Author: Jennifer Ryan
Book: The Me I Used To Be
A layered story full of emotions, The Me I Used to Be left me somewhere between having enjoyed the story, yet finding it a little hard to believe.
The main protagonist Evangeline was wrongly imprisoned for four years and returns home to a cold welcome from her family.
Though Evangeline is easy to connect with and readers will find themselves cheering her on as she tries to correct the wrongs, I find the relationship between her and other characters a little odd.
Here you have a woman who didn’t commit a crime and was imprisoned and yet her family distance themselves from her, and Evangeline is so accepting of it, not to mention after everything, she inherits the family ranch.
Also, she forms a bond with Chris, the policeman who put her in jail, and then subsequently believes she is protecting the real culprit, so strikes a deal to catch them and clear her name.
Despite the disjointed nature of the relationships, the author has quite seamlessly woven a love story into the pages.
Despite my hesitation for the quality of the storyline, the author manages to turn the expected into something surprising and she has created strong imagery with her writing.
I found the book evoked a number of feelings as I navigated its pages, from intrigue to frustration, it is a great piece of writing that I finished relatively quickly.
It’s a story of a fractured family, forgiveness and a woman’s desire to embrace the future and correct the wrongs – that for me failed to deliver anything from the powerful build up as readers realise Evangeline is keeping some rather large secrets.
The Me I Used To Be by Jennifer Ryan is available at all major ebook sites at varying prices.