#Blogtour You're a Dream to Me by Samantha Kay

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour You're a Dream to Me by Samantha Kay.

About the Author

Samantha Kay is an author of contemporary women’s fiction.  Her titles include, Found, Good People, and her newest release; You’re a Dream to Me. 

Samantha has been studying human behaviour and dysfunctional family dynamics at the University of Life for almost twenty years, with many of her findings inspiring her stories and their characters. Samantha Kay was born, raised and still lives in East London. Follow @Samanthakay21 on Twitter

About the book

After the suicide of her husband, Lydia Green’s life is turned upside down. In the aftermath of Steve’s death, the secrets he kept begin to surface, resulting in Lydia having to say goodbye to her easy carefree lifestyle; and is forced to rebuild her whole life again from scratch.

Lydia is constantly haunted by the memory of Steve as she sleeps. The shame and anger Lydia feels surrounding her husband’s death means she constantly experiences disturbing nightmares that she struggles to make sense of.

Embarrassed by Steve’s choice to end his own life, Lydia is often quick to fabricate tales to others regarding the circumstances of his death. During her journey home from a disastrous first day back at work, Lydia, quite literally, falls into the life of handsome rail engineer Scott.

Unable to come to terms with the unsettling facts of her past, while Lydia and Scott’s budding romance begins to blossom, Lydia fabricates a fictitious tale surrounding the reasons behind her newfound widowhood.

With the help of her best friend Ruth and an unlikely bond found in her new boss Jon, can Lydia find the strength to eventually be honest with Scott, and finally put the ghosts of her past to rest?

Review

I have to say this has a lot more depth than one might surmise when you take a quick glance at the surface. The core conversation revolves around suicide, so that could be triggering for some readers. I think it was done in a really subtle and sometimes humorous way.

From a outside point of view the reactions of Lydia could be viewed as chaotic, frivolous or possibly even as disengaged from the reality of her situation. Even when she connects with other men after the death of her husband.

In fact what the entire story reflects is the pain, guilt, the confusion, the sadness, the panic, the despair and also the anger of Lydia. The chaos and confusion, and yet the firm determination to sort through and recover from the mess her husband left behind. Left with nothing, and yet still feeling a responsibility to make his name and legacy less negative, especially because no person likes to blame the person who took their own life, she is pulled between two masters.

The dreams that speak of complex guilt, the imagining of the emotional distress she missed, which is presented as a contradiction to the lived reality she experiences every day. I enjoyed it. I think this is one of those reads that may be underrated and deserves a wee bit more attention.

Buy You're a Dream to Me at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.