REVIEW: The Last Time I Saw You by Eleanor Moran

When Olivia Berrington gets the call to tell her that her best friend from university has been killed in a car crash in New York, her life is turned upside down. Her relationship with Sally was an exhilarating roller coaster, until a shocking betrayal drove them apart. But if Sally had really turned her back, why is her little girl named Olivia?

As questions mount about the fatal accident, Olivia is forced to go back and unravel her untangled history. But as Sally's secrets start to spill out, Olivia's left asking herself if the past is best kept buried.

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The Last Time I Saw You was a novel that set out to be more than it ended up being. It was a story about loss, and love, and finding out who you are, outside of the people who had such a huge impact on your life. It was about letting go, too. Unfortunately, it didn't resound loudly enough for me, and by the time I approached the final stretch, I was more than a little disappointed in the turn of events.

Olivia and Sally were best friends in University, the toxic type of best friends. It was the kind of friendship that constantly had Olivia questioning herself: her actions, her words, her level of loyalty. Sally was a barreling train, a steady whir of motion, and an impossibly attractive energy. The Last Time I Saw You begins with Sally's death, by car crash. From there, the narrative alternates between Olivia's present day, and chronological years in her past, from her first to last moments with Sally. Olivia's present day, following Sally's funeral, leads her straight into the comfort of Sally's husband, William. The pair embark on a journey of memories, and truths, about Sally. Who was this woman, this fierce presence that changed both of their lives so drastically?

I was anticipating so much more, and was dismayed when I figured out, VERY early on, exactly where the story was headed. The Last Time I Saw You had potential for so much more growth, and realizations. It left wide open spaces for a less predictable plot line to fall into. Moran's writing was definitely fast-paced, and had me thirsting for more and more insight into Sally's destructive life, but I wasn't completely hooked. I almost wish she would have pulled a 'The Lovely Bones', and told the story from Sally's deceased point of view. Olivia's world was exhausting; her life choices were questionable, and sometimes, downright annoying. When she finally found love, I wished there was a "choose your own ending" along the bottom of the page, leading me to a conclusion that wasn't so ridiculous, and neatly tied up. Sally's life was messy, but I was hoping that Olivia would fall apart a little more, herself-take bigger risks, and pursue the dreams, and loves, she had her eyes on at the START of the book.

Overall, I'd say The Last Time I Saw you is a neatly bound, summer read. It has all the makings of a typical "find your heart" plot line, with deeper themes at play: death, and mental illness. It moves at a pace that may hold your mind's interest, but my heart just wasn't really having it.

Recommended for fans of: Barbara Delinsky, Elin Hilderbrand, Emily Giffin, Kristen Hannah, Romance, Women's Fiction, 'Chick-Lit', Contemporary, mental illness in Fiction.

Challenges: 

Goodreads 100 Book Goal

2014 eBook Reading Challenge

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