Review ~ So Much More by Kim Holden

Book Description:

Love is strange. It comes out of nowhere. There’s no logic to it. It’s not methodical. It’s not scientific. It’s pure emotion and passion. And emotion and passion can be dangerous because they fuel love…and hate.

I’m now a reluctant connoisseur of both—an expert through immersion. I know them intimately.

When I fell in love with Miranda, it was swift and blind. She was the person I’d elevated to mythical status in my head, in my dreams.

Here’s the thing about dreams, they’re smoke.

They’re spun as thoughts until they become something we think we want. Something we think we need.

That was Miranda. She was smoke.

I thought I wanted her. I thought I needed her.

Over time reality crept in and slowly dissected and disemboweled my dreams like a predator, leaving behind a rotting carcass.

Reality can be a fierce bitch.

So can Miranda.

And I can be a fool...

who believes in dreams.

And people.

And love.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/1oQ6sKV

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1QEEnfz

Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars

***ARC received for an honest review***

“Hope your day is as awesome as you are. Love, Dad.”

Kim Holden never fails to batter my heart with her emotional writing, whether it be All of It, Brightside or Gus the tears have fallen in various quantities and now we can add So Much More to the list too. However, the biggest emotion evoked from me in So Much More was anger…yes, quiet, timid, Kim Holden has created a character I hated with a passion, I never knew she had it in her.

While So Much More was emotional in places this is nothing like her previous books, this book centres around the love a father has for his children, this is a book about an extremely selfish woman and an extremely selfless man. Two total opposites of the spectrum who fell in love, got married and made the most amazing children. A family created from love, or at least that was what Seamus believed. Miranda…there are just no words…

“And my heart shatters for the second time today. It’s blown apart into so many pieces, the shrapnel spread so far and wide, I know what remains will never fit back together again. Puzzles don’t work when you only have half of the pieces. Same goes for hearts.”

Seamus McIntyre should be the role model for all fathers, despite having his own issues his love for his children never, ever faltered, his love for them held no bounds, they were his biggest priority and his hugest achievement and while they didn’t have much, they always had each other.

Miranda McIntyre was a selfish, self-absorbed charlatan. She manipulated people for her own self-importance and for her own gain, no matter the consequences. She was a grade A bitch that only ever looked out for numero uno. She was a woman that didn’t deserve what she had and throughout this whole book I was pleading for karma and I hoped that she got a huge dose of it. She was a character that instantly got under my skin and no matter how hard I tried to understand her logic and her actions, I couldn’t…so it was official…she was just a bitch. As much as her back story tried to explain her actions I just couldn’t justify them, she was sick in her own way, but she was intelligent and extremely manipulative, she knew what she was frankly and quite frankly just didn’t care.

“We’re immature teenagers emotionally, both bankrupt in the ability to love and care for another. That doesn’t bode well for matrimony or even monogamy.”

Faith lived in the same apartment block as Seamus and his kids, with Miranda gone he was on his own and was making the best out of a bad situation. Faith was a free spirit that had her own issues but she had a heart of gold and soon strikes up a friendship with Seamus and his kids. Faith rallied around helping when needed and was a great support to Seamus. I loved the way her past was slowly revealed so that you really understood her and where she was coming from. She was deep and introspective but she was pure, she just needed to be set free.

“I didn’t know people could hug your soul with their soul. Faith can.”

This story was a father’s fight to keep his kids, a father that knew he was the better parent and would sacrifice everything to prove that point. He was a man on a mission and no matter the hurt and pain he went through, he just had one end goal…the best for his children. With every shot that Miranda fired my heart broke, with every battle she won…my heart broke some more and with every round Kim Holden really delivered a story that was captivating and hard to put down.

“Life blooms in second chances.”

This book though was “real” it took real life situations and explored them emotionally, it showed you the consequences and for every action there is a reaction. It is easy to dismiss a father’s love, outsiders looking in always deem the mother the suitable parent and this really hammered home that looks can be deceiving and never trust a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“…it’s my future façade. An enviable husband and a few spawn look good for well-rounded appearance’s sake, a wolf surrounded by cute, likable, soft little sheep. Everyone loves sheep.”

But, as with any Kim Holden book there is that undercurrent of love and friendship and this book will make you look at the bigger picture…anyone want a hug? The simplest act can have the hugest effects, there is always someone worse off than you and sometimes the simplest hello can make someone smile and you will have made their day. This book will leave you wanting to be a better person and if you are a mother will give you the biggest lesson in how not to be one. Anyone can be a mother, but it takes someone special to be a mum.

“Ask one hundred people to explain love. And you’ll get one hundred different answers. Because Love is like art, it’s subjective. Fluid. Ever-changing. Evolving.”