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I'll Be Your Blue Sky

Review

I'll Be Your Blue Sky

Occasionally, there are times in your life that seem far too good to be true. And, unfortunately, they are. When the onion gets peeled, there could be rot underneath --- and that’s exactly what happens to Clare Hobbes. In I’LL BE YOUR BLUE SKY, Marisa de los Santos gives us a heroine whose greatest nightmare embarks her on a journey that is far greater than she ever could have imagined.

A strange woman has a heartfelt conversation with Clare the morning of her supposed wedding, a wedding that never happens. The lady, Edith, leaves her a home --- a grand old house on the Delaware Shore. (I don’t want to give away how this happens!) She convinces Clare to follow her heart and not get married. But the things that await her at Blue Sky House are mysterious and moving, and create a story within the story that highlights the shocking things that make up a life well lived.

"de los Santos fashions a novel that will speak to all readers and make for some very interesting conversations in book clubs willing to look deeply into this beautiful story."

It is an unexpected story, each detail delving further and further into a past that somehow exhibits so many parallels to Clare’s herself. I’LL BE YOUR BLUE SKY is a mystery wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a love story wrapped in… well, let’s just say it’s multi-genre and so much more fascinating for that depth.

There are disturbing elements here that de los Santos handles with wonderful discernment and decorum. Domestic violence is an important part of the book, so be prepared for some intense moments. However, the drama is served more intensely for the inclusion of real-world issues and subtly shapes this into a novel of great resonance in this #MeToo era. It is eerily prescient of the zeitgeist and will move many readers to look at today’s news in a different way.

I’LL BE YOUR BLUE SKY is an optimistic story. No matter what one is thrown by the vagaries of being alive and human, the way that one handles those unexpected difficulties becomes the only test that matters. Clare’s test may not look like everyone’s, but the beauty of her need for information and her ability to process difficult things and move forward make this a family saga that burns brightly with truths that reach far beyond average women’s fiction. de los Santos fashions a novel that will speak to all readers and make for some very interesting conversations in book clubs willing to look deeply into this beautiful story.

Reviewed by Jana Siciliano on March 30, 2018

I'll Be Your Blue Sky
by Marisa de los Santos

  • Publication Date: December 4, 2018
  • Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
  • ISBN-10: 0062431943
  • ISBN-13: 9780062431943