Author: Cory Anderson
Series: What Beauty There Is #1
Publisher: Roaring Books Press
Released: April 6^th, 2021
Received: BookishFirst
Warnings: Controlling behavior, prison, suicide

Cory Anderson’s debut novel, What Beauty There Is, will knock your socks off. It cuts to the quick and will leave an impression on your heart.

Jack Morton’s life has been getting smaller for a long time. Then one day, he came home and realized that all he had left in this world was his baby brother. A brother that he’d do anything to protect. However, he has no idea how he’s going to manage that.

Conversely, Ava Bardem is used to having nothing in her life and knows how to prevent anything from getting too close to her heart. She knows the pain that it could bring with it. Yet, she couldn’t stay away from Jack’s plight. So now she must decide. Will she keep her distance or help him?

“ I told Jack to stay away. He’ll make you hurt, I said. He’ll take what matters most. He’ll do it with a smile and then he’ll smoke a cigarette.

Jack didn’t listen.”

What Beauty There Is, written by Cory Anderson, is one of the most heartbreaking and evocative novels I’ve read this year. Her characters seem to bleed off the pages, creating these cozy little nests inside the readers’ hearts.

At least, that is what I experienced while reading What Beauty There Is. There’s something so captivating about the way Jack and Ava’s story unfolds. It’s enchanting, made all the more so by the trepidation I felt at the turning of each page.

The atmosphere and narration alone would have sold me on this book, but then the characters took it to a whole new level. They feel so human, and their story feels so surreal and beautiful at the same time.

In truth, the story of Jack and Ava feels like more than a story. That’s what makes it so gut-wrenching. Their fears, their struggles, and their pain feels real. Too real at times, but that makes the story all the more worth reading.

This is a novel that I strongly recommend everyone experience for themselves. The description alone will not – can not – do it justice.

Thanks to Roaring Books Press and #BookishFirst for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.