The Odds of You and Me
by Cecilia Galante
Summary from Goodreads:
In the vein of Meg Donohue and Sarah Jio, Cecilia Galante’s second novel delivers the powerful story of one young woman who’s faced with an impossible choice—one that could have her making the biggest mistake of her life.
Thirteen days. That’s all Bernadette, “Bird,” Sincavage has left to go until she’s done with her probation and can be free again. Free from making payments to the supermarket she wrote bad checks to. Free from living at home with her overzealous mother who’s constantly nagging her about attending church again. Free to give her four-year-old son, Angus, the normal life he deserves. Her impending freedom and move to Moon Lake, where she’s plunked down a deposit on a brand new apartment, is so close she can almost taste it. What trouble could she possibly get into in just 13 days?
But trouble does follow in the form of James Rittenhouse—someone she worked with a few years ago. At first, Bird is stunned to see James make the evening news when he’s arrested for assaulting someone in a local bar. But that’s nothing compared to the shock she gets when she discovers James hiding out in an abandoned church choir loft. Somehow he escaped police custody, broke his leg, and got his hand on a gun, which he’s now pointing at her.
Although Bird doesn’t tell anyone she saw James, there’s no way she’s helping him. She can’t screw up her probation or her second chance for a new future. And she has her son’s welfare to think about. Still. If only she could stop thinking about the terrified look in James’ eyes and the fact that he’s hurt. If only she could forget that once, long ago, James helped her out, and she owes him a debt like no other.
Will Bird jeopardize her future for someone who helped her out in the past? A past that holds secrets she’s not quite sure she’s ready to face? Or will she turn a blind eye and learn to live with the consequences?
I recently took a break from reviewing so this is my first review in a while. I chose this book because it looked significantly different from what I usually read. I wanted an author that I had never read before and a topic that wasn’t a “safe bet” for me. So I picked up The Odds of You and Me, not really knowing how it would go but embracing this brand new experience and luckily, my gamble paid off.
I was initially hesitant about this book because after reading the blurb, I had some doubts about the characters. I thought I might have a hard time relating to them. Well, I was very wrong about this hunch. Not only did I find them totally relatable, I was rooting for them with everything I had. Both Bird and James were just normal people who made mistakes due to difficult circumstances in their lives. The truth is, you never really know what other people are going through or where they’re coming from. Everyone has their demons. I enjoyed getting to know them and I also liked the author’s writing style.
The only reason why I’m not giving it 5 stars is because I was heartbroken for a little while. I don’t want to give anything away, but it took me a bit to recover from this and get back on track. In my opinion, that was the only down side to the book because everything else was spot on.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
4 out of 5 stars
THE SPELLBOUND READER 