Torn Together by Emlyn Chand (book review)

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Recently I sat down to review a book sent to me as past of a blog tour from CLP.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but the synopsis sounded good so I figured it worth a try.  What I didn’t know was that this book was going to keep me up until all hours of the nights, have me in fits of laughter and tears, and stay in my mind for days.

Synopsis

Why does growing up have to be so difficult?

Daly English is having a harder time than most. Her future as an artist is unclear, her relationship with her mother is damaged beyond repair, and–to top it all off–her long-term boyfriend is having an affair. When Daly befriends two unlikely individuals–first a pregnant teen, and then a light-hearted charmer from India–her cynicism begins to melt away.

Meghann provides insight into Daly’s life and an endless stream of good advice, comforting Daly despite her own less fortunate position.

Kashi proves he cares too much about Daly to let her fade into the background of her own life. After a series of false starts, their quirky romance carries them to India, where Daly must win the approval of Kashi’s family in order to seal their “forever.”

Will these friendships be enough to turn around Daly’s directionless life? Will she move past the hurt and learn to trust again? Or will her mother, once again, ruin everything she’s worked so hard to achieve?

Torn Together, Emlyn Chand’s first sojourn into Literary New Adult Fiction, weaves a tale of friendship, dreams, and a lingering loss, while illustrating how our similarities often drive us apart.

The Characters

Daly is our main female character.  She seems to be a bit of a whiny brat to me at many times throughout the book.  What I did like was that she matured before our eyes after meeting Kashi.  She went from being this self-centered, woe is me type girl to someone who feels for others and has some depth to their character.  This change also came in large part to her relationship with the sweet girl who gets pregnant while in high school… just a few years younger than Daly herself.  Daly learns that there is so much more to life than just her sadness over her father’s death, her disappointment over her relationship with her mom, and her lack of meaningful love life.  I tried to forgive her behavior because she really did feel sad and alone.

“Silence offered refuge — safe and familiar.  If nobody talked about the pain, it just might go away”

Kashi is our main male character.  He seems a bit much to me at first.  He believe in fate and it is something I just loved about the story.  Kashi wanted him and Daly to meet 3 times and if fate brought them together, then it really was meant to be.

 “If we are meant to meet again, we will.  The universe will push us together in the most unexpected ways”- Kashi

Well, fate was on their side.  I loved that he planned their first date with Daly in mind and he really did seem to love and take care of her like any woman would want and need in her man.

Laine is Daly’s mom.  Her relationship with Daly is one that is really hard to take for most of the book.  It is sad and you don’t fully understand why until the end of the book.  But, there are bits and pieces into this relationship that make it worth hoping for.

“Maybe relationships were like cooking– easier to prepare a recipe from scratch than to salvage one after a series of mistakes.”

Meghann is the pregnant teen that is the true hero of this story.  Her positive personality is infectious and she does so much for the characters of this book.  She helps Daly and Laine become a family again, she teaches Daly about love and understanding.  Although her own life is not what she would necessarily have wanted, she is embracing it and doing the best she can.  I loved her!

The story line brings you to India and it is unbelievable and interesting.  I loved Jaya, the sister with attitude.  She lives a modern life and wants to free herself from the chains of her family traditions.  This part of the story was hard for me.  I wanted Daly and Kashi to be okay.  Kashi infuriated me.  He needed to stand up to his parents and tell them he loved Daly.  I wanted to just scream!!!!  His family was not always the most supportive and they hurt Daly.  It made me want to cry for her.

“She cannot be good enough for you!” — spoken by Kashi’s mom

Final Thoughts

Great book.  Again, I was not expecting all I got from this fabulous book.  I was not expected a whole whirlwind of emotions that came both beginning, middle and end.  I just barely touched the surface of what happened in this book because I didn’t want to ruin anything for you. But, there is life, death, and forgiveness.  There is love and indifference.  There is want, need, and giving.  I gave this book a strong 4 stars.  It kept me up for hours one night.  I couldn’t put it down.  When I finally looked over at the clock, it was 3am.  Was I upset?  NO!  I felt good to have read this fabulous book.

Author Info

Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Best known for her Young Adult novels, she is also developing a small, but devoted, following to her children’s book series and is beginning to dabble in other genres as well. Emlyn enjoys connecting with readers and is available via almost every social media site in existence.

Emlyn shared at the end of this story that she has family in the U.S. and India.  This story is based on the “love affair” she had with her husband.  She said that “by the time it was ready for market three years later, I was in the process of divorcing him”.  I love that she still put this book out despite how it must have been hard for her.  Her experience with the Indian culture and being part of an Indian family were valuable to this book.  The scenes in India were convincing as were the dialogues.  I don’t think it would have been that way without her personal experience.

Where to find Emyln Chand

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Google+  |  Goodreads

Buy Torn Together

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  B&N  |  Kobo  |  Smashwords

Click on the button above to see all the blogs participating on this tour.  In addition, everyone who leaves a comment on the CLP post will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Torn Together before March 15 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.

Disclosure: I received an ebook copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.