When We Let Go by Rochelle Weinstein

When We Let Go by Rochelle Weinstein – 316 pages 

ARC from Amazon Publishing, Getred PR and Netgalley for an honest review

Book Blurb:

When We Let Go by Rochelle Weinstein: When Avery Beckett is proposed to by Jude Masters, a widowed father and the man she loves, it should be a time of great joy. Instead, Avery is on edge. She’s wary of the idea of family, doubtful of happy endings, and too afraid to take the leap. It’s the kind of fear that comes from having secrets.
Before Avery commits to a new life, she must reconcile with the one she left behind.
When Avery returns to her childhood farm in the North Carolina mountains, she’s surprised to be saddled with a companion: Jude’s teenage daughter, Elle, who’s grappling with the loss of her mother and the complicated emotions of first love. On a path of mending wounds and breaking down walls, Avery and Elle form an unexpected alliance. It’s giving them the courage to move forward. And for Avery, everything she needs to confront the past.
An emotional tale of mothers and daughters, loss and acceptance, When We Let Go is about the lessons that come from heartbreak and the healing it takes to embrace the joy of a second chance.

My Review: 4.5 stars

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When We Let Go by Rochelle Weinstein is a pull at your heart-strings story about loving yourself enough to let go of your past. It’s also about mothers and daughters, love with a romantic partner, sisterly love, accepting loss, grief, mental illness, forgiveness and moving forward. I’ve yet to read a book by Weinstein that doesn’t leaves me in a pool of tears that also fills my heart with hope. 

This story starts with what should be a perfect proposal, but we soon learn that Avery has a secret from her past she that can’t let go of. How can she marry a man that isn’t aware of her secret? It’s a heartbreaking choice because she hasn’t only fallen in love with Jude, but also his three kids. Many people carry secrets (baggage) with them and this book, as the title suggests, reminds us to let go. Letting go of regret, shame, hurt, fear or whatever it is that holds us back is crucial to move forward. This story thrums with this theme throughout the book. 

When Avery travels to the North Carolina mountains to be with her ailing dad, she’s aware that going home will kick her in the ass. Memories and the secrets that she wants buried are sure to surface and like all good fiction, they pop up with twists and revelations that kept me flipping the pages. This is a testament to Weinstein’s pacing, knowing when to drop bits and pieces of past history to keep the present moving forward. 

The major and minor characters are relatable, flawed and fleshed out just enough that the reader truly cares for them. Weinstein can impart a lot of wisdom through her conversations with her dad, her sister and surprisingly with Elle. I hope to see some of these characters make a cameo into another of Weinstein’s books. I will miss them.  

Overall, this is the perfect anytime read, it’s excellent storytelling and will keep you hooked from start to finish.

Quotes I liked:

And I wonder why the ones who need love the most are so difficult to give it to.”

“That’s what happens to people when they visit the mountains, ground themselves in the earth. Simplicity spreads through the limbs, like stems bending in the wind, flowers scattering their petals.”