After The Fire by Charlotte Rixon

 

After the Fire by Charlotte Rixon.

Published 2st August 2024 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

This is the story of girl meets boy.

And then everything goes wrong . . .

Ever since they first met at university, Beth and Nick have circled in and out of one another's lives: supporting each other through grief, marriage, divorce, career crises and family dramas.

Fourteen years ago, when they were on the cusp of adulthood, they both survived a devastating fire that sent their lives in different directions. And they've been running ever since: from the pain, from the memories, and most devastatingly of all, from the guilt.

But no matter how hard they try, there's something else they can't run from. The inescapable, terrifying truth: they're in love with each other.

But how can they move forward, when neither of them can stop looking back?

***********

Beth and Nick met during their first few weeks at university. Something blossomed between them, but before their relationship could take off, a terrible fire tore through their accommodation block, killing their flatmate (Nick's recently-ex-girlfriend) Anna. The tragedy created a complex tangle of grief and guilty feelings between them, that they have never been able to address.

Over the next fourteen years, Beth and Nick have done their best to remain friends, supporting each other through the hard knocks of relationship and work issues. Time and time again their lives touch, but the trauma of the past always gets in the way of them allowing their friendship to become more. There is no denying that they love each other, but how can they ever move forward when memories of the past continue to haunt them?

As in Charlotte Rixon's excellent debut novel for Aria, The One That Got Away, this is a novel all about confronting difficult emotions concerning events from the past, but unlike her first book, this really is a love story.

Beth and Nick are a couple who are meant to be together, but their budding relationship is knocked off course by a tragic fire that builds a wall between them, bound together by the complicated feelings that unresolved trauma brings. The story unfurls through the points of view of Beth and Nick over fourteen years, dropping into their lives at various points between their meeting and time they are finally able to confront the ghosts that haunt them.

This is a tale wreathed in gut-wrenching emotions. Nick is sent reeling by survivor's guilt, and his response is to runaway from feelings he has no idea how to deal with. In parallel, Beth, sees the only way forward is to pull together and salvage something from the ashes, and she finds his abandonment impossible to fathom. Over the years, they learn to forge a friendship of a kind, with love simmering under the surface, but the timing is never right for them to be together - even if they could move past the deep-seated issues they simply do not speak about.

At its heart, this is a story about dealing with unresolved trauma, and not just of the kind that the fire brings to the surface. As the pair find a way to work through their heart-ache, Nick by going back to his roots and Beth by writing about her own view of their relationship, Rixon weaves in really thought provoking storylines about mental health, unhealthy coping mechanisms, abusive relationships, and finding a way to move on from tragedy, particularly when it comes to Nick. I was really struck by the tenderness she brings to the difficult relationship Nick has with his mother (although his saviour complex was a bit wearing), and the way she brings Nick and Beth to the point where they can finally lay bare their feelings is beautifully orchestrated.

This is a hard-hitting book, but is is also deeply touching, and displays a maturity in the writing that is remarkably compelling. It is not your typical love story, taking you through a series of very difficult scenes, and yet Nick and Beth's journey is a rewarding one that ends with warmth, healing, and hope. I am beginning to find Charlotte Rixon's books quite addictive. I cannot wait for the next one...

After the Fire is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Charlotte Rixon is the pen name of Charlotte Duckworth, USA Today-bestselling author of suspense fiction published by Quercus. Charlotte studied Classics at Leeds University and went on to gain a PGDip in Screenwriting. She worked for many years as a magazine journalist, and is a graduate of the Faber Academy 'Writing A Novel' course.