Review and Giveaway: The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe. Also, you get to participate in a great giveaway. I hope you enjoy and I wish you all good luck! x

Title: The Darkes Part (Living Heartwood #1)
Author: Trisha Wolfe
Published: August 6th 2013
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Pressing the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love.
Sam Wintry’s life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler’s fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she’s losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?
When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. Despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn’t count on is Holden’s relentlessness to go on the trip.
On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Especially from Sam, the only woman he’s ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her.

This spring, I got to review Of Silver and Beasts by Trisha Wolfe. Guess what? I loved it! It was a book that sealed the deal for me and I now want to make it my life’s mission to read all of Trisha’s books. LOL. I’m slightly kidding, but the truth is not far from it. I wondered what it’d be like if Trish ever wrote a contemporary novel and now I got the chance to explore it first hand.

As much as I'm doing this trip for Tyler, truth is, I'm doing it for me, too. I'm tired of being scared. Sick of living in fear. I'm doing this to set Tyler free, yes, to help him cross over--but deep down, I know it's about more.

I need to cross over, too.

To the living.

The story. Sam is depressed. Like.. really in a dark place and all that’s keeping her together is her dead boyfriend’s ghost Tyler. Who others say is a hallucination. Sam is sure he’s not and she is determined to bring his soul to peace by going on a road trip to take his ashes everywhere he wanted to travel. Only problem is, she has to go with Holden or not go at all. Why is this a problem? Let’s see.. Holden is Tyler’s brother and when they were younger, Sam was helplessly in love with him until he broke her hear. Now, spending even five minutes in a room with him seems insurmountable.

My thoughts. I found this to be really intriguing; hopeless; dark. I loved the last book I read that featured a road trip and that was The Edge of Never. While The Darkest Part didn’t exactly reach the level of awesomeness that was Camryn and Andrew’s story, I did truly enjoy it. When we met Sam, she was in a really dark place and I didn’t see any way possible for her to feel alive again. Everything she had dreamed about had vanished into thin air and now she has to cope with it all alone. I’m glad Holden was there to support her. Speaking of Holden..

Holden was the heart of the story for me. Even though Tyler is long gone, his presence still lingers and it was great to watch unfinished business between the brothers work itself out and Holden get relief from years of guilt and horrible memories. I believed his story and I felt connected to it. Sam was at times a bit hard to connect to since she didn’t know the  whole story and was catching up to it just as we were while Holden held the missing pieces. The chemistry Holden and Sam had was good and enjoyable. I loved how their story got a realistic ending with a touch of happiness rather than everything being over the top amazing.

At the end of the day I believe this is very suitable for a fall read since it’s dark, edgy and offers a few rays of sunshine with its hope and romantic plotline. I was happy to witness Sam’s victory over darkness and sorrow. She had the possibility to experience two very different loves and I enjoyed reading about both of them. I think this novel is worth a try and I’m happy to have enjoyed it as much as I did. By the way, I saw on Goodreads that it's marked as a part of a series, but I do believe it's a stand-alone. Perhaps there'll be some companion novels in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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