The Story of Us    by Dani Atkins Order:  USA  Can Ballantine, 2015 (2015) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson Emma is about to marry Richard, her childhood sweetheart, in Hallingford, England. They have been together forever, aside from the years when Emma left home and spread her wings to work in London and Washington. Though she loved her marketing career, Emma gave it up immediately when her parents needed her, after the onset of her mum's dementia. The Story of Us opens on Emma's bachelorette party. As she and her two closest friends, Caroline and Amy, drive home, tragedy strikes. Emma survives, thanks to the intervention of a visiting American, Jack (an author writing a novel set in England), who pulls her from the mangled car before it goes up in flames. As you might imagine, the wedding is postponed. Emma begins to have second thoughts about it. She feels strongly attracted to Jack, and has also learned a very distressing secret about Amy. On the other hand, her parents are very fond of Richard, who is always there to give a helping hand to the family, Emma cares deeply for him, and they have a long history together. At first, the novel seemed a little predictable, but the ending pulled the loose threads together in a lovely and surprising fashion that made it all worthwhile. Don't miss the immensely satisfying The Story of Us. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews