Review: A Heart Bent Out of Shape by Emylia Hall

Posted January 26, 2015 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments

A Heart Bent Out of Shape by Emylia Hall

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

Review: A Heart Bent Out of Shape by Emylia HallA Heart Bent Out of Shape by Emylia Hall
Published by Headline on March 13, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
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From the author of The Book of Summers, picked for Richard & Judy's 2012 summer book club, comes the story of a first love, a terrible tragedy, a snow-filled paradise; a year that will never be forgotten.
For Hadley Dunn, life so far has been uneventful - no great loves, no searing losses. But that's before she decides to spend a year studying in the glittering Swiss city of Lausanne, a place that feels alive with promise. Here Hadley meets Kristina, a beautiful but elusive Danish girl, and the two quickly form the strongest of bonds. Yet one November night, as the first snows of winter arrive, tragedy strikes.
Hadley, left reeling and guilt-stricken, beings to lean on the only other person to whom she feels close, her American Literature professor Joel Wilson. But as the pair try to uncover the truth of what happened that night, their tentative friendship heads into forbidden territory. And before long a line is irrevocably crossed, everything changes, and two already complicated lives take an even more dangerous course...

A Heart Bent Out of Shape captures the excitement of living abroad, the challenge of doing something or going somewhere new.  There is a sense of promise, and the tantalising taste of a new experience.

Lausanne is beautifully written about, the lake the town and the surrounding area sounds so divine, that I felt a pull towards exploring Lausanne.

Lausanne at the beginning of the book sounds amazing, there is so much promise, so much potential and then one snowy evening there is a tragedy. Which I have to admit I was not expecting, yes in the blurb it talks about a tragedy but Hall had managed to pull me so much into the story that I forgot. I was quite cheerfully enjoying how much Hadley had progressed in the story. I was cheering her on from the sidelines.

I loved  this book, and I was swept away with the story, the characters (especially Hugh, Kristina and Hadley) and how Hadley portrayed Lausanne. The reason why this review is not a five-star is for such a small reason, but I feel that Hadley by the end had suffered too much tragedy, I felt for her as her year abroad was nothing like she could have possibly dreamed of.

A Heart Bent Out of Shape is about finding meaning in life after a tragedy, about first love and new experiences, about grief and self-discovery and how, sometimes, the ending of one life is the very beginning of another.

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