Love After Loss: Evie’s Story by Sammy Altman is a dramatic journey for a woman learning to overcome extreme trauma and learn to love.
No strings is Evie’s mantra, and what she tells every woman she sleeps with. Not only does she believe no one could love her, she’s terrified of getting close to anyone. The only person she is close to is her best friend Jeanie, who grew up with her. After wowing her language professor with a shocking proficiency in foreign language, Evie has to fight her growing and unwanted affection for the hot and sympathetic French woman.
Mini, like many women on campus, is drawn to the quiet and enigmatic language phenom. She knows that dating one of her students can ruin her career but just can’t stop the emotions and attraction she feels. As Evie spirals into a trauma induced episode, Mini must decide how much she can do for the young woman she has come to love.
Writing
The author’s language is artistically crafted and beautifully rendered. A door doesn’t just open, but “two giant glass sheets at the entrance part with a soft swishing sound”. Everything is elegant but not overwhelmingly so. There are no chapters, but four parts to the story, with each part delineated by the characters’ segments. A reader must be careful to pay attention to who is narrating each segment, and there is often more than one per page, as the author shows that first person account until quickly moving to the next. Even peripheral characters lend their thoughts to the story, making it a lot more personal than normal.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
It took a minute for me to really follow the seemingly aimless nature of the story, as it jumps from one narrator’s head to another. A lot of characters relate the story in an intimate way, but everything revolves around Evie, whether it’s Mini or Jeanie or her boyfriend Manny speaking to the reader, they are thinking of Evie or talking about her. This leaves furthering the plot to Evie, and she is maddeningly secretive. What I discovered was how deeply this drew me into Evie’s enduring trauma and the truly caring friends and lover who want to help her.
Through Evie, a reader learns the messy tangle of story as slowly as the supporting characters, which led to a feeling that all of them are unreliable narrators. That kept me on my toes and was more entertaining than I would have thought. There is an ongoing exploration of the effects of meaningless sex on both parties and the effects of secrecy on someone who loves you, especially if you hide the essence of yourself to a loved one.
Heads Up
Graphic depiction of a terrible, violent crime, and the long lasting effects of extreme emotional trauma.
The Conclusion
Evie waits for college to she can go with her only friend, Jeanie. Once there the foreign language phenom wows her language professor and then begins a slow fall into love with the beautiful French woman. She insists to every woman she sleeps with that there are no strings, ever, because she feels no one could love her if they discovered her deep, dark secret.
At times this book may seem like a lot of work, with the constant shifting from the first person narrative of several characters, sometimes several times in a page. Once I fell into the rhythm and began to follow the story I began to both look forward to and dread finding out what happened to Evie that makes her so sympathetic to everyone despite her secrecy and often detached nature.
Excerpt from Love After Loss: Evie’s Story by Sammy Altman
Evie
I was in Mini’s office trying to concentrate on work. In truth, I wanted to stretch out on the couch and sleep, but I didn’t want to disappoint my professor. I was hungover. Still, I wanted to be near her. She made me feel at ease.
“Are you okay?” she inquired. “I’m fine. Just a little tired. It was a rough night.” My mouth opened in a huge yawn.
“You can leave if you’d like. I’ll finish up here?” Her voice was sensual. Each word tingled as they penetrated my ears. I felt warm. “No, it’s okay. I want to stay.” Why did I want to stay? Oh god, Evie. Stop it. She’s your professor. Your very hot professor!
Mini
I was relieved she stayed. Is it strange I wanted her around? Something pulled me into her world. What was it? My thoughts spun like a roulette wheel as I tried to understand her appeal. Perhaps because she’s passionate about things I care about, too. Maybe. Time will tell, I guess.
Then it hit me. Evie’s presence brought a joy and yearning I had never realised before. I moved beside her on the sofa only to discover that despite the space between us, it was as if a magnetic force had brought us together. It grew difficult to maintain my composure.
Get It Online
When you use the links in this review and buy within 24 hours of clicking then we get a small commission that helps us run the site and it costs you nothing extra
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-1-7384770-0-5
Publisher: Next Journey Books
If you enjoyed Love After Loss: Evie’s Story by Sammy Altman then you should also look at
Note: I received a free review copy of Love After Loss: Evie’s Story by Sammy Altman. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
