REVIEW: THE GIRL SHE USED TO BE

I don't do book reviews, just ask my other 'Nistas. When we talked about doing reviews on this site, I said, "Thanks but no thanks. I'm a reader and a writer, but not a reviewer."

But sometimes a book is so good, that it deserves to be shouted about from the rooftops. And for me, that book is THE GIRL SHE USED TO BE by David Cristofano.

Before I go any further, I feel I need to let you know, Cristofano and I are represented by the same literary agency, but other than that, we have no ties whatsoever. Of course, now I'm a major fangirl, but that's a whole 'nother topic.

This book was sent to me as a thank you gift. I was immediately drawn to the cover and the concept. So I took it with me to Orlando with the thought that I would read it over the week.

I almost finished it that day. And I was so moved and so haunted by the story that I seriously wanted to flip back to page one and start all over. Instead I gave the book to Maria so she could experience the book that melted my cold, black heart.

Melody Grace McCartney has had eight aliases over 20 years. She's lived eight false lives because at the age of six, she unfortunately witnessed a gruesome murder by mafioso Tony Bovaro. Whisked to safey under the Federal Witness Protection Program, Melody has never felt safe nor protected. Especially once her parents were assassinated twelve years into the program by the very family who they were supposedly being protected from.

Melody just longs to be Melody again, but knowing that can never happen, she decides a new identity is still better than the one she is currently living with, so she fakes danger, calls her Marshal for protection, and is again whisked off to safety.

Except this time, she's intercepted by the son of Tony Bovaro. He promises he will never hurt her, never allow harm to come to her as long as she is with him, and when he uses her real name--she can't help but believe him.

Jonathon Bovaro is the anti-hero in this poignant and riveting tale. He is violent and angry, but he is also honest, compassionate, and he has a plan to offer Melody freedom and protection within the family so that she no longer has to run. He never lies to her and she knows she can trust him--something she's never felt in 20 years on the run.

This story is a must read. It is compelling and heart-wrenching. I had no idea how Cristofano would end the story, but I was crying buckets by the time it was over. One day, I hope to write a story that will affect someone the way this story has effected me.

Buy it today. You won't be sorry.