Book Review: Decide to Hope by June Converse

Summary: An unimaginable trauma. A future that seems impossible. When your world shatters, how do you put it back together?

For 950 days, Kathleen Conners has struggled with that choice. Behind a scarf and sunglasses, she hides from the world, from herself, from The Event, from any future with anyone.

After receiving a box of letters from his deceased mother, Matt Nelson is shoved from his predictable, controlled life to a secluded beach in North Carolina. While trying to understand his mother’s intent, he discovers Kathleen. Matt must choose whether to follow the path his mother orchestrated or rescue the woman who has captured his heart.

When the only person Kathleen blames more than herself reappears, can Matt be the strength Kathleen needs to create a new life, or will he be forced to walk away if she decides the climb is too great?

Release Date:  May 2018
Age Group: Adult, Fiction, Tragedy
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Reviewed By: Nat

Review:
Well, this story was a lot to take in, it was not an easy read. Decide to Hope is emotionally draining and sad but sprinkled with flecks of hope.  For over half of the book, I was thinking that this was possibly the worst existence anyone could ever be forced to live... and at the close of the book I still thought that but I was a little bit more hopeful for Kathleen.

Imagine the most horrific events from the news all piled into one woman's awful existence and that would sum up Kathleen. Take a workaholic, middle-aged attorney and that sums up Matt. Their "love" was described as a "gift" and it felt like Matt had an instlove attraction to this broken little bird. I tried really hard to feel invested in his endearment to Kathleen but it was all just too dang fast, sad and just odd. 

For instance, Matt starts to refer to Kathleen as love literally after knowing her for 48 hours... I haven't had near the trauma in my life as Kathleen and if any man started referring to me as love and saying that he was "my gift" I. Would. RUN. ... FAST.

Typically as bits and pieces of a characters past are revealed you build up to the climax and man was her story just savage but in the end it just fell short for me. I wanted to crawl into a ball and weep for mankind.

There is a very specific audience that will just love Decide to Hope and unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I think fans of womens fiction and adult contemporary lit would enjoy this journey of hope and healing.