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A review by kelly_e
In This Moment by Karma Brown
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Title: In This Moment
Author: Karma Brown
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: May 30, 2017
T H R E E • W O R D S
Tragic • Obsessive • Stirring
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Meg Pepper has a fulfilling career and a happy family. Most days she's able to keep it all together and glide through life. But then, in one unalterable moment, everything changes.
After school pickup one day, she stops her car to wave a teenage boy across the street...just as another car comes hurtling down the road and slams into him.
Meg can't help but blame herself for her role in this horrific disaster. Full of remorse, she throws herself into helping the boy's family as he rehabs from his injuries. But the more Meg tries to absolve herself, the more she alienates her own family--and the more she finds herself being drawn to the boy's father.
Soon Meg's picture-perfect life is unravelling before her eyes. As the painful secrets she's been burying bubble dangerously close to the surface, she will have to decide: Can she forgive herself, or will she risk losing everything she holds dear to her heart?
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am slowly making my way through Karma Brown's backlist, and next up was In This Moment. I didn't read the synopsis beforehand because I really like going into her books not knowing what to expect.
Steeped in grief and unresolved guilt, the narrative provides ample content for reflection and putting ourselves in Meg's shoes. The scenario was realistic enough, but Meg's past made for a very messy situation. Her character was incredibly frustrating at times and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't empathize with her.
As for the writing, there is a kind of mystery building as the reader slowly discovers the reason behind Meg's present reactions. Things did become somewhat repetitive as Meg's life unravels. There were also a few plot holes that puzzled me. For instance, at one point Meg loses her phone, yet a few pages later she checks her phone for the time, only to later go out and get a new phone... It definitely could have used a little polishing on that front.
In This Moment was less emotionally gutting than Come Away With Me and less atmospheric than What Wild Women Do, so it didn't land the way I had been hoping. It's still a good read, just doesn't measure up in the same ways. She remains a favourite author simply because all of her books are so different. I am looking forward to getting to the final two backlist titles I have yet to read, and know she has plans to release a holiday book next year.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• putting yourself in the characters shoes
• the theme of grief
⚠️ CW: car accident, injury/injury detail, blood, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, PTSD, alcohol, drunk driving, infidelity, death, death of parent, child death, grief, cancer, ableism
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Secrets can be like a poison."
Author: Karma Brown
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: May 30, 2017
T H R E E • W O R D S
Tragic • Obsessive • Stirring
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Meg Pepper has a fulfilling career and a happy family. Most days she's able to keep it all together and glide through life. But then, in one unalterable moment, everything changes.
After school pickup one day, she stops her car to wave a teenage boy across the street...just as another car comes hurtling down the road and slams into him.
Meg can't help but blame herself for her role in this horrific disaster. Full of remorse, she throws herself into helping the boy's family as he rehabs from his injuries. But the more Meg tries to absolve herself, the more she alienates her own family--and the more she finds herself being drawn to the boy's father.
Soon Meg's picture-perfect life is unravelling before her eyes. As the painful secrets she's been burying bubble dangerously close to the surface, she will have to decide: Can she forgive herself, or will she risk losing everything she holds dear to her heart?
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am slowly making my way through Karma Brown's backlist, and next up was In This Moment. I didn't read the synopsis beforehand because I really like going into her books not knowing what to expect.
Steeped in grief and unresolved guilt, the narrative provides ample content for reflection and putting ourselves in Meg's shoes. The scenario was realistic enough, but Meg's past made for a very messy situation. Her character was incredibly frustrating at times and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't empathize with her.
As for the writing, there is a kind of mystery building as the reader slowly discovers the reason behind Meg's present reactions. Things did become somewhat repetitive as Meg's life unravels. There were also a few plot holes that puzzled me. For instance, at one point Meg loses her phone, yet a few pages later she checks her phone for the time, only to later go out and get a new phone... It definitely could have used a little polishing on that front.
In This Moment was less emotionally gutting than Come Away With Me and less atmospheric than What Wild Women Do, so it didn't land the way I had been hoping. It's still a good read, just doesn't measure up in the same ways. She remains a favourite author simply because all of her books are so different. I am looking forward to getting to the final two backlist titles I have yet to read, and know she has plans to release a holiday book next year.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• putting yourself in the characters shoes
• the theme of grief
⚠️ CW: car accident, injury/injury detail, blood, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, PTSD, alcohol, drunk driving, infidelity, death, death of parent, child death, grief, cancer, ableism
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Secrets can be like a poison."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Blood
Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Ableism, Cancer, Death of parent, and Child death
PTSD, drunk driving