WHISPERS

WHISPERS by E.S. Skipper

Pages: 101

Date: 10/12/2014

Grade: 3.5

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Theo was everything Hoani wanted in a husband - his best friend, lover and a great papa for Hoani's son Dion. 
Only, Theo died, leaving an ache in Hoani's heart and a gap that could never be filled. And that was just the way Hoani wanted it 
Except Theo wasn't done yet. 
So when Hoani starts to hear his husband's voice, encouraging him to move on, Hoani doesn't want to listen. As if anyone could replace his Theo... 
But Theo proves as stubborn as Hoani, and he isn't going to let this go. 
Not when Hoani's future happiness is at stake. 
Maybe Hoani needs to start listening to those quiet whispers...”

My thoughts:

I’m a bit at a loss as to what to say about this book.

Let me start with the story itself, which I loved. This is a touching story about finding love, losing who you assume to be your one and only, and finding a way to continue living and loving despite the pain. It tells about a love that can’t be broken despite death separating the two partners, and shows the generosity which flows from loving someone with your whole being.

This book read as if the author had poured his heart and soul into it. I couldn’t help feeling E.M. Skipper wrote either from personal experience or personal fears and as such the book touched my heart, had me rooting for Hoani, blinking away quite a few tears, and smiling when he at last listened to the whispers and gave life and love a second chance.

My issue is that the writing style didn’t quite work for me. I felt the story would have been even more powerful if it had been written straight from the character’s perspective rather than described by a third-person omniscient narrator. Not because I didn’t enjoy also seeing the story unfold from Theo and Finn’s perspective, but because it seemed to keep me at a distance from their individual feelings.

 

Overall ‘Whispers’ captured my imagination immediately and kept me up well past my bedtime, because I needed to find of if Hoani would manage to allow himself to open his heart one more time.

 

And just in case my review gives you the impression this might be a depressing story, let me reassure you. Yes, this story will give you all the feels and you may well find yourself reaching for tissues while reading. There are however also quite a few moments which will make you smile or even laugh.

 

In short this was a heartfelt and captivating story that I probably would have loved even more had it been written in a different way. That however is on me and not the author and I wouldn’t be surprised if others disagree with me.