The Story of Us, Barbara Elsborg

Two hearts, one love, two journeys, one story; The Story of Us.  At 15 Caspian felt truly seen for the first time by the 14 year old Zed.  Lucky for him the sentiment was shared.  But life has a way of throwing us trials to help us grow to be our best selves.  Except the trials forced upon them are so heavy that it's a wonder that they even survived.  Their wills are measured, their hope shattered, their strength tested.  Spanning a decade, Zed and Caspian are brought together, thrust apart, maneuvered together, propelled apart, and ultimately struggle to stay together.  They were always going to find their way back to one another but it was never an easy road to travel.

You would not believe the ache.  I was engaged right from the start; I was compelled beyond reason to read this book and not stop.  Zed is beautiful, bright, brave, compassionate, brilliant, talented, has a strong sense of justice, and is so immensely strong as a human being.  I'm in awe of how wonderful he is despite all that goes wrong in his life.  Knowing that there could be negative consequences for him he goes above and beyond to do what's right.  Caspian is carefree...until he can't be.  He's larger than life, brave, courageous, and so strong no matter how he views himself.  His fight to survive and move beyond his circumstances was painful to watch but glorious to see him win.  Is it possible to give a 10 star rating?  Because I want to.  So.  Much.  Awesome.

It's difficult say what's right and wrong when you include touchy, sensitive topics like terrorism and religious convictions because real life is rarely so simply divided into those black and white designations.  Despite writing tense situations into this story I feel that the author did an admirable job writing it from Zed's perspective.  That from his view both inside and also marginalized from the faith of his upbringing he could see the good, the hypocrisy, and the intent of the individual rather than a generalized faith.  The drama on both sides of the relationship was all-consuming and powerful to read.

But really it was the best man speech that propelled this story from awesome to truly unforgettable and freaking amazing.  The touches of humor and banter and interplay was absolute genius every time but that speech had me actually laughing out loud.  It proved so much in the way of healing and peace for them.  Though I will say I was torn regarding the big question.  It came from the right person considering all these men had been through but I find myself vacillating between two opinions.  I think both that the delivery was cute, simple, and humorous reflecting the immense changes in both Zed and Caspian but also that I was disappointed not to witness how it really played out and to be there for all the shenanigans and feels you know these men could have pulled off.

Overall I'm absolutely stunned to have loved this story as much as I did.  I'm usually on the fence about angst and painful slogs to eventually attain an HEA but this was brilliantly written, moving, and utterly memorable.

*$4.99 on Amazon!