Review: How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center 

Release Date: May 15, 2018 

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 

Genre: Adult, Women's Fiction, Contemporary, Romance 

Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review 

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From the author of Happiness for Beginners comes an unforgettable love story about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances.

Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best: an utterly charming, hopeful, and romantic novel that will capture reader’s hearts with every page.

Review: 

Recently, I binge-read several of St. Martin's Press's Spring 2018 titles. Each brought something  worthwhile to the table. 

Sally Hepworth's The Family Next Door and Jessica Strawser's Not That I Could Tell provided suspenseful, intricate mysteries as well as questioned just how well one can know their neighbors. 

Corrine Sullivan's Indecent was raw and gritty look at how an all-consuming love can make or break you. 

And now for Katherine Center's How to Walk Away. It's by far the most emotionally charged out of the four. It's heartbreaking, poignant, and inspirational. It made me cry, laugh, and smile - sometimes all three in the matter of minutes- and while it broke my heart in more ways than I count, I can't suggest it highly enough. 

How to Walk Away begins on the day Margaret thinks will be her best one yet. Her long-term boyfriend has something special planned, and Margaret is convinced that something special involves a proposal. At first, she's completely correct - Chip proposes at last - but by the end, she's completely wrong. It's not her best day ever; instead, it's the day that changes her life forever...

When Margaret is first introduced, she's sweet, slightly paranoid, and a tad bit quirky, which is to say I completely adored her. In the first chapter, it was so incredibly easy to feel her excitement. From the synopsis I knew what would happen; however, I still had a tiny sliver of hope that it was wrong, that it would in fact be her best day ever. After the accident, Margaret's life takes a 180. She's scared. She's angry. She's hopeful but also pessimistic. She wants her life to stay the same, but she knows deep down that that's out of the question. I appreciated the fact that Katherine showcased Margaret's  highs as well as her lows. It made her story all the more authentic as well as realistic; however, what I loved the most was how much Margaret grew over the course of the book. It takes a while, but she becomes this strong, kick-a$$ woman, and gosh, I couldn't have been prouder.  

How to Walk Away's plot mostly involves Margaret's recovery, but it also fits in some swoony romance as well as a great sister relationship. Margaret's recovery was incredibly detailed. It was easy to see how much time and research Katherine put into getting everything right. I enjoyed reading about the therapy sessions (and not just because of the broody yet sexy Scottish PT) as well the small successes Margaret experienced. The romance was slow-burn and oh-so-yummy. I loved the angst as well as the sexiness that came with it. I will say, however, that Margaret's relationship with her sister was by far my favorite part of the book. It brought out the laughs, especially during the tough times, and it also was vital to Margaret's recovery...this book honestly wouldn't have been the same without it. 

In all, How to Walk Away is a pitch-perfect tale of loss, forgiveness, and moving on. And that epilogue? It SLAYED me! So many happy and sad tears! So mark your calendars and put aside a box of tissues, How to Walk Away walks into the world May 15th. Trust me you don't want to miss it! 

4.5 stars!!