I don’t know what makes a great love story. Is it that instant attraction when boy meets girl? The passionate kisses and the fairy-tale ending? Or is it a lifetime of tragedy, paid in advance, for a few stolen moments of pure bliss? The pain and the suffering that, in the end, you can say are worth it for having found the missing piece of your soul?
The answer is: I don’t know. I don’t know what makes a great love story. I only know what makes my love story. I only know that finding Cole when I did, when Emmy and I were running from a nightmare, was the only thing that saved me. That saved us. He was more broken than I was, but somehow we took each other’s shattered pieces and made a whole. If that is what makes a great love story, if that is what makes an epic romance, then mine…ours is the greatest of them all.
**Contains material that some may find disturbing. Not intended for readers under the age of 18**
Review
I got to read this book early
and it has taken me so long to actually sit down and write this review. As many
of you may know Michelle Leighton is probably my favorite author. When I read
the synopsis I knew I was definitely going to try and get my hands on it. The synopsis
was vague and didn’t give you much besides that both characters have a troubled
past. Having that vague synopsis made me want to read it even more. Pocketful
of Sand was heartbreaking, beautiful, and completely consuming.
“I’m
not attracted to anyone anymore. So then why can’t I breathe? Why do I feel
like I just fell into a black hole that sucked all the air from the world and
dropped hot boulders into my stomach?”
Eden and Emmy are two
characters that are going to steel your heart from the very first page. The two
of them are such beautiful heart-wrenching characters. They have had some
horrible things happen to them. Things no one should have to go through and
they are both still sweet and caring people. Eden has lived through so much and
she isn’t a bitter and mean person. She still tries to see the good in people
even when she tries to stay at a distance. Emmy was such a beautiful little
girl. Even though she has seen and been through more than she ever should have,
she was still sweet. She was still a little girl who liked to draw, spend time
on the beach, and watch TV. I loved the connection Emmy and Eden had. They
loved each other so much and you could feel it. And then came Cole…sigh.
“I
resist the urge to turn and watch her walk away. Or go after her. Who the hell
was that and what the hell did she just do to me?”
Cole…oh my…Cole.
There was so much to Cole and
the way Michelle pulled him off was perfect. It been a long time since I have
been so annoyed crushed…..and affected by a guy in a book. Michelle created a
guy that broke the mold for what I have been reading lately. Cole was broken
and covered in grief. He had his quirks, definitely. He was alone, abrupt, cold
sometimes, but he was never mean and he never treated Eden horribly. A lot of
book guys lately carry their brokenness and through it out into the world, and
use it as an excuse to be a douche. Michelle created a man that you couldn’t
help but love and feel for. Cole kept to himself but he never took his grief
out on other people. Cole was a person that could be inside all of us. He wore
his grief in a way that was real and honest.
“Even
though I don’t want the strings, even though I don’t want the feelings, in some
way I feel like Eden is already mine. Or at least she should be. And what’s
mine, no man touches.”
Whenever you pick up a
Michelle Leighton book you know the characters are going to have some serious
chemistry. You are going to be able to feel it coming off the page or through
your kindle, and Cole and Eden wasn’t any different. Whenever they were together
I could feel the sparks. Even if it wasn’t anything particularly steamy. The
tension and chemistry was believable and breathtaking. The looks that come from
Cole will burn your fingers. And the way he acts and speak with Emmy will melt
your heart. The first kiss between those two… oh my god I think my heart might
have stopped for a second. It was that good. When everything sinks in and Cole
finally GETS it. I cried my eyes out. That scene was so special and well
written it almost killed me. If you were a fan of Cole before (I mean how you
could not be) everything after that moment will win you over I promise.
“I
don’t have anything to give you, Eden. I’m broken. More than I ever thought I
could be. But you can have what’s left of me. If you want it. You can have the
little I have to give.”
When you have a favorite
author you most likely have a favorite book. One that no matter what the author
writes nothing can beat it. For me it’s Madly. Michelle created a world that I
just couldn’t get out of my head, I think Pocketful of Sand beat Madly.
Michelle’s writing is always flawless and beautiful but there was something in
this book that made it more. The characters were believably broken. The story
talks about abuse and usually those books only focus on that aspect. Michelle
broke the mold again and create a story around what happens after the abuse.
The healing, choices, and the leaving that come after such horrible things. The
story was written in dual POV. We definitely get to see more from Eden then
Cole but I love the way the Cole chapter were written. When we first meet him
and get his chapter it is literally a few sentences. And as we get to meet him
the chapter from him become progressively longer. It seems like the more Cole
opened up to his feelings and let his grief go the longer his chapters became.
Every time Eden broke through his defenses and brought down a stone in his
wall, the more we got to see who Cole truly was. I don’t know if that was what
Michelle was going for but it how I felt while reading.
“We
breathe together, beat together, hurt together, closer now than we were even
when his body was buried deep inside mine. Right now, we are the same.”
Throughout the book I had the
ominous feeling. I didn’t know what it was but I was so anxious about the end
of this book. It takes a great author to make you feel things before they even
happen. The way Michelle set up this ending was genius. You get two options.
Two endings. And let me tell you, one will give you everything you wanted, the
other will bury itself in your brain, in your heart and will not let go until
Michelle has written it.
One ending gives you the HEA
the characters deserve. It was beautiful and I am glad that I got it. Now the
second, BE WARNED, is a mystery. When I was finished I sat there thinking what
in the ever loving hell just happened? The first ending was great but the
second ending is phenomenal. You will not be able to let it go, so be ready. I
still can’t stop thinking about it.
“I’d keep you here if I could. I’d memorize you in
every room of this house. It would never be empty again. It would smell like
you, feel like you. It would hold you.”
This book was everything I
could have wanted from a Michelle Leighton book. It was heart breaking,
beautiful, and utterly consuming. I can’t wait to read about what comes next.
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