Please Release Me

RHODA BAXTER

Synopsis from Goodreads: What if you could only watch as your bright future slipped away from you?

Sally Cummings has had it tougher than most but, if nothing else, it’s taught her to grab opportunity with both hands. And, when she stands looking into the eyes of her new husband Peter on her perfect wedding day, it seems her life is finally on the up.

That is until the car crash that puts her in a coma and throws her entire future into question.

In the following months, a small part of Sally’s consciousness begins to return, allowing her to listen in on the world around her – although she has no way to communicate.

But Sally was never going to let a little thing like a coma get in the way of her happily ever after …

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, Choc Lit Limited, being released September 10, 2015.

How acquired: NetGalley.

First line: They were lucky with the weather.

My thoughts: A woman in a coma, following a car accident on her wedding day. A devoted husband who visits her every day, reads to her, and generally lets the rest of his life pass by while hoping his wife will wake up. Another woman whose own life is in a rut following the deaths of her parents. A ghost who is not exactly a ghost.

While drifting in black nothingness, unable to move or speak, Sally slowly realizes she is in a hospital. She hears nurses talking about her, hears her husband talking to her. Telling her inane stuff about his day, his business. Stuff she was never interested in, didn't care to know about, before the accident. I'll admit I didn't much like Sally at first. I quickly came to the conclusion that she was a spoiled gold-digger.

I did like Peter. I loved his devotion and dedication to his comatose wife. And I liked Grace, who invited Peter to join her and other fundraiser volunteers in redecorating a common room at the hospice, and in doing so drew Peter back into the world. Or at least a small part of it. And as I got to know Sally better, and began to understand her, what made her the way she was, I began to actually like her as well, and to feel sorry for her.

This is one of those books where I can't say too much about the story without giving away the plot. Suffice it to say that it's light and amusing while also addressing some serious issues, the characters are well developed, the plot wasn't predictable, and the author gave us a fresh new take on love triangles. I quite enjoyed it.