This story was destined to be an emotional roller coaster. The synopsis drew me in. I was all set to possibly need tissues.

The story starts out wonderfully. It pulled me in. I was intrigued. Anna and Dante's friendship was borderline crossing over from friends. It just sat there on the edge. Then she meets Jude. She is drawn to him. He intrigues her. There friendship and relationship slowly buds.

Fast-forward five years later... This is where the story fell apart for me. I just don't get the characters. None of them. The decisions they make. Their actions. They all just seemed to fall apart. I couldn't connect with them anymore. They lost their luster. I couldn't respect how they chose to let things play out.

I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand I liked it but didn't love it. On the other hand I didn't like it but I definitely did not hate it. I am lingering in the middle with this one. I have so many conflicting thoughts about this book. ( )

In This Life starts off with Anna Dillon and her best friend, Dante, working a medical mission in Thailand. There she meets Jude, a man of mystery, and immediately falls head over heels for him. When an emergency calls her home, Jude and Anna make promises to see each again. Five years later and Anna hasn't heard a peep from Jude. She's moved on with her life and with Dante. Then one fateful day, Jude and Anna's paths cross once again, throwing both their worlds into turmoil.

Christine Brae is a new author to me, though she's written many books. After reading the summary I was ecstatic to give this book a go. The author's writing is good and the story line was intriguing. The one thing I did have a problem with was connecting with Anna. Her reactions seemed over the top at times. She was unapologetic about her decisions and while that can be empowering, it made her seem cruel and uncaring about who she hurt.

For the most part I did enjoy reading this book. While the story did hold some problems for me, I would like to read some of Brae's other books because I did like her writing style. I'm glad I gave this book a chance even though I had mixed feelings about it.
Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2017/03/review-in-this-life-by-christine-brae.h... ( )

OMG. Although, the word better suited for this book is probably...magnificent!

As the story progressed, I felt the strong connection involving Anna, Jude, and Dante. The love that Anna shares for both men was genuine. Yet, the relationships could not have been more different. It was like Anna was always meant to be with Jude. Even though they had only shared a short time together Thailand, the author really does a great job of displaying that Anna and Jude were like seahorses. Once, a seahorse find's its mate, they mate for life. On the other hand, Anna and Dante's relationship was formed by a long standing friendship.

I finished this book in half a day. My heart and emotions were thrown on a roller coaster as I took this journey with Anna, Dante, and Jude. There was no favorite for me as I loved them all. In fact, I actually was jealous that Anna found love not once but twice. This story did end on a high note. Nothing worse than reading a book only to have a weak ending. A recommended read! I am going to be checking out more books by this author. ( )