Kathleen Stone

This is the second book I’ve read by Kathleen Stone and once again she has written really amazing characters that suck you in and stick with you long after the book is done. Just like in HEY JUDE, which is another amazing read, it’s the characters that make TELL ME YOU LOVE ME a fantastic read. In 1965, five-year-old April has the unpleasant surprise of finding out her mother is getting remarried and she’s getting not only a stepfather, but a stepbrother her own age out of the deal as well. She and August don’t get along at first, but after a terrible tragedy, they’re inseparable. The way the writing shows Auggie’s instability and the unhealthy nature of their childhoods and socialization from the start due to their involvement in the film industry from a young age and lack of a normal childhood is well done. Clark is both a loving father and a highly controlling one, allowing April to have no friends and no contact with the outside world other than her nanny Olive, and sending Auggie away to live with an aunt and uncle so they are separated. The family is involved in the movie/television business, and soon April and August are, too, as child actors, and I liked the way this explored how this could quickly turn exploitative. The book explores some very dark themes. April and Auggie definitely have a 50 shades of “Flowers in the Attic” relationship that while loving, reveals how sheltered and controlled they’ve been by the adults around them. You can see what’s coming, and can’t stop turning pages. I cannot say more without revealing big spoilers for the book, but there were so many little reveals that happened along the way and each time I thought my heart could not be crushed again, it was, and that is a testament to how much Kathleen Stone truly caused me to care about these characters. April and Auggie of course, but also Frankie and Percy, Olive who had such a special relationship with April, and Clark, who I disliked at times for how controlling and flawed he was as a father, but who did try to love his children in his own way. The characters were just really well drawn and stick with you.… (más)

This book was just so darn good. It sucked me in from the very first pages and I couldn’t stop reading. 22-year-old Jude lost her twin sister Prudence four years ago to a brain aneurysm. Prudence was deaf. Jude has been self-destructing ever since Prudence died, to drugs, sex and alcohol. When an agency finds her a nannying job for a four-year-old deaf boy that she is uniquely qualified for, as she knows sign language, she resists as the boy’s father is cold and standoffish. Plus, Jude just wants to get out of town and leave everything associated with her old life behind. But Shay melts her heart.

I fell in love with this book from the moment Shay and Jude met. Their scenes were heartwarming and funny. Snow Angels. ❄ Peanut butter sandwiches with the crusts removed. A koi pond🐟 and a red bikini. I loved the “butt bubbles” scene especially. 😊 The slow burn romance between her and “Mr. Sullivan” was slow to build and both characters had deliciously complicated backstories. Everything about this book was just so incredibly well written with vivid characters and settings described in wonderful detail. I devoured this book in one day and immediately looked to see what else Kathleen Stone had written. So good!… (más)