United By Pop received a free copy of But Then I Came Back in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are our own.
Title: But Then I Came Back
Author: Estelle Laure
Purchase: Available in the UK and the US
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Great for: Fans of Lisa Heathfield, Gayle Foreman, and Liz Jensen
Themes: Coming-of-age, young adult, contemporary, romance
Review: What happens when you wake up from a month-long coma and everything you thought you knew about yourself is a lie? How do you react to discovering your best friend found solace for her grief in the arms of your twin brother? How do you cope when finding out that your fellow coma patient neighbour had visited you in your dreams, and you no longer know the distinction between reality and fantasy?
For Eden, this is her new existence. She woke up. But she is not so sure she was supposed to. When everything about her life continues to fall around her ears like the hallucinatory black petals she keeps seeing, her only escape comes in the form of a dreamy-eyed individual whose interests lie in another long-term coma patient. Can the two help each other to live and to love again? Or will they be forever bound to the in-between of living, that holds them both in its deathly grasp?
This Raging Light sequel can be read as a standalone, as I did and none of the iintriguesof this book will be lost on the reader. I found particulars of the first novel where organically delivered here to appeal to both first-time readers and those returning to this world.
The beauty of ‘But Then I Came Back’ came, foremost from Luare’s lyrical and evocative writing style. Her penmanship elicited deep emotion and a deeper connection to the events detailed and this felt almost like a classic Gothic poem, at times, rather than a contemporary romance. These two genres could have easily conflicted with each other, but were, instead, brought together as a seamless whole by the one character this ultimately revolved around.
This chronicled Eden’s recovery and it was an interesting insight into both the physical and emotional care needed after such a soul- and life-destroying trauma. The heavy focus on such an emotional subject matter was alleviated by Eden’s growing closeness to Joe. Their blossoming feelings for each other helped to keep this book from drowning in itself, and acted as a lighthouse to illuminate the surrounding darkness, threatening to submerge the reader. Both characters and readers were saved by Joe in that respect.
But this wasn’t merely a romance story. There was an almost magical realism style quality to the narrative, as the book dealt with the distinctions between accepted reality and the multitude of other possibilities life can contain. The alleged theories were introduced inventively and authentically, providing much for the reader to take away and ponder over. It is heartening to see such a variety and complexity of issues discussed within the confines of the young adult genre and it proves that any age and every reader can benefit from an exploration of this book.
