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Secrets ruin lives, and lies protect those secrets…

Wanting to escape her life in New York City before starting medical school in the fall, Anna Dillon convinces her best friend Dante to travel with her to Thailand on a medical mission. While volunteering in a coastal village recently ravaged by a tsunami, Anna meets Jude Grayson. They share an instant attraction that leads to a brief, passionate affair. When she has to rush home for a family emergency, he promises to stay in touch.

But Jude never calls, and Anna tries desperately to forget him.

Five years pass, and Anna finally moves on with Dante after giving up hope that Jude will ever return—until they come face to face again in a chance encounter. Reeling, Anna discovers the life-altering secret of why Jude never contacted her—and why they can’t be together. But the passion that ignited between them on an exotic beach years ago never died, making it impossible to stay away from each other.

And Dante? Anna discovers that the friend she grew to love—and trust—has a secret of his own.

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5 Beautiful Stars

Wow…I was not expecting all the emotions that I went through while reading In This Life. It was beautifully painful and endearingly heartwarming all at the same time. I am not sure how Christine Brae managed to write a book that broke my heart yet made me happy. I actually cried and I rarely cry while reading. This alone should have you running to download it.

In This Life follows the love triangle of Anna, Dante, and Jude. I honestly believe that Anna loved both of these men with all of her heart, but for different reasons. I really struggled with who she should wind up with because both men were good men and brought out different yet wonderful qualities in Anna. My heart broke for all of them and I walked around with a sadness in my soul until I finished the book and for many days after.

In This Life is in my top 5 of 2016. It is still lingering in my mind 3 days after finishing it. I actually had to wait to right this review because I still needed time to digest and wrap my mind around this beautiful story.

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Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. That’s what happened with her first book, The Light in the Wound (2013). Christine followed that title with His Wounded Light and then Insipid (2014). In This Life (Vesuvian Books) is her fourth book. The traditionally published title has already been optioned for Film/TV.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.

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