Beautiful: Book 1 of the Fragile Line Series

 Thought Provoking, Powerful, Intriguing

Genres: Young Adult/Coming Of Age/Addiction

Beautiful; Books 1 of the Fragile Line Series by Sarah Dawson Powell- author

When the mistakes of your past are infiltrating your present, and threatening your future, you are plagued by the knowledge that you had the opportunity to change it all, and yet you didn't take it because of the vision of how it was supposed to be, and even though that vision hasn't played out, you cannot leave, because of the small amount of hope that you still have, and cling to it like a life raft in a turbulent sea, willing for the waters to calm, has you pinned down and you just keep drowning. What choices are left?

Until recently, I'd never been one to read books that were written in a series, but now felt the right time to do so, the Fragile Line series being one of a few that I have committed to recently. In the relatively short time that I have followed this very gifted indie Author online, I have admired the time and dedication that she has put into creating her characters and continuing with this impressively extensive narrative. I'd read enough on Sarah's media page to have familiarised myself with the subject, which greatly appealed to me, as my favourite stories are that of 'human interest' and how individuals cope with their own fragility, be it in Fiction or reality.

Sadie has always been an extremely insecure individual, going back to her childhood, she is strongly influenced by what others may think and expect of her. But somewhere along the way, she made a wrong choice which has taken her in a direction that, as she sees it, she wasn't meant for. In a desperate bid to have the 'Happy ever after' that she feels is her fate, she tries to push aside what would really make her happy and ploughs on with a future that is now tainted, perhaps beyond repair. Even with all that has happened, she still cannot get the notion out of her head, that the boy that she has known forever is her destiny, however hard it is to make that work, and if she was to return to her former life and a man who loves her and takes care of her, it would somehow be another failure. I understood this character, but also felt frustrated with her, as she doesn't appear to learn from her mistakes, and in fact whilst trying to cover up each faux pas, makes them a lot worse. But then having your thoughts muddled by your lifestyle choices was never going to help.

The change in Ryan when he has been away is sudden and shocking, but then when I thought about it, whilst his behaviour was not neccessarily inevitable, seemed fairly fated.

I felt for Aaron, whilst he has chosen to earn money via nefarious means and has therefore played a part in Sadie's downward spiral, he seems to understand her in a way that Ryan has never taken the time to do, and accepts her errors in judgement. He seems to provide the security that Sadie needs, but he appears to be in competition, not with Ryan, but with an unfounded reality that exists in Sadie's imagination.

To say I 'enjoyed' this book seems somewhat inaccurate because it is gritty and real, and some parts were hard to read. However, this is a compelling narrative for me and I look forward to seeing how this tale of epic proportions continues.