This is a beautifully written story. The plot switches back and forth from Emma's story to Beattie's and throughout the book we begin to understand how Beattie's story will help Emma find herself again. This book is full of many emotions, a lot of them being sadness and heartbreak. But there is hope and an understanding that things don't always work out the way we plan.


I enjoyed the chosen settings in the book- Glasgow, London, and Tasmania. The women led such very different lives in every place, but each existence helped to shape who they were at the conclusion of the book. I enjoyed Beattie's story more than Emma's and found her to be a more likeable character. Beattie was not one to let life's mistakes pull her down and she worked hard to make a name for herself and in the end was very successful. Emma was whiney and self centered, which I think is exactly how Freeman wanted her to be. She does discover how self absorbed she is throughout the book and works to overcome that.


The quote that propels the book: "According to Cora, there are two types of people in the world - those who do things and those who have things done to them." I was a little saddened by the ending but not disappointed. All in all this was a wonderful book and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.