It's the Little Things

by Erica James

I’ve enjoyed all of the books I have read by Erica James and this was no exception.

Dan and Sally and their friends Chloe and Paul were all caught up in the Boxing Day tsunami, the aftermath of which was to change their lives forever. Chloe suffered a broken leg and was dumped fairly swiftly by boyfriend Paul after their return home. Married friends, Dan and Sally decide that life is precious and against her better judgement, Sally is persuaded to try for a baby. Marcus arrives 9 months later.

Three years later we join Dan, Sally and Marcus in their outwardly perfect lives and find that it is anything but. Not being particularly maternal, Sally is now the main breadwinner whilst Dan has become a stay-at-home Dad, devoting his daylight hours to his beloved son but spending his sleeping hours experiencing nightmares about a child he failed to save during the tragedy. Cracks are beginning to appear in their relationship which he hopes to put right but does he and can he succeed? Sally is feeling neglected and pushed out, so is she in danger of acting out of character and giving in to temptation? Willing to risk everything for a little bit of excitement?

Chloe has returned to the same village as her friends and working as a GP. She has a pressing urgency to become a Mum and begins to resent the lifestyle of her once close friend, Sally. Each man she meets is studied for his father material but fails miserably, until she meets Seth – kind, handsome, caring and dependable – he seems ideal, but Seth has his own secrets.

The book follows the lives of the 4 main characters and how their lives change following the events of the devastating tsunami and its long lasting effects. Readers are drawn into the story and want to know that everything works out for each of them. They are mostly likeable characters that we care about, but even those we don’t are well drawn out and have redeeming features – even the despicable Paul!! The ending is a surprise and not what you would expect and everything is tied up nicely which is what I prefer in a story.

The book starts with a huge event and shows how big events like this can overcome us but the main storyline appears to be, that although these big events cause shock and horror, it is often the little things that cause us the main problems. If we let the little things spiral out of control, who knows what will happen?