The Love That Split the World
Author: Emily Henry
Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.Natalie’s last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start... until she starts seeing the “wrong things.” They’re just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn’t right.
That’s when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls “Grandmother,” who tells her: “You have three months to save him.” The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.
Emily Henry’s stunning debut novel is Friday Night Lights meets The Time Traveler’s Wife, and perfectly captures those bittersweet months after high school, when we dream not only of the future, but of all the roads and paths we’ve left untaken.
This book had lots of potential. It could have been amazing. But there were a lot of elements that I liked that were lacking. And, overall, I had too many questions to feel satisfied.
Likes:
- The paranormal aspects were fantastic. But I wanted more. I wanted to know more about the science of the parallel world. Why is everything revolving around Beau and Natalie? There are hints of other people this happens to. Where are they? Who are they? What do they have in common with Natalie and Beau? I didn't feel satisfied about the information I was given. I wanted more.
- Beau was a complex character. But he didn't get enough screen time. I felt that if the book was in his PoV, things would be much more interesting. After all, he had a complex home life. Problems were hinted at in Natalie's home, but they didn't have a lot of meat. He had reasons for his existence, reasons for his personality. But nothing is continued. He's a teenage piano-playing, footballing alcoholic. He's kind and gentle even though his family life is rough. He's good at football but really slacks off in every other way. I wanted to know why he was like that. I felt like he was just Natalie's Beau (haha, I get the joke) and not his own person.
Dislikes:
- The romance was meh. I know this book was about romance. I knew that walking in. But still. I really didn't like the instalove. These two barely knew each other before the first kiss. The story didn't expand on their romance. It was a lot of momentous firsts that aren't really compounded on. I wanted to know why Beau loved Natalie and why Natalie loved Beau. Even if you just gave me the cheesy 'I love your hair. I love your eyes. I love you smile' stuff. I'd actually be much happier if that had been written in. They met maybe three times before the lip locking. Why was Natalie drawn to him? What did she find interesting? His kindness? His warmth? Explain, girl, explain!
- The plot was unsatisfying. If you look at it, not a lot happened. The two met and fell in love. Not a lot happened. Not things that were written outright at least. The story was about their romance, but that wasn't interesting either. Nothing was given meat. The story had so much potential, but it didn't go beyond bare bones.
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