TINY ACTS OF LOVE by LUCY LAWRIE

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Reviewed by Jenny

Jenny: ✯✯✯✯ 1/2 Stars

“Real love, the kind that lasts a lifetime…it comes from ordinary things, tiny acts of love, moments that pass by and you barely register them. It builds up in layers over days and weeks and years.”

Tiny Acts of Love was my book ‘blind date’ from Gitte. We both decided to choose a book for each other. It was to be a complete surprise until the day we were ready to read. I couldn’t wait to see what she picked for me and hey presto, here I am reviewing the her book selection. I think it’s safe to say….that girl really does know me because I loved this book.  The humour was witty and subtle, the emotion was intense and real and it hit home on a couple of levels that had me reassessing and thinking about my own existence and worries. All while being completely swept up in this story.

“You and me, Cassie. We’re going to have that kind of love.”

Tiny Acts of Love was a beautifully written story of discovery. The issues facing Cassie and Jonathan, though of course intensified because it’s fiction, are the struggles many couples face when their lives have been altered so drastically when that beautiful little baby enters our lives. This littler person who relies on us for everything, elicits such strong emotions and feelings, we can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed and inadequate.

This book showed the beauty and the sadness of a marriage and the highs and lows of new parents as they negotiate their way around parenthood.  As the love, protection and the pure intensity of their feelings towards their baby becomes the focus of their lives and has Cassie questioning everything she ever believed in.

Though there were times I wanted to jump through my Kindle and shout COMMUNICATE, however I completely understood Cassie and Jonathon’s aversion and fear to opening up. Preferring to maintain the equilibrium of their marriage rather than the uncertainty any confrontation may cause and my heart went out to them. Here was a couple who sought to find themselves, each other and their place in their marriage.

“We’re meant to be together, Cassie. We’ll get through this.  Anyway, that’s what I have to think, isn’t it? Because the alternative is pretty grim, Cass.”

Jonathan was a beautiful character. He was so laid back, gave me a good giggle, took to fatherhood like a duck to water and loved his wife and child with a fierceness that made my heart swell. Cassie was the more intense of the two and whereas Jonathan would look at the glass half full, Cassie had a tendency to see it as half empty.  I did want to cuff Jonathan at times for being a little flippant and dismissive of Cassie’s anxieties as they were very real to her. That’s not to say I didn’t want to do the same to Cassie once or twice over some of her thoughts and actions.

‘I had walked through a door and found myself in a parallel world. And Jonathan hadn’t come with me. ‘

For all his light-heartedness Jonathan was carrying baggage that when revealed made me cry. The way the author brought this about made me sob, laugh and I felt their pain deep in my soul.  It was a beautifully sad scene which was handled with so much tenderness and a truly moving moment to experience.

“My job is to look after you and Sophie. Falling apart simply isn’t on the list of options.”

The author introduced quite a few storylines and characters into Tiny Acts of Love that I must admit at times had me questioning their place in the story. Well, was I in for a surprise! As the author so cleverly brought it all together, it was akin to looking at a puzzle where each piece was made to fit.

I would have loved a little more dialogue and a time or two I really craved to be inside Jonathans head but these were minor issues that didn’t hamper my overall love of this story.

Tiny Acts of Love shows us to appreciate and love the simple things in life..to communicate! It’s about the simple things in life being important and making a difference.  A smile, a look, a touch…they all strive to make our lives that much better and this book passes on that message in absolute beauty, emotion and heart. It’s about embracing those who love us, implores us to live in the now, love life and realise we have no control over the future. Live each day, love each moment and don’t stress about the things we can’t change. Wonderfully written, Tiny Acts of Love was a real winner.

‘Sometimes it’s easier to see love from a distance than when you’re standing right in the middle of it.”

I think it’s safe to say, my book soul mate really does ‘get me’.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

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