Is there any turning back, any letting go when love beckons one to go beyond one’s self? Letting Go: A Novel by Maria Thompson Corley is an exciting love story that is brilliantly offered to fans of women’s fiction. They say that the opposite of love isn’t hate but fear, and Letting Go is a perfect example of this dictum, a story that will resonate in so many hearts. The meeting between Langston and Cecile might have been an accidental one, but what begins as a tiny spark gains staggering proportions and the two find themselves irresistibly drawn towards each other, in spite of the distance. But for their love to bring them where they want to be, they will have to battle huge challenges.

Maria Thompson Corley is an author of the heart and knows just how well to make the reader’s heart beat faster. The language is charged with powerful and evocative images and these images will surely set off dormant yet strong emotions in readers as they read on. Told in the first and third person narratives, this story will grip the reader from the very beginning. The writing is focused and reflective of the mood of the characters. Although the plot isn’t complex, it has elements that make readers long to know what will come up next and where the story will end. The characters are well conceived, and readers will love to watch them grow, almost so naturally, discovering themselves and redefining their purpose. Letting Go: A Novel is a great success on many counts, one I’d gladly recommend for a fun romance. A beautiful love story with powerful characters.

Letting Go: A Novel by Maria Thompson Corley is a beautiful story that expertly shows how falling in love can rock one’s world. It is also a story about what it takes to create the love one deserves. It might have been thought impossible for Cecile and Langston to be in love and to sustain the relationship for a long time because of the distance separating them, each of them committed to living their dreams. When they fall strongly in love with each other, they’ll have to define what they can take with them or leave behind for this love to bloom, but what lies ahead is even more challenging than they could ever have imagined. The stage is set for one of the intense dramas and love battles in romance.

Cecile is a character I immediately connected with; yes, because she has an irresistible, very natural voice. The opening of the book drew me in instantly and I loved that the first person narrative voice was creatively used to examine the character’s state of mind and internal conflict. The characters are very real and convincing, and the author did a brilliant job to integrate aspects of social media into the story. The issues raised are very current, including the complexities of long-distance relationships, the problem of race, and the challenges that come with letting go of one’s comfort zone in pursuit of what one believes in. Fans of Letting Go: A Novel by Maria Thompson Corley will love the writing style, get immersed in the conflict, and enjoy the different narrative styles, but above all, they will love this inspiring story.