Review: Absolution by Amanda Dick

Stay or go? There’s no such thing as the easy way out.

Jack McKenna should know. Four years ago, while driving girlfriend Ally and best friend Callum home from a concert, they were involved in a horrific car crash. Ally’s life would never be the same and, consumed by guilt, Jack ran. He’s been running ever since.

Moving from town to town, job to job, he found himself doing things he never thought himself capable of. Living in the shadows, he’d rather spend the rest of his life alone than go home and face everyone he left behind.

Until the night he receives a phone call that forces his hand.

With a recent history he’s anxious to keep hidden and a desperate need to somehow make amends, his homecoming will be anything but easy. Does he even deserve a second chance?

Absolution is the first in a series of stand-alone novels in the Absolution series by Amanda Dick. It is contemporary romance at its most confronting – raw, honest and compelling.

About the Author

Amanda Dick is a night-owl, coffee addict, movie buff and music lover. She loves to do DIY, believes in love at first sight, in women’s intuition and in following your heart. She is rather partial to dark chocolate and believes in the power of a good vanilla latte.

What lights her fire is writing stories about real people in trying situations. She is insanely curious about how we, as human beings, react when pushed to the edge. Most of all, she enjoys writing about human behaviour – love, loss, joy, grief, friendship and the complexity of relationships in general.

After living in Scotland for five years, she has now settled back home in New Zealand, where she lives with her husband and two children.

Review

WOW, OH WOW!!! THIS BOOK IS BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE READ IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. THE MOMENT I STARTED READING I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. THE PROLOGUE HOOKED ME AND I COULDN’T GET OUT OF ITS GRASPS; IT’S THAT GOOD! THE STORY BEGINS WITH JACK, ALLY, & CALLUM; THREE BEST FRIENDS WHO ARE COMING HOME FROM A CONCERT WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES AND THEY ARE INVOLVED IN A TERRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT. BOTH JACK AND CALLUM WALK AWAY WITH MINOR INJURIES; HOWEVER ALLY IS NOT SO LUCKY, AND SHE IS PARALYZED FROM THE WAIST. TORTURED WITH SHAME, FEAR, AND GUILT JACK LEAVES HIS HOMETOWN AND CUTS ALL TIES WITH EVERYONE FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. BUT WITH A SUDDEN DEATH IN THE FAMILY, JACK MUST RETURN HOME AND FACE THOSE WHO HE HURT ALL THOSE YEARS AGO.
WHILE I WAS READING THIS BOOK, I FELT SO CONNECTED TO ALL THREE CHARACTERS. THROUGHOUT THE STORY, JACK IS CONFLICTED. SHOULD HE STAY AND TRY TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT OR SHOULD HE ESCAPE AND FORGET ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED? HIS GUILT, SHAME, AND FEAR REALLY HIT HOME FOR ME. I FELT HIS SHAME AND HIS SADNESS. I WANTED TO COMFORT HIM AND TELL HIM EVERYTHING WOULD BE ALRIGHT. DEEP DOWN JACK IS A NOBLE GUY WHO COULDN’T BEAR TO FACE THE ONES HE LOVED THE MOST. HIS HEART IS PURE AND GENUINE AND HE ALWAYS HAD THE BEST OF INTENTIONS; NO MATTER WHAT. I ENJOYED HIS CHARACTER VERY MUCH. ALLY WAS SO STRONG IN THIS BOOK. SHE OVERCAME A TON OF OBSTACLES AND HEARTACHES AND ALWAYS STRIVED TO SEE THE POSITIVES IN LIFE. SHE’S BRAVE, HONEST, AND DAMN RIGHT SEXY! I LOVED HER SHY PERSONALITY AND HER CONFIDENCE AND BRAVERY TO FIGHT FOR WHAT SHE TRULY WANTS IN LIFE.
THEN THERE’S CALLUM. OH LORD, HE IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER. AFTER JACK DISAPPEARS, CALLUM TAKES CARE OF ALLY AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM. HE’S A BAD-ASS WITH A BIG HEART; TOUGH, FIERCE, INTIMIDATING BUT ALSO LOVING, NURTURING, AND DOWN RIGHT HOT!!! EVEN THOUGH THE LOVE STORY IS JACK AND ALLY’S; I CAUGHT MYSELF ROOTING FOR CALLUM. HE IS THE PERFECT SUPPORTING CHARACTER WITH THE RIGHT QUALITIES TO SWEEP ANYONE OFF THEIR FEET. I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM AND I’M DYING TO READ MORE ABOUT HIM.
OVERALL, THIS WAS A FANTASTIC DEBUT BY AMANDA DICK. SHE DOES A GREAT JOB OF EXPLAINING EVERYTHING WITH ENOUGH DETAIL AND A HINT OF IMAGINATION, WHICH MAKES IT FEEL SO REAL. HER WRITING IS EXQUISITE AND SO CLEAR; WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE? I READ THIS BOOK IN 2 SITTINGS AND HAD A SERIOUS HANGOVER ONCE I WAS FINISHED. YOU WILL LAUGH, CRY, AND MOST OF ALL, HAVE HOPE. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS THAT WILL STAY WITH YOU FOR A LONG TIME AND HAVE A PROFOUND AFFECT ON YOUR SOUL. THIS IS NOT ONLY A LOVE STORY BUT A QUEST FOR REDEMPTION.