Book Review: Save Me

By Melissa Amster

I have to admit that the topic of infidelity in chick lit and women's fiction has become quite popular. However, coming up with a new twist on the concept takes a special writing talent and Kristyn Kusek Lewis demonstrates this with her sophomore novel, Save Me.

Daphne Mitchell has always believed in cause and effect, right and wrong, good and bad. The good: her dream job as a doctor; Owen, her childhood sweetheart and now husband; the beautiful farmhouse they're restoring together. In fact, most of her life has been good--until the day Owen comes home early from work to tell her he's fallen head over heels for someone else.

Unable to hate him, but also equally incapable of moving forward, Daphne's life hangs in limbo until the day Owen's new girlfriend sustains near-fatal injuries in a car accident. As Daphne becomes a pillar of support for the devastated Owen, and realizes that reconciliation may lie within her grasp, she has to find out whether forgiveness is possible and decide which path is the right one for her. (Synopsis courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.)

I sometimes shy away from novels about infidelity because they seem to follow a certain pattern after a while. Since I liked Kristyn's debut novel, How Lucky You Are, I decided to give this one a fair chance. I was pleasantly surprised at the direction in which she took the novel, as well as the twist she added, causing not only her characters to think and react on different levels, but also causing readers to question each decision Daphne made. "Would I have made similar decisions in her shoes? Am I allowed to judge Daphne, Owen, and their marriage the way her family and friends do?" The characters in Save Me are well developed and seem to jump off the pages. The dialogue is genuine and feels realistic. While there were times when I felt like parts of the story were hitting a stalling point, Kristyn still found a way to move things along. I think it was more the circular effect of Daphne and Owen's relationship that could get frustrating sometimes. Like she was really mad at him one moment and then wanted him back shortly after, and then it would go back into the same pattern a few times.

Overall, Save Me is well-written and great for book clubs to discuss, as there are a lot of ups and downs, as well as gray areas. In terms of casting for the movie version in my mind, I chose Rosamund Pike for Daphne and Orlando Bloom for Owen.

Thanks to BookSparks for the book in exchange for an honest review. This is part of their 2014 Fall Reading Challenge. (#FRC2014)