Not sure if I would have read this novel if I´d known about the content in its entity. Yes, I´ve read the summary before asking for it, and yes, it sounded promising. But the true character of this story only became visible to me while reading it page by page. And to be honest, it was bliss and pain all in once. No other Paige Toon novel is so painful to read. No other book written by the author goes so deep into the personal life of a reader as Only Love Can Hurt Like This does. And still, I would reread it anytime soon.
Am Ende Gibt Es Nur Uns*
by Paige ToonTranslation Andrea Fischer
Original Title Only Love Can Hurt Like This
Publisher Fischer Krüger on April 26, 2023
Genre Novel
Pages 412
Format Paperback
Source Fischer Krüger
Goodreads
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Nothing hurts like love. But she also has the power to heal...Watching the moment her fiancé falls in love with someone else, Wren flees her hometown and moves in with her father on his farm in America for the summer. There Wren falls in love with the quiet Anders. He lost his wife and is still mourning. And now Wren bursts into his world. But Anders has a secret, and if he gives in to his growing feelings for her, there will be terrible consequences for those around him. Above all for Wren.
Story
Wren is at a painful turning point in her life. Her fiancé just broke up with her. Wherever she goes, her successor literally crosses her path. Her life has become the purest gauntlet run. Her father's fruit farm in America is just what she needs to gain some distance. Were it not for the unapproachable Anders. He makes her heart stumble and shows her feelings Wren didn't even know existed. But why is he so demonstratively keeping his distance from her?
Style
Paige Toon reaches deep into the drama box and unfolds a story about love, passion, and loss in front of the reader's eye, which doesn't seem so bad at first over many chapters. Well, there is heartache and, as an attentive reader, you also notice that there is something lurking in the background, but since it is a novel by Paige Toon, you don't think of anything particularly dramatic. I should have because in the end she caught me cold and shocked me beyond belief. Be sure to have a large box of tissues handy while you read. It's needed!
The main character Wren is still struggling with her parent's divorce drama. And when she must break off her engagement because her future husband has met the woman of his life, a new conflict is born. Paige Toon shows this in a sensitive way while a change of location is pending. For me, the plot then became personal. Because the plot that was developing suddenly became more and more like a mirror and I got the feeling of reading my own life printed on paper. Which sometimes pushed me quite to my limits.
Characters
The individual characters could not be more realistic and convincing than in this novel. From the evil and jealous stepmother to the unequal stepsisters to the hopelessly overwhelmed father, there really is everything that the range of characters has to offer in real life. Depression, suffering, love, hate, and the irrepressible urge to hurt others, it's all there. And sometimes just too much.
Wren is at a painful turning point in her life. Her fiancé has just solved this with her and wherever she goes, her successor literally crosses her path.
Conclusion
What a terrific novel! Highly emotional and incredibly touching. I suffered, laughed, and shed endless tears with the characters. The book was a roller coaster of emotions that finally caught me cold. If you like to read a lot of drama combined with absolute tragedy, this is the place for you. Congratulations to the author for this masterpiece.
Happy reading
*This book was kindly provided to me by Fischer Krüger in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.
Deutsche Rezension
Stil
Paige Toon greift hier tief in die Drama-Kiste und entfaltet vor dem Leserauge eine Geschichte um Liebe, Leidenschaft und Verlust, die über viele Kapitel erst mal gar nicht so schlimm erscheint. Gut, es gibt heftigen Liebeskummer und man merkt als aufmerksame Leserin auch, dass da irgendwas im Hintergrund lauert, aber da es sich um einen Roman von Paige Toon handelt, denkt man an nichts sonderlich Dramatisches. Hätte ich mal tun sollen, denn am Ende hat sie mich eiskalt erwischt und unglaublich geschockt. Haltet unbedingt eine große Box Taschentücher während des Lesens bereit. Die wird gebraucht!
Die Hauptfigur Wren hat noch immer mit dem Scheidungsdrama ihrer Eltern zu kämpfen. Und als sie ihre Verlobung lösen muss, weil ihr Zukünftiger der Frau seines Lebens begegnet ist, ist ein neuer Konflikt geboren. Diesen zeigt Paige Toon auf feinfühlige Weise, während ein Ortswechsel ansteht. Für mich selbst wurde der Plot dann absolut persönlich. Denn die sich entwickelnde Handlung glich plötzlich mehr und mehr einem Spiegel und ich bekam das Gefühl, mein eigenes Leben auf Papier gedruckt zu lesen. Was mich teilweise ziemlich an meine Grenzen brachte.
Charaktere
Realistischer und überzeugender als in diesem Roman könnten die einzelnen Figuren nicht sein. Da gibt es von der bösen und eifersüchtigen Stiefmutter über die ungleichen Stiefschwestern bis hin zum hoffnungslos überforderten Vater wirklich alles, was die Figurenpalette auch im realen Leben zu bieten hat. Depressionen, Leid, Liebe, Hass und der unbändige Drang, andere zu verletzen, es ist alles da. Und manchmal einfach zu viel.
Wren steht an einem schmerzhaften Wendepunkt in ihrem Leben. Gerade erst hat ihr Verlobter eben diese mit ihr gelöst und wo sie auch hingeht, überall läuft ihr ihre Nachfolgerin buchstäblich über den Weg.
Resultat
Was für ein grandioser Roman! Hochemotional und unglaublich berührend. Ich habe mit den Figuren gelitten, gelacht und unendlich viele Tränen vergossen. Das Buch war eine Achterbahn der Gefühle, das mich am Ende dann eiskalt erwischt hat. Wer viel Drama kombiniert mit einer absoluten Tragödie lesen mag, ist hier genau richtig. Gratulation an die Autorin für dieses Meisterwerk.
*This book was published Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Penguin UK on January 1, 2023
Paige Toon
Paige Toon was born in 1975 and grew up between England, Australia, and America. A philosophy graduate, she worked at teen, film, and women´s magazines, before ending up a reviews editor at Heat magazine. Paige is married, has two small children, and lives in Cambridge.