THURSDAYS (The Wait Series Book #1) by HARPER BENTLEY :: REVIEW

Emotional second chance at love romance – ongoing series.
‘A love story of two broken hearts that find each other…and try to become a whole…’
Currently Only 99c/99p

* * * *

Reviewed by Jenny & Gitte

4.5 stars

“When you fall in love, it should be a happy time, yeah?”
“Well, yeah.”
“This isn’t the ideal situation, is it? We’re dealing with something unknown here.”

When we read the synopsis for Thursdays, we were instantly gripped, knowing we had to read this book…straight away! It’s a compelling synopsis and we’re glad to say the story lived up to it.  We were in the mood for a read with lots of heart, relatable characters, we needed drama but didn’t want unnecessary, Kindle throwing angst nor did we relish being left in a depressed state. We wanted to relate to the characters and needed to be hooked from start to finish and Thursdays by Harper Bentley delivered exactly that. Birdie and Beck’s story was engrossing, sad and beautiful.

‘I’d been blinded by love and trusting to a fault.’

Despite the tone of the story, Thursdays wasn’t a gloomy read. It flowed perfectly and really tugged at our heartstrings yet at the same time, this was easy reading; we say that in the sincerest and most flattering of ways because there was nothing too over the top about Beck and Birdie’s story. Considering the subject matter, this could have easily been a heavy, maudlin read but Harper Bentley dealt out the emotion in this story of fate, grief and love without undue heaviness.

“How do things get so screwed up?”

Beck and Bernadette’s (Birdies) stories somewhat paralleled one another leading to them meeting in a hospital stairwell under the most saddest and painful of circumstances.  Was it fate? Now 24, Beck is dealing with the fact his wife, Sonya was an addict and living on borrowed time, but revelations about Sonya meant Becks had some tough decisions to make about their life together.

‘I felt a place in my heart close off the more she talked. I didn’t want it to happen. It just did. I’d never forget that feeling.’

24 year old Birdie fell head over heels in love with Mason when she was 16, he was 17. High school sweethearts who married and were very much in love. Then, the fateful day came and their world falls apart when Mason is told he has a tumour which will quite possibly kill him.

“So, Bernadette Chapman, other than the fact that your life is falling apart, what else is new?”

Birdie has been a tower of strength, holding it together in the Doctor’s office with Mason when it all becomes too much and she flees to have a minute on her own and instead, falls apart and finds comfort in a perfect stranger, Beck Griffin.  They later meet at a grief counselling session run by the hospital. A friendship and then deeper feelings develop causing them to feel a mixture of happiness and guilt. Each becomes the other’s lifeline in a time of sorrow, pain and hurt and anguish.

‘When someone has fallen out of love with you, how do you stop doing the same on your end? It’s not a faucet. You can’t just twist the handle and turn it off.’

Beck and Birdie were such fabulous characters and our hearts went out to them. We never once questioned their sincerity and we loved their honesty. Beck was mix of alpha bluntness, sweetness and strength displaying vulnerability and flaws. He felt real and was exactly what Birdie needed. Birdie was sweet, strong, patient and so understanding. No matter how many times she was knocked down, Birdie dusted herself off and got on with it.

“Yeah, well, you’ve gotta laugh, right? The alternative is being curled up in a ball in a corner, huh?”

Thursdays was our first read by Harper Bentley and it won’t be our last! We adored her writing style and the way she immediately drew us into her story and into the hearts of her characters. We felt for them and we believed in them and couldn’t put this book down, finishing it in one sitting. We are now desperate to get our hands on Mondays early next year to see how Beck and Birdie’s story plays out. An engrossing, heartbreaking yet heart-warming read. A story of hope and love. What could be better?