THE RIBBON DUET by PEPPER WINTERS

‘Love is the hardest thing we’ll ever have to do because love, as miraculous and wonderful as it is, is also cursed and soul-breaking.
Because of love, life is a war of moments and time and bargaining for more of everything.
But in the end, love is what life is about.
And love is the purpose of everything.’

Every now and then we’re blessed to read a book that reaches into our soul, touching us in ways we know we’ll never forget. A story that leaves us in complete awe of an author’s phenomenal talent, pondering how we can ever do justice to the words we’ve been so privileged to read.  A story where the words, the feelings, the characters and the journey the author took us on are indelibly etched into our hearts, constantly reliving all the heart-warming, heartbreaking and memorable moments over and over again. The Ribbon Duet by Pepper Winters is that book.  We experienced the complete sphere of emotions in Ren and Della’s unforgettable soulmate love story.

‘I stared at the girl I loved more than life itself. The who’d cracked my heart. The girl who would forever have the power to break me….’

We’ve started and stopped this review so many times, questioning how we can adequately convey how much this story moved us. Wondering what to tell you about the story, and what not to tell you for fear of spoilers. We’ve decided we are not going to tell you anything about the story, because so much can affect the full impact of how this story unfolds. We were unprepared, and so thankful we were, as it intensified our emotions. We implore you to trust when we say, if you buy only one book this year, make that book The Ribbon Duet, and live Ren and Della’s story alongside them. Believe us, you won’t just read The Ribbon Duet, you will live it, becoming a part of every challenge, every triumph and every heartache Della and Ren encounter. Nothing anyone will say about this story will ever compare to what you will actually feel reading it for yourself. Nothing! We have pages and pages of quotes.

‘True love is constant. It has no beginning, middle, or end.’

As readers we can only wish a story the calibre of The Ribbon Duet crosses our paths. When it does…it’s everything. We tend to recall a year by a book which stood out from the others, one that meant everything to us, one we couldn’t forget, one that defined that year. It may only be June, but we feel The Ribbon Duet will be our ‘we remember the year’ book. From start to finish we became absolutely mesmerised by Ren and Della’s story, hanging off every stunning word the incredibly talented Pepper Winters shared with us.

‘She gave me a life and taught me how to be happy. And if she left me, I would no longer want that life without her.’

Della may tell us this isn’t a love story, but a life story, it was both. An epic heart wrenching, and powerful love story in every sense of the word, and a story of survival and life. A true soulmate tale we will never forget. When we think about The Ribbon Duet in times of reflection it will with happiness, sadness, and a longing to always have these characters live in our hearts. Della and Ren showed us that love truly is worth fighting for, in ways that left us filled with wonderment.

‘I’m a living proof that a heart can be broken a thousand times and still function, still keep you alive— desperately hoping that it won’t happen again, all the while knowing it will.’

As we shared Ren and Della’s confusion as they navigate the complexities of childhood, adolescence and adulthood, we experienced a coming of age story of forbidden love, life, sacrifice, survival and loyalty. Of a once in a lifetime love, the likes of which we haven’t experienced for quite some time.

‘He has his moods. But when he’s in your arms..that’s when he lets himself be seen. His kisses are full of tragedy. His touches are full of sorrow.’

We promise you, Ren and Della’s story is one readers will be clamouring to discuss. They’ll marvel at Della, the feisty girl whose love for Ren was without question and would never wane. They’ll be wanting to talk about Ren…oh Ren! Without question, he is our favourite hero. This man. We’re actually speechless at how soulful and beautiful this character was. Ren made our hearts ache.

‘I would never let her down….I would die for her. I would live for her. I would kill for her.’

So yeah, we could wax lyrical, summarise the story, and use a lot of flowery words to try and convince you to read The Ribbon Duet, but you know what, we’re so passionately in love with this story, we feel it would be your loss if you don’t pick up this book. We want to shout from the rooftops….stay away from spoilers, and implore you to 1Click and allow this magnificent storyteller to grip your heart with a story so unique you’ll be thinking about it long after reading the last word.

‘This is a story of truth. This is a story of my heart.’