Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️
“We’re stuck, aren’t we? Trapped somewhere between hello and goodbye.”
I want to say something profound about Emma Scott’s Between Hello & Goodbye. I want to find all the words to tell people about the gravity of emotion in this story about instant attraction, but words seem inadequate to elaborate on the beauty of this story. Set in Hawaii and Seattle, Scott has created a story about choices and control and life.
Faith is a woman without direction. She is wildly successful at her job in advertising, but her life is an aimless journey of one-night stands and meaningless evenings out with friends. When she shows up late for an important meeting with a client, she’s forced to take a leave of absence to figure out her priorities. She goes to Hawaii to work on herself, away from men, work, and the friends who bring her down. While there, she has an accident and must be rescued. It is then that she meets Asher, one of the firefighters who rescues her. Asher and Faith are drawn to each other. While Asher would like to stay away from her, he can’t. Over the course of her time in Hawaii, they grow closer, but their time is troubled by her eventual departure. Asher has no intention of leaving Kauai to follow Faith, but he can’t let her go. Therein lies their initial issues. Is it possible for Asher and Faith to find their happy ending? If Asher isn’t able to let go of his control to protect his loved ones from pain, and if one of them isn’t willing to make choices to move and be together, it might not be possible. When tragedy strikes, though, their outlook on life changes. Will they find their happily ever after?
Between Hello & Goodbye is the type of romance that sneaks up on you. I had read the blurb for this book, so I was anticipating some angst. Every turn of the page was met with anticipation for the angst of Scott’s story. As such, I crawled through Asher and Faith’s story, ready for the happy ending because these two characters run the gamut of emotions. Both of them are stubborn and strong-willed, characterized as such to build the tension of their coupling. There is an emotional investment easily made in Asher and Faith’s journey.
Emma Scott’s Between Hello & Goodbye is a beautiful reminder about the precariousness of life and the need to live it fully. Be sure to have a box of tissues with you when you read it. You won’t regret it.
“Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, to know the unknowable.”
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 