The Message [Hardcover]

I don't think this book would have appealed, had it not been recommended. Once I started reading I was hooked, couldn't put it down, but didn't want to finish it either. The way in which Jen's life unravels was a complete surprise. The previous review has covered the story so well, without giving too much away. Thoroughly recommend.

Jennifer Boyde has no idea that her perfect life is about to unravel, so when she hears a voice message from her husband Robert to someone named Jon, Jen is perplexed. All soon becomes horribly clear to Jen and she can't believe her orderly life has unravelled in such a way. Jen's world is shaken to the core and becomes even more confusing when a face from the past reappears. Jen met Kit Avery on an airbase in Germany and although she thought he was out of her league, they ended up dating for an entire summer. Jen thought Kit would be her one and only so when a tragic accident sends Kit away, Jen doesn't think she'll ever see him again. Years later, Kit and Jen meet again and are both forced to confront what happened that summer at the airbase, as well as their feelings for each other. Is it possible for your first love to really be your only love?

The Message is Julie Highmore's eighth book but is described on the front cover, by the Bookseller, as her "breakout book". Since I haven't read Julie's other seven books I can't really say if this is better than her others however I've read a few synopses for her earlier books and The Message does sound as if it's a bit of a departure from her earlier books and thus, probably is her breakout book of sorts. I really enjoyed reading The Message and I can see why all of the magazines and publishing sites are raving about the book.

The book spends a lot of time in 1969 at the airbase in Germany and that particular summer in which Kit and Jen fall in love. There was an air of mystery surrounding the whole summer in Germany and I couldn't wait for the reveal to find out what had happened to cause Kit and Jen to never see each other again. Everything we learn about living on an airbase in the 1960's seemed genuine and I really felt as if I was living in that airbase alongside Kit and Jen. It was easy to see how easily Jen fell in love with Kit and it definitely came across to me that Jen loved Kit more than Kit loved Jen. Jen and Kit's relationship always seemed doomed from the start, though, and Kit's mother, Mrs Avery, seemed determined to break them up for reasons I still fail to truly understand. My whole enjoyment of the book was going back to 1969 to carry on learning all about that fateful summer.

Julie Highmore's writing is very clever as while I found the book to move at quite a slow-pace I did actually find it a very absorbing read and I found myself dying to know what had happened. That was obviously down to how good Julie is at crafting a story.