She needs him. But does he want her?
Maya Rao has made her own dreams come true: she’s the owner of a bustling café and bakery in New York and the mother of a beautiful teenage daughter, Samantha. But when Samantha lands in legal trouble over a misdemeanor she didn’t commit, Maya is desperate. Desperate enough to call Samantha’s dad, Sam Hutcherson, whom Maya left abruptly many years ago, and who is now a successful lawyer. The problem? Sam doesn’t know he has a daughter.
Sam has put Maya firmly in his past, despite how shattered he was when she broke his heart. So he’s both dumbfounded and furious to find Maya outside his office asking for his help—with a picture of a girl who looks just like him. But as Sam reconnects with Maya, those old sparks begin to fly. Can he even picture a future with the woman who wrecked his past?
Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Told from two different viewpoints in the past and present, this sweet and charming second chance romance is a heartwarming treat.
Maya and Sam met at a poignant time in their young lives. Sam had been a kinda-sorta player, hardly serious about any of the girls he dated until Maya showed up one summer as a babysitter for his cousins and he was knocked off his feet. Maya didn't exactly lead a sheltered life but she had always been cautioned by her skeptical mother that men were not to be trusted. She felt Sam was different though and defied her mother by secretly dating him. Sam's mother viewed their relationship as a temporary distraction from his academic and professional ambitions and so tolerated their time together. Reality crashed their bubble when Maya found out she was pregnant. When forced to contemplate what this would mean to their respective futures she decided to keep the pregnancy a secret and bow out of Sam's life without explanation. Years later, single mother Maya is desperate enough for Sam's help when their daughter is in trouble. It's not ever how she wanted Sam to find out but she has no choice, consequences be damned.
Then, Now, Always explores the joys and excitement of young love and what it feels like when you know you've found "the one". Back then Maya's innocence and idealism drew out a different side of Sam, a side that felt more like the real him. They were ridiculously cute together. Fast forward a few years and the sudden reunion is surreal. All the questions, the hurt, confusion and bitterness come rushing to the surface. Sam has a hard time keeping his thoughts together as he helps Maya with their daughter, Samantha. It's clear they still care deeply for each other but it's not something either can declare out loud especially when there are so many complications. I liked that Sam and Maya reunite at a later point in life. Being older and having gone through considerable personal development makes a huge difference in how they handle things now. I also appreciated that Shroff didn't just thrust the two of them back together to pick up from where they left off. They had the time to get work through all the unresolved issues and make peace with the past and what transpired.
I enjoyed my time reading this book and frankly was rather surprised by how much Maya's mom reminded me of my own. Suffice it to say that it led me to feel a little bit of kinship with Maya. The story also touches on a significant reality for children of immigrants - living up to parents' hopes and dreams. Both Sam and Maya's mothers had specific ideas in mind for their children's futures and being respectful, Sam and Maya accepted what was expected of them. But Maya's reemergence in his life forces Sam to examine his life's work and makes him wistful for the idealistic ambitions he had as a young lad.
Then, Now, Always is the kind of second chance novel you want in your life - a second chance at love, at family, at a career. It's a second chance at fulfilling lifelong dreams and that is just the sweetest feeling.
~ Bel
No comments:
Post a Comment