Series: Standalone
Release Date: January 17th, 2014
Ten-year-old Caleb Tanner wants nothing to do with Sylvie Cranston, the annoying weird girl who moves next door to him and gets him in trouble for swearing. But at twelve, they become friends when he teaches her how to hook a fishing line and she shows him the value of a selfless act. At fourteen, he falls in love with her.
At sixteen, she dies.
Or so he’s told. But Cal never believes it. Sylvie has become part of his soul. He knows her like the study beating of his own heart. He’d know if she was dead. Cal looks for her, prays for her and finally, he just waits for her.
Nine years later, she walks into the community college English class Cal is teaching. Only this girl claims her name is Sophie Becker and she doesn’t know him. Cal knows better. He’s determined to get the girl he loves back – and protect her from the danger that took her away all those years ago.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Heroine’s mother was murdered and has a turbulent relationship with her father
• Hero still dealing grieving with the death of his best friend (who died when she was 17).
• Hero suffered gunshot wounds when his BFF died
• Hero is also convinced his BFF is alive
• Does have OW drama (Hero has a friends-with-benefits situation going on)
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine (Neither are celibate, but of course, Hero has a lot of ex-lovers, while the Heroine has only one.)
• Does have the Heroine pushing away
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4/5 stars
When I first discovered A Girl By Any Other Name, I have to say I was a bit apprehensive, but I’m so glad that I gave it a chance! Although a bit short, I seriously think that the book was well spread out and realistic. You got to understand the depth of Caleb’s conviction and emotion for “his” Sylvie. And I have to say that I do enjoy a good Romantic Suspense book.
The overall writing quality was nothing that really stood out but stuff like writing errors wasn’t evident. However, that might be because I was so captivated by the main storyline. The pace I found was pretty lacking, I was constantly waiting for the is it now, is it her, moment. Sadly this took away from the story, making it not as enjoyable to read.
But what I loved was how A Girl By Any Other Name would flip between the present and past, so you’d get Caleb’s POV from when he first met Sylvie, to their journey of falling in love and to her death, or “death” as Caleb would put it.
The whole book is in Caleb’s point of view, and usually, I love being in the hero’s head. And, I did. But I think that connecting to Sophie and Caleb in the present would’ve been easier if we had that dual POV. I seriously loved the build-up of their relationship when they were teens and children, but once their relationship developed in the present, there seemed to be a wall between the couple and the reader.
“Who did you pray for?”
I stared down at the lake. “I prayed for Mandy.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“Yeah, I asked God to make her less annoying.”
But besides this, I seriously think A Girl By Any Other Name was worthy of the four stars. And the fact that it was my favourite genre–romantic suspense–did give it a few points.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re behind a locked door under the covers or walking around in the middle of the night. If something’s gonna get you, it’ll get you no matter what.”
The ending was really good, like gripping the edge of your seat. And I also felt really bad for Caleb (but you’ll have to read to find out why)! The epilogue was really cute… and if you skip to the epilogue to see if Sophie is Sylvie it doesn’t give anything away! Well, unless you read the whole thing.
To all the girls I’ve loved before,
To Sylvie, Sophie, Gabrielle and Lenore,
The raven may tap and crow upon my door,
But regardless of any plans of fate, or enticing lures.
I promise to love you forevermore.
I suggest that you let the mystery be… it’s more impressive that way when you do find out what happened!
