Autumn's Rise

by R G Corr

There are debut novels and then there is a statement of intent and with this RG Corr’s first foray, it is very clear that this author is marking her territory because there is no going back from this, this author was born to write of that I have no doubt.

There was no emotion left untouched by the time I have finished the book and it wasn’t just a read it was an experience.

So what brought all this about, well from the mind of an exceptional individual came the strength that was Autumn, she had been through more in her short life than many would experience in twenty but she had weathered it all and was still standing tall and every time I thought she had turned a corner, I soon learnt that the author wasn’t quite finished illuminating her plight. I honestly thought that there couldn’t have been anything left for her to endure but clearly I was mistaken.

But this woman’s spirit knows no limits, or at least it appears not anyway because not matter how much is heaped upon her she keeps her head held high, no it is not easy but she seems to have a demeanour that refuses to be beaten.

She was more upbeat and alive through it all than I think I would have ever been able to manage and for that alone I think she truly won her place in my heart. She was a fighter and I had my fingers crossed that her fight was about to come to an end.

So day to day life is what it is for Autumn, she isn’t about to set the world alight so to speak but when she meets Zed, her mundane, her normality is blown out of the water. This guy is everything that she doesn’t actually want but so desperately needs, he is a force of nature that she is ill equipped to handle but can she find her feet and welcome this handsome man into her life?

Zed, adds a whole new dynamic to not only the story but to Autumn life, he sizzles off the page and as much as I was dubious about whether he was going to be a positive in Autumns life, I soon learnt that when it comes to wants and needs, I had no need to worry, R G Corr had it well and truly covered.

Zed had issues of his own to overcome but his connection with Autumn was fantastic, the verbal sparring was both light-hearted and enchanting. I actually liked the way the author was able to infuse an element of humour through much of the story and by introducing a series of secondary characters that provided a balance to the seriousness that had previously shrouded the main characters.

There were a number of secrets layered deep within the characters that the author took her time to reveal and while the good old “bad boy meets good girl” scenario may have initially sprung to mind, it couldn’t actually have been further from the truth. This was about meeting the person that is on the earth to complete your story, of knowing that there are times when you have no say in what life holds in store for you and learning to accept that where you are and where you need to be may not always been in your own hands to decide.

This was an honest book, it laid its story out for all to see and the author seems to have stayed completely true to the characters, they drove this story and while it would have been easy to take them in a completely different path, I admire the fact that the author listened to their voices and to the fact that they refused to be contained.

An all too often complement is that a book was beautifully written and at times it can be stated as almost an off the cuff platitude but with this, it I say it with absolute reverence…this book was beautifully written.

I finished the book, refreshed, delighted that I now have a new exciting author to add to my reading list and one that I can recommend with absolute abandon.

I also finished the book very much looking forward to what might just come next…. surely there has to be more, please!!!