Review….The Education of Sebastian by Jane Harvey-Berrick

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Synopsis:

A friendship between the lost and lonely Caroline, and the unhappy Sebastian, leads to an illicit love that threatens them both.

Caroline Wilson is trapped in a cold and loveless marriage with an older man. When her husband finally wins a long sought-after promotion, Caroline feels she has little choice but to follow him to a new home in San Diego. There she meets Sebastian, a young man of 17.

For an all too brief summer, their happiness blooms.

But external pressures begin to bear down, not least from the overbearing David, and Sebastian’s parents begin to suspect that their son has a secret. Even Caroline’s new friend, Donna, realizes that dark passions exist below the serene surface.

My Review:

The Education of Sebastian is the first in the “Education of…” duo by Jane Harvey-Berrick and at this moment in time I am thanking all things holy that there is, in fact, another book because the ending of Sebastian’s book is a gut-wrenching, sob-inducing shocker….but, I loved every freaking page leading up to it!

Caroline has been stuck for eleven years in a marriage she thought she wanted when she met her husband at the age of 19.  Now, after the eleven long years have gone by, she is starting to realize she isn’t in the kind of marriage she dreamed it would be.  Her husband, a Navy doctor, is stuck in the my-wife-is-my-caretaker era and expects her to have dinner on the table promptly at 6, his uniform pressed and laid out for the next day and be ready to “service” him when he chooses.  Now, back in San Diego after another transfer, she runs into the boy next door from when they had lived there almost 10 years before.  Only now, the boy next door is a handsome 17-year-old and he hasn’t forgotten her.

Sebastian can hardly believe his eyes.  Could it really be Caroline he sees on the beach? The same Caroline he has been missing since she moved away from the neighborhood when he was a young boy? The Caroline who has haunted his dreams, and fantasies, for as long as he can remember?  Now, at 17, he’s decided he has to have her….and show her the impact she has had on him for all of these years.

The affair that Caroline and Sebastian carry on is intense…and illegal.  They both know the consequences if they were to get caught, but when you’re in love, you feel like you can conquer the world and consequences be damned.  They only have to wait 3 months before Sebastian turns 18 and the legal issues disappear.  Then they can be together.  Forever.  Only fate isn’t on their side this time….

Holy hell.  This book is INTENSE!  I had mixed emotions while reading it and the fact that Sebastian was 17.  Then I would stop and think…I knew how I was at 17.  I had graduated high school, finished a semester of college and had met my future husband and knew we would be married.  So, I couldn’t find fault with Caroline falling for a teenager…because Sebastian wasn’t a typical teenager.  His parents are WRETCHED a**holes who have treated Sebastian like an inconvenience since he was a kid, so he’s really had to grow up a whole lot faster than most.  In many occurrences, being their caretaker after they come stumbling home drunk.  I felt badly for Caroline, being stuck in an impossible marriage, and could understand falling for Sebastian.  He is so different from her husband.  He is kind, affectionate and open…in other words, everything a woman loves.   I was so nervous while reading this book.  Each interlude Caroline and Sebastian shared, I was sure they were going to be caught.  As the end of the book got closer and closer I was hoping it would end well for them….well, since there is a second book, I’m sure you can get an idea of how it did end.  I won’t ruin it for you, but I will say that I was a sobbing mess.  I will be diving into the Education of Caroline, the next book, as soon as I finish typing this review!

If you’re looking for an intense, passionate, emotional story then put this book on your list!  Thank you Ms. Harvey-Berrick, for an incredible read!

Four Loves