Since You've Been Gone Paperback – October 11, 2016

I absolutely could not put this book down. From the premise---a groom dies in a one-car accident driving the opposite direction of the church on his wedding day (with a baby gift in the back seat)--to the beautiful story that unfolds as a woman comes to terms with a life she did not choose. I loved how Allen wove in the difficulty of mother/daughter relationships with the fabulous story line regarding the main character's Grandmother Ruthie. There was so much to love in this bittersweet tale. Do not miss the opportunity to read it for yourself.

I wanted to like this novel. I enjoyed the author's book Walking On Broken Glass. But this one just didn't do it for me. It took almost half the book for me to admit it wasn't going anywhere, but I stuck it out (well, pretty much skimmed from then on) because the book blurb promised so much. It didn't deliver.The biggest problems for me were:1. Overblown writing. This was probably because it was written in first person, so it was undoubtedly because,2. The main character was a major drama queen. Another reviewer described her as an adult acting like a 15-year-old, and that pretty much nailed it. Maybe that was just pregnancy hormones ... ?3. It dragged terribly in places. There were enormous chunks of writing that did nothing to further the plot. As I mentioned, I skimmed half of it and didn't feel like I'd missed much of anything.So, yeah, not much here to love. And I feel bad about that because I did like the other book of hers I'd read. I'll probably give the author another chance, but I'm super glad I got this one as a Kindle Unlimited book and hadn't spent anything on it.

This is a fantastic story told by an author that know how to tell a story. There are many themes in the book, lost faith, lost love, death, family relationships especially mother/daughter. The author is great at intertwining them as she tells the story of Wyatt and Olivia. The author has a sense of humor which comes out in Olivia and her grandmother Ruth. For me I liked the way Olivia throughout the book doubted her faith and felt like God was punishing her as one thing after another goes wrong. But with the help of grandmother Ruth little by little she sees her way was not the right way and she needed to make faith an important part of her life. Faith also was a huge obstacle with her mother. I found her mother to be cold hearted and could not excuse her hurtful comments to Olivia. We find out later her mother has a secret that caused her to have these feelings towards Olivia but for my it was not justification for such bad behavior.Lots of life lessons in the book giving it a purpose besides being entertaining. I think this is one of the best books I have read this year. I totally loved Olivia! She has a hard time finding her way but in the end she finds happiness. highly recommend this book.

This is an uplifting story of a woman's terrible heartbreak and spiritual separation from her family and from God. Olivia's story is told with humor and sensitivity. You will fall in love with Grammy Ruthie. It was fascinating to see how various people came into Olivia's life just when she needed them most. Also, there is a pretty intriguing mystery in the story that was solved in a very satisfying way. A very good read.

Not much of a romance reader, but this story is so well written that I couldn't put it down. You think it's a mystery solving plot and you already know what happens in the first chapters. Well maybe, maybe not. Getting to the answers in life after tragedy is always difficult and different for all of us. This story brings it all together, love, forgiveness and spiritual understanding. I will recommend this book to everyone. Especially my daughter who miscarried and is now pregnant again. I want her to understand the blessing and pain of both and how she can "Choose Joy".

Bride waits at her wedding for the groom until she gets a call that he has died in an accident 50 miles away going in the opposite direction. In the backseat of his car is a baby gift. The book is well-written, but you suspect the ending almost from the beginning yet keep reading for a twist. The author lets us in on how one woman deals with uncovering the pain in a relationship she thought was perfect.

I'm in the process of listening to this book.1. About the women reading, the southern accent fades in and out and is getting on my last nerve. It annoys me to distraction.2. The story itself, it's boring me to tears. I just finished chapter 10 and I'm still waiting for something interesting to happen. I keep saying, "get to the point...any point." Just to much filler.

As a writer myself, I was so impressed with the authors determination to write this story in the midst of major personal changes in her own life. (See Acknowledgements.) But, she tells us her characters would not quit bugging her until she gave them life. And give them life she did. Olivia, Evan, Wyatt, Grandmother Ruthie, Mia, and all of the others seemed like real people we could very well live next door to. She also brought to the forefront questions of God's existence, his faithfulness, and forgiveness without being "preachy". She worked these issues in as Olivia struggled with them in an authentic way. I kept reading waiting for "the happy ever after", and it did come, but not in the way Olivia, nor I the reader, could see at the beginning of the book. But, isn't that just like God? Which brings me to this point---one of my favorite lines Ms. Allan wrote was when she was thanking all of those involved in publishing this book; she said, "Eternal gratitude to God for allowing me to write about his grace and mercy." That brought tears to my eyes, because he, and she, certainly did.

Don't bother buying. Awful, boring and it just dragged on and on and on. I couldn't even be bothered to finish it.

This is the first time I have read this author's books. It was Ok, but not one of my favourites.Gloria

Absolutely brilliant, couldn't put it down

Boring not a good story, you get what you pay for!