Clouds That Were by Addison Footit

Clouds That Were by Addison Footit

Some stories touch your heart for a second but just a quickly their glancing visit is forgotten, Clouds That Were is not that novel – this book will plant a seed in your soul and then sit back and watch it takes root, it will envelope you, so completely that it will leave you with an overwhelming need and yes I do mean need, to hug your children just that little bit longer, to make sure that they know that your life would be totally worthless without them.  

I had no information about this book before I opened the first page but from the dedication alone, I knew that what lay before me was not your average tale.

The story never sought sympathy, it sought understanding.

Tenley Alexander is a heroine in every definition of the word, the manner in which she lived her life, the dignity with which he held herself and the superhuman determination she exuded in the way she dealt with can only be described as emotional oppression, beggared belief – sometimes the courage we find at our weakest, determines the strength we have to fight for what we deserve.

The story of her life – no actually I should say her existence tore my heart to pieces. Her tormentor‘s actions were beyond contempt and I felt every ounce of restraint towards the character disappear the further the story unfolded. I was seething!

Tenley found her saving grace – well to be honest he found her by actually seeing what she tried so hard to hide from the world – the emptiness that plagued her.

Chase, is the epitome of the word hero – he saw her pain and determined that he would do whatever it took to take that pain away. Having lived through a similar situation once he didn’t have it in him to idly sit by and do nothing – the fact that he had developed feelings for Tenley only intensified his determination.

The circumstances surrounding the quick but intense beginning to their relationship, had garnered comment from some readers that it is a little unrealistic but I feel that within the context of this novel, the intensity of the situation aided and abetted the speed with which they felt it necessary to declare their feelings. This girl had never loved anyone and moreover had never felt what it was like to be loved and this boy had already lost the woman he loved more than anyone else – why would they wait, when what they could see was a chance to complete each other.

Love knows no time constraints, it has no feeling or respect for age or circumstance – it knows what it wants and makes damn sure that it does everything in its power to get it – Chase had an opportunity to add some colour to Tenley’s life and he took it – enriching his life in the process – that step should, even in fiction be commended.

I hate to dwell on the negative of the story but I think that by giving us a figure we could truly despise, it allowed us to embrace the real story behind the book – the ethos that when we open our hearts and our eyes we can find love in the most unexpected places.

I loved the fact that we got the chapters in sequence that we heard from both Tenley and Chase as their situations unfolded. I liked the fact that we got both viewpoints of the same event on occasion and that we could hear their inner uncertainties.

The pain and distress that they were able to convey across the pages was simply beautiful and the emotion that was carried in the notes that they wrote to each other were words that were difficult to read – I can only imagine what they must have been like to write.

This book will make you cry – and honestly it deserves your tears. Tenley and Chase deserve your tears.

I was left staggered and emotional drained right up until the last page but in the scheme of things that was a price worth paying to be able to say that I had not only read and loved this book but I had learnt from it also.

Rating: It would be wrong of me to try and put a number on it because this book is so much more than a number. It is exceptional