Never Let You Go

Where do I start with this story? There was so much of it to love and I did love this story. It was an emotionally wrenching one. I couldn’t have held back tears if I tried. Never has Katy written with such emotion. I was fully invested in these two characters from the start. I couldn’t help but be swept away in their story. I shed a lot of tears while reading this story. But felt myself smile and sigh with relief by the end. This is a modern day Hansel and Gretel, VERY modern. It follows the lives of Holden and Griselda, two thirteen year olds who were abducted and terrorized by a madman. Desperate to get out of the situation, they plan an escape to cross the Shenandoah. Sadly only one gets away while the other is left behind.
They spend ten years apart not quite dead but not alive either. Each day is spent missing each other. Until one fateful night when Gris’s new boyfriend convinces her to go to an underground fight. Their reunion is full of discoveries. It is sweet with them discovering their feelings for each other but bitter when they discover their happiness lies with them staying together until other circumstances pull them apart. Their relationship is chalk full of these type of situations leaving you to wonder when they get their happily ever after. They found love in a hopeless situation, lost it without hope and found it again in redemption through hard work and a commitment to never let each other go that helps them succeed.

I love when the unexpected happens. And Author Katy Regnery has done just this with Never Let You Go. I had read the three previous modern fairytales (go read them) so I had the expectation of HEA with maybe a few hills and valley to traverse. What I didn't expect was this soul-wrenching, heart-breaking story of two very broken but brave souls finding their HEA. Holden and Gris have a childhood that happy, ordinary individuals only read about in the media; never have to live it.

"I'm b-broken, " he finally whispered. "But I think I could be whole again."

This is story of overcoming obstacles to find the life you deserve. The reader learns about Gris and Holden from childhood to young adult through flashbacks in alternating POV. They are both former member of the foster system and forced to become closer through a shared tragic experience as kids. Unerringly forced apart, you learn about that trials to get them to where they meet up as adults. It's not easy, but life never is. Ms Regnery's characters show you what it is like to face your past, learn to trust what you have, and brave moving forward to something new, something possibly very good. I believe my past experiences with working in foster system helped me develop an instant connection to the characters where I wanted their HEA so badly.

So if you've read Katy Regnery before, do not expect a "Katy Regnery" story. Expect something heart-breaking, beautiful, soul-crushing and lovely. If you've not read this author before and you love a story with depth, a bit dark and gritty, break you into pieces but not kill you in over angst, then pick up this novel along with a box of Kleenex to enjoy a beautiful ride.

5+ out 5 stars

This book has been on my book blogs and FB newsfeed. Modern day fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. The story of Griselda and Holden is one that you will want to read. You get the story of how they got put into the foster care system and how they met and how they got abducted. This is told through flashbacks as they were older but also from them when they were younger. You also get how they not only survived but eventually thrived. The story is not like any other story I have read. Holden and Griselda loved each other when they were younger. Loved each other when they were parted from each other. This was a different kind of love. I don't know how to explain it correctly except by saying you need to read this book. This is the first time reading anything from this author and it won't be the last. To quote Holden, "IMYLCILYF" will stay with me. That is how I feel about this story and how I feel about my husband.