I had made a decision to share about every book I read, however, I’d fallen so behind on blog posts that I am skipping a review on one book I read in between. This book was Guilty by Laura Elliot. Now that I am jumping back into this it’s not fresh enough in my mind so I’ve decided to go ahead and share about my most recent read.
You’ll notice in the title I refer to the book ‘There You’ll Find Me’ as well as a movie ‘Finding You’. For some reason, the movie made based on the book was given a different name. ‘There you’ll Find me’ was out latest book club pick!
After tragically losing her brother, Finley Sinclair goes through a rough patch and decides to take on a study abroad program in Ireland which her brother did. She has his journal and his final entry includes a photo of a Celtic cross. Finley is an aspiring violinist and blows an audition she has to a fancy music school in New York before heading to Ireland. She has another shot to audition and needs to get this right. The musical piece she is working on is dedicated to her brother and she feels she needs to find this exact Celtic cross in order to finalize the piece. This is a difficult feat because the Celtic crosses are all over the country!
On the air plane ride to Ireland she is offered a seat in first class and is seated next to big movie star Beckett Rush. They instantly seem to dislike each other. Finley has an idea in her mind of how Beckett is based on tabloids she has seen which show him as a party play boy. Finley also seems to be somewhat known since her family owns hotels and she was a bit of a party girl as she tried to cope with her brother Will’s death. Upon arrival in Ireland though they continuously run into each other and as it turns out, Beckett is staying a the bed and breakfast Finley’s host family owns.
While I wouldn’t say this is one of the best books I have ever read, I definitely enjoyed it more than the past couple of books I have read. This one is a really quick and easy read. I do not want to give spoilers but I think even from the summary of it- the outcome is predictable. That being said, it’s a cute rom-com type story without being too cheesy. I really enjoyed the depictions of the Irish country side and it definitely made me want to take a trip to Ireland soon! This makes it a good one for these strange times where we aren’t traveling as much. It also has an aspect where it touches on religion and faith a bit which I thought was really nice. Now a days everything is so taboo and everyone is trying to be so politically correct and trying not to offend anyone so it was nice to read a book with characters open about their faith. Finley admittedly had lost faith after her brother’s tragic death and needs to find her way back to believing and having hope.
The movie is true to the book with certain exceptions. I definitely recommend watching the movie after reading the book because it’s nice to see the story unfold and to be able to put faces to the characters. There are some slight differences such as name changes in certain characters. Finley is also from Charleston, South Carolina in the book but in the movie she is from New York. I do a audio book/ kindle hybrid and listened to a good chunk of the book. The narrator had a Southern twang so I was disappointed Finley in the move did not. There are also some aspects of her struggle which I felt were pertinent to the story which are left out of the movie. The movie also leaves out her struggles with her faith and how she finds her way back to believing. This was one of my favorite things about the book so I was disappointed it was left out. The movie of course has beautiful Irish scenery and will make you want to visit Ireland even more!
I gave this one 4 stars on good reads. I couldn’t give it 5 because it wasn’t one of those books that I just could not put down, however, it was an entertaining story with aspects I did enjoy. If you are looking for a light and easy read, I definitely recommend this one!
Thanks for visiting!
-Jenny