Gone – Anna Bloom

Format: E-book (Kindle)
Published: July 28th 2014
Pages: 364 Pages

The Blurb
Rebecca Walters harbours a dark secret, and as the fifty-three bangles she wears on her wrists as a self-imposed sentence of guilt remind her, she can’t even begin to consider moving on. Not after what happened on that night six months ago… a night which she can’t remember and yet managed to change her life forever.

When Rebecca comes across Joshua Adams, man equally haunted by past tragedies, on a moonlit beach, both of their lives are destined to change forever, and when the girl made out of the sun meets the boy made out of the moon and sea, anything can happen… but will the knowledge of their murky pasts bring them together or drive them apart?

Will Rebecca finally be able to claim her freedom? Will she stay and fight to be the girl she found on the sandy beaches of Cornwall or is she destined to keep running and hiding from a past that won’t stay Gone? One thing’s for certain: either way, nothing will ever be the same again

Rating: 4/5

The Review
Thank you to Anna for sending me a copy of Gone to read and review – I’ll never say no to Anna and her novels.

Rebecca and Joshua are both holding emotional secrets which are affecting their lives dramatically. How do you cope with such heavy feelings and also, feel so alone? They meet unexpectedly whilst spending time at a place they both feel calm and relaxed and that’s at the beach. They form an unlikely relationship that reveals a lot about themselves and allows them to cope with their lives.

This might come across as a negative, but the book was full of sadness and heartache and it pulled on all my heart strings. I will even admit to crying once because I didn’t want Rebecca and Josh to feel how they did, especially with how young they were. However, the nature of bullying is never going to be happy and the tone reflected that. I think it’s great to highlight such a topic to help readers realize that unfortunately bullying is still rife in the world and it can effect a lot of people in different ways.

One thing that became apparent to me whilst reading was the support networks for both Rebecca and Josh. Their family and friends knew that they were going through a rough time and helped them in anyway they could. Rebecca did tend to throw the sentiment back at people, but she was hurt more than anything and it wasn’t done with real anger. It’s key to have people there to support you if you’re being bullied or know someone that is because you shouldn’t have to go through things alone.

Don’t be put off with the tone of the novel because it was written beautifully. Yes, it’s emotional and full of sadness, but it makes you realize how lucky you are. Each of Anna’s novels I’ve read has always made me have such strong emotions and made me feel passionate and I love that – if you can read a book and have passion for it, that’s great!

You can purchase Gone on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Paperback.

Find out more about Anna at her website at www.annabloomwrites.com and on Twitter at @annabloombooks.