Lost in You tells the story of Kaia. A beautiful, confident woman in a peaceful, loving relationship with her college sweetheart, Adam. But all is not what it seems. When she looks in the mirror, she sees is a soulless shell with a lonely woman trapped inside, desperately screaming for help.
Over the years, Adam has been a life-preserver for her in the raging sea of her life. No matter how hard she clings to him, though, she will never love him with the same passion he feels for her.
Little does she know, but she will soon be tempted and tested in ways she never thought possible. It will take every bit of strength and courage she has to overcome the trauma and turmoil of her past and find the woman she could be, the woman she lost so long ago.
Lost in You tells the story of Kaia. A beautiful, confident woman in a peaceful, loving relationship with her college sweetheart, Adam. But all is not what it seems. When she looks in the mirror, she sees is a soulless shell with a lonely woman trapped inside, desperately screaming for help.
Over the years, Adam has been a life-preserver for her in the raging sea of her life. No matter how hard she clings to him, though, she will never love him with the same passion he feels for her.
Little does she know, but she will soon be tempted and tested in ways she never thought possible. It will take every bit of strength and courage she has to overcome the trauma and turmoil of her past and find the woman she could be, the woman she lost so long ago.
Adam is staring at me again, continually watching me with big, brown puppy eyes, waiting for me to have the breakdown he keeps expecting to happen. I wish he wouldn’t paw over me so much. He looks at me like I’m about to fall to pieces. He says that I’m different, that I’ve changed since I had the car accident. He tells me he knows something is wrong because his sixth sense has kicked in. Well, that’s how he describes it—that feeling inside when you know things are just not right. He hasn’t figured out what it is I’m hiding, and he probably never will. Adam’s constant attention and overprotection trigger anger and resentment inside me. I’m angry at him. Angry at him for loving me.
The thing is, when I stand in front of a mirror, the woman looking back at me is unrecognizable. She has wavy brown hair, caramel skin, and big almond eyes. She looks beautiful and confident. There is no way that woman is me. I don’t know who she is. The real me, the woman I really am, is trapped inside, screaming for someone to listen. Screaming for someone to hear me crying. I desperately want someone to believe in me. To believe in the real me. I don’t want to be afraid to build relationships. I don’t want to be too terrified to be me. For years, I have clung to the first person I found I could depend on, a man whose devotion has been unwavering, even during my darkest times. But what I feel deep down is only friendship. And even though I knew all along that the love wasn’t there, I allowed our relationship to continue. I let his passion grow and bloom. Why? Because I am desperate for someone to love me. I am desperate for someone to fight for me. My desperation and selfishness have only led to me fooling Adam and, inevitably, to even fooling myself.
When I stand in front of the mirror, I don’t see me. The reflection I see is of a stoic, empty, soulless shell.Â
This is the first time I am disappointed by a book. The book started off with an excellent plot and really makes you want to read further. The beginning is really hard-hitting and the characters are all life-like with human flaws and mistakes. None of the characters seem fictional or drawn out. The best part about the book is the characters who seem like the people we meet in our daily lives. Interaction and camaraderie are very well-written and add that extra flair to the reading.
The plot begins with Kaia, a beautiful and confident girl speaking her mind. She speaks about her love, Adam, who loves her fiercely despite all odds. Yet things are not as they seem. Beneath the calm surface, there is a storm raging within her. The epicentre of the storm is her past, and the pain and betrayal she experienced from her mother. Kally Khan does a marvellous job in leading up to the part where Kaia speaks about her past in her parents' home.
The story then takes a downward turn, or rather, it seems like the author wasn't sure which way to go. Kaia goes to live with Adam. Soon routine kills the spark between them and she is attracted to another man, leading to an affair. This set-up seems rushed and not well dealt with.
The ending is hurried and does not meet the run-up of the story. Kaia is the only character who is well sketched out; others are just like caricatures that could have been well-fleshed out if given more time.
Some poignant points are dealt with beautifully in the book, like parenting and how often we place parents on a pedestal and forget that they are humans too and can err. Then there is the topic of betrayal and child abuse.
A good book that had the potential to be an excellent read had the author not rushed to end the book and given the ending a little more time.
I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed are my own and are not biased towards the author or publisher.