The Reason for Me by Prescott Lane

A deeply emotional read about two people who have felt pain and in some respects, continue to do so…until each other.

Annalyse was the most amazing characters, she had been through so much, pain and heartache that for me was almost beyond my comprehension. I had my hopes high that she would find her happy place as the book progressed but she reached her breaking point eventually and after years traversing the globe she was ready to go home.

Heading home to spend time with her sister, she was apprehensive I think of putting down the slightest semblance of roots in one place have having been so nomadic almost for so long but when her sister and her partner take off for a while, Annalyse take over at the helm, housesitting.

Just before her sister leaves she takes Annalyse to a neighbourhood party that is being held for Halloween, there was a hesitancy at first but she soon found her stride and was entranced…not only in the fireworks but also in the handsome man that has caught her eye.

Oh, Holt, my heart broke for this damaged man, who was living with a pain that he seemed determined to keep closely guarded, he has suffered in the most awful way but was internally adamant that he could carry his nightmare squarely on his own shoulders but could Annalyse break through that tough exterior?

I was delighted that with Annalyse, Holt was almost self-healing because by helping her he was inadvertently helping himself, his desire to ease her pain was just the start of a friendship that was only ever destined to end in one way. The time they spent together, the bonding that these two broken souls was a relationship that neither of them were looking for.

But would they embrace that development of that, well that was the big question…Annalyse wasn’t looking for and neither was Holt but what came out of their meetings and the time they spend together is exactly that but that’s the rub. It so far off the grid, neither of them are sure that they are taking the right path.

I loved the fact that they both got to express their points of view, it added to the authenticity of the story, they were honest characters who had to work their way through the ups and downs of an unexpected connection in order to see that they were so fabulous together.