 2, Mr Hunt.’

‘Put him through.’

He waited for the click on the line and braced himself for what was to come.

‘Ed? What can I…’

Edward Blake, slurring his words viciously, didn’t even wait for Damien to finish the sentence before erupting into a tirade of fury.

‘Don’t take that fancy tone with me, you bastard! What the hell do you think you’re playing at? We had a deal.’

Damien’s tone was icily cool as he responded to the man who had been a business partner until the day before.

‘Yes, Ed, you’re correct. But you defaulted on our agreement’. 

‘It was one payment. A short term cash flow problem. I can fix it. You know I can. I want my hotel back, do you hear me? You can’t do this. I won’t let you!’

‘I have no choice, Ed. We went through the terms of the agreement very thoroughly before we both signed up to it. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.’

‘But you’ll leave me with nothing. I’ll be finished! You can’t do this to me…’

Damien tried to soften his tone a little, speaking more quietly now in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

‘Believe me, Ed, I take no pleasure in it, but a deal is a deal. And you were more than happy at the time. If I remember correctly, you treated yourself and your lovely wife to a round-the-world cruise to celebrate your good fortune. In fact, from what I hear, you’ve been celebrating quite a lot over the last few months. At my expense, it would seem.’

‘That’s not true. I’d never cheat you. I left it with my accountant to deal with while I was away. You know I had no choice. My family needed me. I couldn’t be in two places at once. It was an oversight, that’s all. I can put it right. I’m back now. I can sort it. I know I can.’

‘Maybe. But you took your eye off the ball long enough for your employees to let you down. You should have known better than to trust your life’s work to someone else.’

Edward Blake was rambling now and obviously very drunk. His breathing had become strained and erratic and Damien felt a twinge of sympathy for him. But he couldn’t back down. He had a business to run. And a reputation to uphold. If word got out that he was losing his touch…   

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Julie MacLennan lives and works in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland.

This is her first published novel although she has been writing for as long as she can remember.

Some of her earliest memories are of sitting by her grandfather’s chair and being fascinated by the books he read. Later, encouraged by her grandmother’s gift for writing and her mother’s imagination, she began to transfer her own short stories and poetry to paper.  

Her shared love of football with her father inspired her to write the poem “Farewell, Our Friend” which was read out and televised around the world at George Best’s funeral in late 2005.

More recently, she was honored to be asked by the Royal British Legion if they could use another of her poems, “The Promise”, as part of their commemoration of the First World War.

She is now working on her second novel.

Tirgearr Publishing:

http://tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/MacLennan_Julie/

B & N

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/before-we-say-goodbye-julie-maclennan/1121019949?ean=2940046500783

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Before-Say-Goodbye-Julie-MacLennan-ebook/dp/B00S05BR4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423315297&sr=8-1&keywords=Julie+MacLennan

Julie will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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