I love Kelly Rimmer so when I heard that she had a new book coming out I had to read it and was delighted to be asked to be on the blog tour. Thanks so much, Anne Cater for asking me.
My Review:
Wow!!
I’m a big Kelly Rimmer fan, I have loved every book of hers that I have read and have been really impressed with her storytelling and ability to suck the reader into the emotional part of the story.
The Things We Cannot Say is partly set in the now in America, and partly set in Poland during the Second World War. I wasn’t really sure how that would work but thankfully I loved it, I’m not a big reader of historical fiction but it worked so well and I loved both parts of the book and how they came together.
Alice is the main character in the present. Life isn’t easy for Alice and she carries a lot of responsibility, believing that she alone can care for her son who has autism spectrum disorder which means that he is basically non-verbal and prone to meltdowns when his favourite food isn’t available. Alice is frustrated with her husband Wade, who goes off to work and has little to do with his son. Alice has a close relationship with her Grandmother so when she is taken sick Alice finds her carefully balanced life falling apart.
At the same time, we hear about Alina and her life in Poland that changes drastically when the war starts. I loved Alina and her love for her fiance Tomasz. She lives in a small town near Auschwitz on her family farm, a lot of people know about how the Jewish people were treated during the war, but I think that less known is the story of other Polish citizens and what they went through. It was at times upsetting, but it was a story that I am pleased that I got to learn more about it.
One thing that really struck me when reading about Alina and her family was how pure and total a parents love is for their children. There were a few examples of this in the book and they had a big impact on me.
Gradually the reader found out how Alina and Alice were linked, and that an important part of the puzzle that we thought that we knew was actually a different shaped piece to the one that we thought. It was brilliantly done and brought it all together perfectly.
This book often felt so real and so I wasn’t surprised to see that the author had a Polish Grandmother and that she had been on a similar trip to the one that Alice made in the book. There are also some photos at the back of the authors trip which I loved seeing.
Kelly Rimmer really is an amazing author with true talent. If you haven’t read her books then you are missing out. And I am going to keep telling people about Rimmer and her books and hope that soon she will be a very well known author, getting the recognition that she deserves.
Blurb:
2019. Life changed beyond recognition for Alice when her son, Eddie, was born with autism spectrum disorder. She must do everything to support him, but at what cost to her family? When her cherished grandmother is hospitalised, a hidden box of mementoes reveals a tattered photo of a young man, a tiny leather shoe and a letter. Her grandmother begs Alice to return to Poland to see what became of those she held dearest.
WWII. Alina and Tomasz are childhood sweethearts. The night before he leaves for college, Tomasz proposes marriage. But when their village falls to the Nazis, Alina doesn’t know if Tomasz is alive or dead.
2019. In Poland, separated from her family, Alice begins to uncover the story her grandmother is so desperate to tell, and discovers a love that bloomed in the winter of 1942. As a painful family history comes to light, will the struggles of the past and present -nally reach a heartbreaking resolution? Inspired by the author’s family history, a searing page-turner of war, family secrets and a love to defy all odds, from the Top Ten Australian bestselling author of Before I Let You Go.
About The Author:
Kelly Rimmer is the USA Today best selling author of contemporary -fiction novels including Me Without You, The Secret Daughter, When I Lost You, A Mother’s Confession and her most recent release, Before I Let You Go. She lives in rural Australia with her husband and children.
For further information about Kelly’s books, and to subscribe to her mailing list, visit http://www.kellyrimmer.com/
Twitter : @KelRimmerWrites
Author Page on Facebook
Instagram : @kelrimmerwrites
If only I could read faster 
Thanks so much for the blog tour support x
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