Synopsis
Lilah and Ben. They are meant to be a thing.
Well, they were. The best thing ever. That was until Lilah decided to teach herself a lesson and let go of Ben since she’s learned The Art of Letting Go.
Now it’s a new academic year, and Lilah has it all to play for and it all to lose as she battles scary lecturers, evil PR girls, and her own inability to make the right decision at the right time.
Life has moved on for Lilah and her friends, and life off campus is more complicated than any of them would have guessed. As the reality of being second-year students sets in and the study starts to build up, cracks begin to appear in the very fabric of their friendships. There is a chance that none of them are going to complete Year Two in one piece.
Facing down her worst enemy, herself, Lilah has to try and change her own past mistakes when she realizes that the only way she is going to get the future she wants is if she manages to learn The Art of Keeping Faith in herself.
The Art of Keeping Faith is the second year in The Uni File Series and continues Lilah McCannon’s diary as she searches for love, tries to find and earn trust, and ultimately discovers who she is really meant to be.
Sometimes the only way to meet your future is to face your past.
5 out of 5 stars!
REVIEW: The Art Of Letting Go – Anna Bloom (+ DELETED SCENE)
EXCLUSIVE: Benjamin Chambers and Trafalgar Square – Anna Bloom
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My Reviews
You know you have the best friend ever when she sends you ARCs, sends you teasers and will let you text her screaming in cap-locks when things happen whilst reading The Art of Keeping Faith. And this was basically me to Anna throughout the whole book. I would text her when things went right, when I wanted to rant about a certain character *COUGH*RICHARD*COUGH*, rant about Lilah and rant about Ben. Basically I just ranted and shouted and raved about The Art of Keeping Faith and I had a lot of feels.
My love for Anna and her books goes waaaaaay past the point of being acceptable. There is just something about the way Anna writes that draws you in, keeps you entranced and flipping page after page until you at the end, holding the book and wondering where the time has gone, why book three is not out yet and badgering Anna for it. (Although I told her not to tell me when she is writing it nor send me teasers because when she does eventually send it to me, it will be the best day ever!)
As I mentioned in my The Art of Letting Go review, the dairy entries are completely unique. You can hear Lilah’s voice throughout it, visualise her writing it all down after each event, and I adore that Lilah still documents her life. Not many people do and I really like that it seems to help Lilah, especially when she re-reads her entries and re-evaluates her life.
I’m going to say that The Art of Keeping Faith was definitely an emotional one. I was filled to the brim with all these different emotions. From joy, fear, heart ache; feeling sick to my stomach and an overpowering sense of anger, before going back to feeling on top of the world with love and grinning from ear to ear.
You feel every single emotion from all the characters, especially Lilah and Ben. Dear god these two! We all know what happens at the end, and have been on tenterhooks needing book two to know what happens. I want to shout from the rooftop about what happens but I shant, i’ll let you read it. I’ll let your emotions wiggle all around and make you lose yourself in the magic and pain of Ben and Lilah. You really do go from highs to low, feel exhausted but your heart races and your smile widened and you squeal at the end and it makes all the pain go away.
Lilah grows up in this book. She has to. With Ben off around the world with his band she has to learn to be alone, be wiithout the love of her life and she gets there. She delves into her work, she meets new people and gets on with her life. But she feels paranoid. She’s seeing and reading things about Ben that you know arent true. It’s hard being in a long distance relationship and it tests your trust and your faith in each other. As someone who has done the whole LDR, I could really sympathise with Lilah. I understood her emotions and everything she was feeling. She’s still her quirky and fun self, but you know she is missing Ben like no other, yet she has to get on with her life.
Those moments with Ben were special and you could see how they both just wanted to shut the world out and spend those few days together. Lilah goes through a lot during the second half of the book, and I could feel her frustration, her heartache and the pain she was feeling. She needed Ben, she needed to let him know something and the texts to him had my chest hurting, and tears in my eyes and I felt as sad and lonely as Lilah did, without Ben by her side. But you know as soon as she gets Ben back in her life, as soon as he is there everything will be right in the world because when its just those two? They are the only two people in the world.
My Benny boy, my Benjamin Chambers. I am so sorry I went though a small phase of doubting you, but those damn articles, those damn photos. I knew you werent like that, but with everything going on I couldnt help but think the worst. But you are the best guy I know, the one who loves so fiercely and would do whatever to have Lilah in your life. But when all that stuff went down and I had no idea where you were, you broke me apart. You broke my heart and I was shouting at Anna to tell me just what the hell was happening. I understood your pain, how you needed to just go away for a little while and sort your head out. You and Lilah had been through so much, you had wanted her, searched for her and you had her. You had her heart and in a way you broke it too. (I realise I am ‘talking’ to Ben, but it makes it easier hahah). But your heart was breaking as well. You and Lilah are made for one another. You bring out the best and you have been through a lot as well. Everything you both went through only made you stronger, made you love stronger and you knew, just knew that nothing and no one would ever come between you again. Benjamin, you redeemed yourself and I love you so much for that. I know music is your everything, but Lilah means so much more to you. It was your turn to evaluate your life and I am so proud of you.
I cannot wait to see how you turn out in book three, how doting you are going to be, how much more love you are going to give. I know you are never going to let Lilah down and you are going to go to great length to show her. You already do. I am so glad you found Lilah and she ended up loving you too. You are one of my favourite couples and your love and determination to be together is overwhelming.
Ps. My characters in my book love you. Please give them free tickets to see you play life. They will love you forever 😉
The Art Of Keeping Faith is truly that. About keeping faith in your love, your relationship, your friends and in the end faith prevails everything. Just look at everything Lilah and Ben had to go through to get to where they end up at the end. I had faith and although theirs faltered at points, their love never and that is what makes this series so special to me.
Anna, get writing book three now!!
Z. Elizabeth 