West by Edith Pattou
Title: West
Author: Edith Pattou
Series: East #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Romance
Dates read: 24th September – 21st October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hougton Mifflin Harcourt
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: Abruptly he veered right, away from the sea, and came to a small house.
When Rose first met Charles, he was trapped in the form of a white bear. To rescue him, Rose traveled to the land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon to defeat the evil Troll Queen. Now Rose has found her happily-ever-after with Charles—until a sudden storm destroys his ship and he is presumed dead.
But Rose doesn’t believe the shipwreck was an act of nature, nor does she believe Charles is truly dead. Something much more sinister is at work. With mysterious and unstoppable forces threatening the lives of the people she loves, Rose must once again set off on a perilous journey. And this time, the fate of the entire world is at stake.
It’s taken me an incredibly long time to get to this book. As soon as I saw that North Child had a sequel, I ordered it and waited eagerly for it to arrive on my doorstep. But, since I get easily distracted, I kind of forgot that I had it, and it got put to the side. I’m kind of regretting that decision now. This was a wonderful sequel, and I loved being swept all the way back into the world of Rose and Charles.
Although I’m a big fan of happily ever after, I also find them a little unrealistic. This story takes that idea, and tells you what happens after the happily ever after. What happens when the loving couple have gotten married and travelled off into the sunset together. Because, in real life, there aren’t any happily ever after, neat endings. There’s just life. In all of its wonderful glory.
When I was a kid, I never thought of the princesses, the heroines and the girls who filled my story having children after they got married. That was just not something that they were likely to do. But now, I absolutely love the fact that this story is not just about Rose and Charles’ love for one another, it is about their child as well. Or, rather, children. It’s about saving not only their love, but the product of their love and finding a way back to one another. Even when the odds are completely stacked against them. In fact, there were moments in this story that I seriously questioned whether or not Rose and Charles would ever find their way back to one another… which is probably why I read the bulk of this story in two days…
West is the story that you need to read as an adult. I think that if it had’ve come out when I first read North Child, it just wouldn’t have meant as much to me. But now, I’m in my own relationship that is after that headrushing first moments. It’s the parts after that initial love that I find all the more precious, and this came across perfectly in West. But, as a teenager, I didn’t really want to think about the day in and day out of a relationship, I wanted the romance and the immediate love. Now, my favourite part of this story is when Rose says that it doesn’t matter what comes next, as long as they’re together.
Book Review East Easy Reading Edith Pattou Fairy tales Romance
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