Title: Unquiet (Resilient Love #3)
Author: Melanie Hansen
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 22nd 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 296 pages
Reviewed by: Lili
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Blurb:
Loren Smith has been in love with Eliot Devlin almost his entire life. During their turbulent childhood and teen years, Loren didn’t always understand Eliot, and sometimes he could be a challenge, but Eliot was the only one to ever truly ease Loren’s deep loneliness and accept him. When Eliot’s increasingly erratic and self-destructive behavior culminates in a suicide attempt at seventeen, Loren is devastated.
Upon meeting again by chance nine years later, Loren is enjoying a successful career as a police officer while Eliot’s life has been a constant struggle for stability. In and out of mental hospitals, with a rap sheet a mile long, he continues to be buffeted by the twin storms of mania and depression. Loren’s love and protectiveness for Eliot are deeply ingrained in him, however, and their feelings for each other are quickly rekindled.
Loren has issues of his own he’s dealing with, and trying to understand and cope with Eliot’s bipolar disorder isn’t easy. They believe they’re meant to be, and Eliot brings a fulfillment to Loren’s life that no one else will ever match. But as they both come to realize, love by itself can’t cure all.
I am emotionally exhausted after reading this book. After reading the past two books in the series: Everything Changes and Signs of Life– I knew this book would be angsty, but I was not prepared for the level of turmoil this book brought. This book is brutally honest and heartbreaking and to be frank, I almost DNF’ed it.
Eliot and Loren have been best friends since childhood.They did everything together, but Loren always knew that Eliot was different. Eliot is bipolar; his moods go from hyper to despondent. He was also prescribed the wrong medications and he self-medicates with drugs and alcohol.
Loren has always been loyal to Eliot. He was there through everything, but his heart was shattered one afternoon. Fast forward nine years later and Loren sees Eliot in a compromising situation. His heart breaks all over again when he realizes the boy he loves is prostituting himself. He can’t fight the feelings he still has and makes a decision to be with him. He is committed to Eliot and building a life with him.
Melanie Hansen gave us a raw depiction of what life is like for someone with bipolar disorder and how it affects their loved ones. On the one hand, you feel for Loren, but your heart is also breaking for Eliot because it’s not his fault. Eliot tries so hard, but his brain fights against him.
These two have to fight for their happy ending and even then you know that it will never be easy. After I had finished I was left with a heavy heart and found the ending bittersweet. Don’t get me wrong they’re left in a good place, but the author left us a realistic portrayal of what life will always be like for them. I can’t commend the author enough for doing so. It would have diminished the honesty and strength of their love had she ended with everything working out perfectly. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, I always appreciate an honest portrayal. A big thank you to the author.
This book gets 5 Raw and Real Stars.
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I felt the same way about the ending. It was also a 5 star read for me, but god, I was practically crying the entire book. It all felt very real to me. I had always felt moody and depressed growing up. But I didn’t get treatment, aside from counseling and therapy on and off, until I was in my early-thirties. I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder in 2005, and was in and out of psych hospitals until 2007, when I suffered a mixed manic episode and was then diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder. With that many hospitalizations and since I’m unable to work full-time, I’ve been on disability since 2009. This book shows what a severe mental illness feels like on the inside, where no one can see it, how very real it is and how much it hurts. It’s sad at the end because (the way I see it and have seen it) Eliot will have ups and downs for the rest of his life, and will never fully recover and be able to function at a high level. But the happy part is he has Loren, who is so damn strong and will be there for him always through it all. It is really, really hard to love someone who is severely mentally ill, so it’s ideal if the other partner is stable and high functioning. I haven’t written a review of this title, because this one was hard for me. But I can say without a doubt Melanie did a truly amazing job bringing her novel to life.
ReplySUCH a great review!!
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