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THE LAST POST by Renée Carlino

THE LAST POST

by Renée Carlino

Pub Date: Aug. 20th, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-8964-7
Publisher: Atria

A young woman struggles to let new love bloom after the sudden loss of her husband.

After witnessing her husband's death, Laya falls into depression. In an effort to keep Cameron’s presence alive, she makes frequent posts to his Facebook page, talking to him as if he were just away on a trip. This, of course, alarms her family and friends, who struggle to pull her back into reality. When Micah meets Laya at his office—her father owns his architecture firm—he is smitten by her sad beauty. Although he doesn’t think of it as such, he begins stalking her via her Facebook posts and uses what he discovers to get close to her. Laya is startled by the coincidences that fall into her life but is too dazed to realize Micah is planning them. As usual, Carlino (Blind Kiss, 2018, etc.) puts a unique spin on a common theme of finding love again after loss. But also typical for Carlino, her characters—Laya’s a surgeon and Micah’s an architect—seem younger than their years, responding to situations in ways that show a lack of insight for people with their career success. Questions about the characters' naiveté may bring readers out of the story, as will a character's quick, rather miraculous healing after a brutal accident. Characters are a bit exaggerated, especially Micah’s twin sister, Melissa, who bursts with attitude, but they are likable, they grow, lessons are learned, forgiveness is offered and received, and life moves on. There is wisdom to be found in this deceptively simple tale of inner wounds and how they impact the choices people make.

Social media paves the way for healing in this unique tale of life after loss.