Five Years Gone

Absolutely one of my favorite books of 2018. Raw, emotional, funny, it has all the feels, I couldn't put it down and devoured it in one day! I can't wait for the next story.

You know we have our TBR 's all categorized with our "Must Reads" "Rereads" "The best book of all tine" "Unforgettable"...Well Five Years Gone hits each category. And yes I am going there and stating that this is a very emotional and heart wrenching book. Ava, Eric, John. Camille, and so much more. They each give a piece of themselves and you find that you are in love with these characters. I felt the standstill. I was trying to tug the chains free with these characters and was swallowed in the dark. But then there was hope. The light was shining through and at the end, I got my HEA with these characters. Their choices were what I was rooting for. So why am I still heart broken. I am haunted by a certain character. I am excited that we will be able see a continuation of these characters and the snippet that Marie gave us has me dying here. Five Years Gone had me going from tears, to joy, to feeling a bit crazy. My heart was fully invested with these characters and I related to Ava on a deeper level. John was her first love, but will he be her last? Five Years Gone is a story of loss, love, and above all strength. I am in awe with this book and cannot get it out of my head.

4.5 stars--FIVE YEARS GONE by Marie Force’s is a contemporary, adult romance story line focusing on the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a US cruise ship blown up by suicide bombers. This is PR consultant Ava Lucas, and acquisitions specialist Eric Tilden’s story line. Told from several third person points of view including Ava and Eric, FIVE YEARS GONE focuses on the building relationship between PR consultant Ava Lucas, and acquisitions specialist Eric Tilden. Five years earlier Ava met and fell in love with John West, a member of the US Navy stationed in San Diego, California, but a man who disappeared in the blink of an eye. With an attack on the US cruise ship- The Star of the High Seas- blown up by suicide bombers that killed over 4,000 people, John’s deployment took him to places unknown, and our heroine waited for close to five years before finally moving on. With the approach of her sister’s wedding, Ava moves back to New York, in the hopes of starting over, and forgetting about the past. Enter acquisitions specialist, and the son of the New York governor, Eric Tilden, and the man with whom Ava would fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Eric and Ava, and the potential fall-out as Ava struggles to let go of the past. For five years Ava has struggled to overcome the grief and heartache of loss but a loss that has left our heroine without closure or relief. Meeting and falling in love with Eric Tilden meant the possibility of a new start and moving forward but a start scarred by too many questions left unanswered. Eric Tilden knows betrayal first hand as he too was unable to get the closure he needed when his last relationship imploded leaving him a shell of his former self. Meeting Ava meant, he too, was given a second chance at love but a second chance mired in the murky unknown. The relationship between Ava and Eric is one of immediate attraction but Ava has never revealed what happened or why. Neither her parents nor her sister knew about the man she once loved, and revealing the truth frees up our heroine to begin anew. The $ex scenes are passionate but mostly implied. We are introduced to Ava’s sister Camille who married Eric’s brother Robert; Eric’s parents Bob and Sarah Beth Tilden; his sisters Amy and Jules, as well as Ava’s parent; Ava’s co-workers Trevor, Carlos, Miles Ferguson, and her roommate Skylar; and Jessica’s therapist Jessica Trudeau. Jessica has some great advice, advice that is difficult under the current circumstance. The world building focuses on the secrets and lies, heart break and loss. As the Tilden and Lucas siblings move beyond the past, a sudden and new revelation widens the chasm between child and parent. We get a brief glimpse into the relationship between Ava and John, a relationship mired in secrets and lies, but a relationship that elicits more questions than answers. FIVE YEARS GONE is a heart breaking, tragic and emotional story; a roller coaster of what-if and why; of unanswered questions; and the battle to move forward without looking back. The premise is strong, compelling and truly thought provoking story. The characters are broken, wounded but willing to take a chance; the romance is tender and releasing. FIVE YEARS GONE is a dramatic and impassioned look at the personal fall-out and destructive nature of hatred and war.