[Review] Brittainy C. Cherry - Loving Mr Daniels

Title: Loving Mr Daniels

Author: Brittainy C. Cherry

Release date (in Poland): 2015-06-17

Pages: 300

Title in Poland: Kochając Pana Danielsa

I wasn’t sure if I should write about this book, since its premiere was more than two years ago in Poland. But there are books worth remembering, whether they were released one year ago or 20 years ago, and I’ll always think that whatever comes from Brittainy C. Cherry is worth remembering.

I think everyone is a litttle broken – some of us less, some of us more. Sometimes it’s hard to find yourself, to understand how to survive and live when everything seems to overwhelm you. We feel lonely, even if there are people around us, because this kind of loneliness is deep in our hearts and it seems like nothing can heal it. ‘Loving Mr Daniels’ shows how powerful love is, when hard times arrive.

„Because pretending to be happy is almost like being happy. Until you remember that you’re only pretending. Then you’re sad. Really sad. Because wearing a mask every day of your life is the hardest thing to do. And after a while, you get a little scared because the mask becomes you.”

Ashlyn has just buried her twin sister who died of leukemia. Her heart is full of misery, grief and longing. At the request of her mother, she moves in with her father, whom she had seen at the funeral for the first time in her life, and his new family. On a train to Edgewood she meets Daniel – a boy with beautiful blue eyes. Receiving an invite from him, she goes to a bar to see his band perform. His music heals her broken heart, his voice heals her wounds. They quickly discover how much they have in common. They both love literature and Shakespeare. They both understand each other without words. And they both have broken hearts which heal when they are aroung each other. But everything complicates on a first day of school, when it turns out Daniel is also Mr Daniels, her English teacher.

„I thought I made you up. I thought that I was living in a world of darkness and I imagined you into existence. That somehow my mind crafted you, placing you on that train months ago. But then I realized I could never dream of something so beautiful. “You’re the reason people believe in tomorrow. You’re the voice that scares the shadows away. You’re the love that makes me breathe. So for the next few seconds, I’m going to be selfish. I’m going to say things that I don’t want you to listen to.” My hands ran up and down her back as I pulled her closer, feeling her nerves rocking throughout her. I kissed the edge of her ear. “Don’t go. Stay with me forever. Please, Ashlyn. Let me be your everything. Make me your golden. Don’t. Go.”

When I started reading, I didn’t really know how to feel. ‘Loving Mr Daniels’ had its premiere more than two years ago and somehow I was avoiding this book. We all know the saying ‘Don’t judge the book by its cover’, right? I think that’s what I did. Well, kind of, because I didn’t judge it by its cover, but by its description. I had watched so many series and read so many books about student-teacher relationships, I didn’t really want to start another one. The unoriginal concept wasn’t very convincing.

„I love you slowly. I love you deeply. I love you quietly. I love you powerfully. I love you unconditionally.”

Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong. ‘Loving Mr Daniels’ is a beautiful story about love that helps you survive. Judging by the fact that the book is a romance, everyone will probably think I’m talking about Ashlyn and Daniel’s relationship. Which I am, I’m mostly talking about them, but I can’t not mention the love between family, friends or even stragner who make us not feel lonely. The author did an amazing job creating the main’ characters story but also the subplot.

“It just gets harder,” I said, understanding completely and stepping closer to him. “And it gets old to everyone around you. People get tired of you bringing it up. People get burdened by your sadness. So you act like it doesn’t hurt anymore. Just so you can stop people from worrying about you. Just so you won’t annoy anyone with your grief.”

Every character of this story is perfectly imperfect. Brittany C. Cherry always creates dark, deep, moving stories. She puts the characters in a sad reality, full of pain, grief and loss. Ashlyn is young, she’s only nineteen, yet she just buried her sister. Along with that, she lost her mother, who can’t look at ther since she reminds her of the dead daughter. She had to move in with a man who has been sending her birthday cards her whole life, yet lived with another family he cared about and loved. I loved how realistic the characters were. Ashlyn is lost and lonely, she makes irrational decisions, sasses her father which may be a little childish behaviour. But when we have to deal with something like this, don’t we all just wanna scream and cry, only to go back to how things were before? Daniel lost his mother and then also his father, not to mention his brother is in prison and hates him. Music is the only way to help him survive until Ashlyn shows up and gives him hope for better tomorrow. What I love the most in Brittainy’s writing is how she names feelings and emotions. A reader feels everything she writes. Deeply, wholeheartedly. It’s not easy to use words this way. Love between Daniel and Ashlyn is beautiful, passionate, deep and eternal. It’s hard to find one like this, it’s almost impossible. Love like this lasts and gets stronger, no matter how hard it gets.

“Being a teenager is a curse and a gift. It's the age where fairytales cease to exist and Santa isn't real but parts of our hearts want to say 'What if...'”

My favourite character is a a supporting character, Ryan – a son of Rebecca, who is a girlfriend of Ashlyn’s father. He’s the character I suffered the most with through the whole book. His story broke me the most. When I got deeper and deeper into it, my heart broke second after second, page after page. At some point I was laying down on my bed, staring at the ceiling and ugly crying, suffering with him. It all got to me so unexpectedly, I admire the author for that. I think that many of us identify with this boy.

“People always said it would get easier after losing someone. People said that, over time, it would get better. But I couldn’t comprehend how that could be true. As each day passed, it just became harder. The world only grew darker. The pain merely deepened.”

Brittainy C. Cherry’s books are on of the most beautiful in the world. They are not simple and cliche, yet worth reading. You have to choose the right moment and fall for one of her stories. ‘Loving Mr Daniels’ gets on my list of my absolute favourites. Everyone who loves romances as much as I do should reach for this title. 

WYŚWIETL POLSKĄ WERSJĘ