Review | The Turning Point by Freya North

Posted June 6, 2016 by Asheley in review / 2 Comments

Review | The Turning Point by Freya NorthThe Turning Point by Freya North
Series: Standalone
Published by HarperCollins on June 4, 2016
Pages: 480
Source: the publisher
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four-stars

Over one short weekend, when Canadian musician Scott Emerson and British children's author Frankie Shaw meet by chance, a profound connection is made. Their homes are thousands of miles apart: Frankie and her children live by the coast of North Norfolk while Scott’s roots lie deep in the mountains of British Columbia. Against all advice, they decide to see where this might go.

Over oceans and time zones, they make sacrifices and take risks, discovering along the way new truths about love and family. For the first time in a long while, it seems life could be very good. But fate has a tragic twist in store, one that could destroy all that was hoped for.

Poignant, engrossing and moving, The Turning Point is a novel about the importance of seizing happiness and trusting that love will always find a way.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review:

I loved The Turning Point by Freya North. I’ve SO been in the mood for books just like this one lately.

It is in London, by chance, that Frankie and Scott run into each other. Both are out of town working. While talking one evening, they discover that they both have a common interest in the arts (Frankie is a children’s book author – Scott is a musician) and that they are also both single parents. They talk late into the night and each enjoy the company and ease of the other, both realizing that problem with any type of a growing relationship between them is that Frankie lives in Norfolk and Scott lives in Canada.

When they return to their respective homes, they continue to talk. There is communication via email and texting and FaceTime – and it really is wonderful, but it doesn’t replace the intimacy that face-to-face conversation holds. Soon the two are plotting to meet-in-the-middle again, and then again, and eventually they are taking trips to her home or his. As the relationship grows, so does the love – not only for one another but it extends to each of their children. As the two families begin to fall harder for each other, their families and friends and even communities see them as a unit. This is Frankie-and-Scott, and they are lovely.

Of course, there is always the question of what to do about the distance. Should he move to Norfolk? Should she move to his place in British Columbia? Should they keep traveling back and forth? What what what?

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One thing that I super-loved about this story is that Author Freya North included the distance-thing for far more than a page or two, which is what I’ve always experienced when I’ve read stories of couples or families that get together. That’s always well and good, and it makes for a great story, but what about that torturous time in-between? The time with all of the discussing and what-about-my-kids, what-about-my-job, etc etc etc? THAT makes up so much of this story, and it is great. Here we experience the frustration of not having physical contact and the time differences as well as the excitement of the ping of a new text from the person loved and missed.

There are other plotlines in this book – Scott’s daughter, Jenna, suffers from epilepsy and this is a fairly large part of why he doesn’t move to be with Frankie right away. Frankie has her reasons for not relocating right away as well.

There is a place in the book – a turning point, if you will – where you gasp and hold your breath for a moment or two or twenty, and maybe just maybe some tears may fall. This is where you realize that the theme of the book is that life is short and love is all there is and without it, are we really living at all? And that love changes everything, it changes perspective on all things.

This is my first of Freya North’s books and really, I loved it. I loved the slow build and getting to know these characters. I love the easy writing style and the quick turn of the page, the way it was easy to visualize the goings-on of these two different families that lived in two different parts of the world, but that were so very connected because there was love there. I even loved the turning point, the thing that happened that made every single moment up until that point and every moment after matter so much more. It made everything else that I read feel boldfaced and underlined. I wasn’t expecting this thing, but such is life. Such is life.

I recommend The Turning Point by Freya North to readers that enjoy contemporary fiction, particularly women’s fiction, and readers that enjoy great settings. Readers that enjoy great family dynamics and relationships might pick this one up too, as the relationships that Frankie and Scott had with their children were really fantastic. This is an author that needs to be on my radar and I’m excited that I’ve been introduced to her work through this book – I’ll be on the lookout for more of her work in the vein of this book.

Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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