The Edible Bookshelf: Review: Twenty-Five

When Abigail Bronson takes a serious look at her life on her Twenty-fifth birthday, to say shes fallen a little short of her dreams might be an understatement. A list of "things to do before I turn 25" points out every area of her life that she's lacking. To make her birthday even worse, a rainy freeway drive leads to a car accident. Abigail doesn't realize at the moment, but the accident will change almost everything about her life.

This is one of those books that readers will start and wont be able to put down. Abigail draws readers in from the first page. So many readers will be able to relate to her feeling of being adrift, of not living up to her own expectations, never mind everyone else's. She struggles with confidence in herself and her abilities and worries that she will never measure up.

The chance car accident that brings Ben into her life has the kind of life changing affect a person can never imagine. Ben is a sweetheart. Readers will absolutely fall in love with him right along with Abigail. That hardly means he's perfect, though. Ben does his best to show Abigail what a beautiful and special person she is, but Abigail makes it plenty hard on him.

The romance that develops between these two is a serious emotional roller coaster. There were times I wanted to grab them by the shoulders and shake them until they stopped being foolish, but other times when I just couldn't get enough of them. During their developing relationship, both Ben and Abigail face some serious personal problems and huge choices. Neither one handles everything perfectly and the ups and down it causes in their relationship will have readers captivated.

This is one of the most realistic romances I have read. The characters are flawed make some bad decisions at times. They love each other, but still manage to hurt each other as well. Their love only makes those painful moments all the more agonizing. Even having been privileged enough to have read this novel during it's initial stages and knowing what was coming, I still cried at certain parts in the book. Hamm does a phenomenal job of capturing readers' heartstrings and putting them through the ringer. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait for Hamm's next book.

Meet the Author

Rachel was born in Buffalo, NY but grew up in Burlington, NC. Raised by northern parents in the south, she likes to say she got the best of both worlds. Her writing is inspired by classic authors like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, as well as contemporary ones like JK Rowling and Claire LaZebnik. She loves to read and has been known to spend an entire weekend engrossed in the adventures of her favorite characters.