SWEAR ON THIS LIFE by Renée Carlino

GOODREAD’ BOOK DESCRIPTION:

When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.

Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.

That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.

The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Renée Carlino is the author of Sweet Thing, Nowhere But Here, After the Rain, and Before We Were Strangers. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog, June. When she’s not at the beach with her boys or working on her next book, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate.

FIND RENEE ONLINE:

Website: http://reneecarlino.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorReneeCarlino

Twitter: https://twitter.com/renayz

Instagram: @reneecarlino1

GISELLE’S REVIEW:

Two stories. One book. All of the feelings!!! I think that somewhat sums up Swear On This Life. Oh and the words: heartbreaking, romantic, emotional, poetic, beautiful. Basically, Renée Carlino has once again written a beautifully woven tale of two people who are meant to be, even when it seems like the odds are stacked against them.

Emiline and Jase are childhood best friends and first loves that haven’t seen or heard from each other in 10 years. As the reader, you don’t know why this is, but little by little readers begin to learn their story through that of Emerson and Jackson’s, the characters in the novel written by the mysterious “J.Colby”. The premise of this story was one that I found to be so incredibly unique, it just sucked me in completely. But not only was this story one-of-a-kind, it was overwhelmingly emotional.

“I love you, Emiline. I loved you before I even knew what it meant.”

My favorite aspect of this story was when it would delve into the story of Emerson and Jackson, allowing readers to see their friendship transform into a first love, because this was also a glimpse into the life of the main character Emiline and her relationship with Jase. Their love story didn’t start off easy and it was definitely a whirlwind, but I did not want to step out of their story and into real life one bit while I was reading.

So I just want to finish my review by saying that if you have do not plan to pick up this book, you are seriously missing out. Swear On This Life is the reading experience of a lifetime and I think this snippet from the book does a pretty good job of summing it all up!

“What’s going to happen?”

“Nobody knows.”

“I hate that,” I said.”

“I know, I hate it too, but I guess it’s like reading a good book. The kind where you don’t want to skip the pages to see what happens at the end. Each moment is a story in itself.”

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