Perfectly Undone

September 18, 2017
Raintree’s emotionally intense debut enthralls as one woman attempts to move past the guilt she feels over her sister’s death. Dylan Michels seems to have the perfect life working as a successful ob-gyn in Portland, Ore. But when her pediatrician boyfriend, Cooper, proposes to her, she feels as though she can’t say yes to him. Dylan still harbors secrets about the death of her older sister, Abby, years before, and it holds such influence over her that it she can’t just let herself be happy and get engaged. Her indecision over Cooper’s proposal threatens their relationship, as do her workaholic tendencies, which always caused strain between them. In a surprising mid-story twist, Cooper reveals the sins of his past, and Dylan must decide how to finally absolve herself of responsibility for Abby’s death while considering her future with Cooper. Raintree’s lead characters are vividly realized, and readers will be moved by Dylan’s attempt to come to terms with the blame she has carried for years.

October 15, 2017

Dr. Dylan Michels is reeling from the guilt she feels over her role in her sister Abby's death 15 years earlier. Keeping it all a secret is also hard work. She's now a doctor who works overtime delivering babies, trying to absolve herself. But this repression affects both her career and her relationship with boyfriend Cooper. Her beliefs about her family, partner, and herself are all called into question when she suffers a series of shocks on the job and at home, as long-held secrets come to light. Dylan is presented as emotionally withholding, although for a fellow doctor, Cooper is remarkably unsympathetic to the demands of her position. Dylan's eventual happiness is found in pulling back from work and committing to marriage and children of her own. VERDICT The danger of keeping secrets in intimate relationships is repeatedly driven home and the thread that runs through the dramatic ups and downs of this narrative. A fast but relatively unreflective read, this is recommended for larger libraries and fans of women's fiction in the vein of Susan Mallery or Robyn Carr.--Melanie Kindrachuk, Stratford P.L., Ont.

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