In the Distance There Is Light

I was a bit skeptical of this book but Harper Bliss delivered per usual! Age gap never bothers me, but the mom or stepmom/daughter-in-law dynamic had me feeling a bit apprehensive. But Harper wrote this love story so thoughtfully, she changed my mind on the topic. I found myself rooting for Delores and Sophie because, at the end of the day, love is just love. Who am I to judge two human beings who find themselves deeply in love with one another? Despite being fairly short, this book is so thoughtful and emotional. I felt like I was right there going through the grief with the MCs. The romance was well-developed, starting off innocently, each MC seeking platonic comfort from the other, and slowly, but surely, desiring more over time. I was glad that Sophie allowed herself some time away from Delores to get herself back together, before returning to date her properly once she was more healed. But I would have liked to see Sophie take some more time away. Maybe some months rather than some weeks before she returned to Delores. It could have made for a more emotional reunion and would have assuaged my lingering concerns that Dolores and Sophie are more trauma bonded than in love. I’m very excited to read the sequel to this and I may go back to Our Secret Summer since I believe Sophie and Delores are referenced there.

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I mean, I love anything by Harper Bliss generally, so I had no doubt that it would be well written and with a good storyline. But I do not usually enjoy age gap romances much where the gap is this wide (26 years, with one of the MCs being my age!) so I had some reservations going in - especially given the nature of the relationship between the MCs. I'm not sure what I expected in terms of the story development but I really liked both characters from the start. They were both well written and I found myself rooting for them. I wasn't sure whether I expected or wanted them to end up together, or whether I would have been just as happy if their relationship was more something necessary to help them through the hardest period in their lives and afterwards they would part ways romantically (or something like that). I think whatever the outcome, the way it was written, I would have been okay with it. Emotionally, it did not pull at the heart strings as much as I would have thought (there were no tears). But I still felt what the characters were feeling and where they were coming from, even if the story was from Sophie's point of view only. Overall, this book was everything I was looking for and more. I would definitely recommend it.