The Mountain Between Us

The Mountain Between Us
By: Charles Martin

I'm not always keen on survival stories because I feel like they all seem similar, and who really has hunting and gathering skills anyway, right?

At least this one was less about the details on skinning a rabbit and more about the slow and sweet reveal of Ben and his wife's relationship.

So I actually enjoyed this story.

Until the end.

Because it made me cry.

But if a book can make me cry, then I have to give it a pretty good review because that is not an easy thing to do.

The one thing I didn't really like about the writing was the parts where Ben spoke into his recorder and told the stories of his past. The way the words were written was more like a narration, not how a person would actually relate an event or memory, especially when talking to the person in it. It was fine writing but when I pictured him actually saying the words out loud it didn't necessarily seem logical or realistic. Annnddd... The rest of this review will have spoilers....

[SPOILERS!!]

The ending. Seriously?! I was starting to get upset throughout the book thinking these two people were going to fall in love when I just wanted him to get back to his wife and be amazing together. Then the author had to go and write her and their babies dead.

They had a miracle of getting off that mountain, why couldn't his wife have a miracle of the twins surviving? It's too sad. Besides, I didn't really get to know Ashley enough to like her. So having her end up with Ben in the end didn't feel right. She seemed a bit shallow and not mature enough to be 34. I felt like Ben deserved better- he deserved his WIFE!

It was a good way to keep the book interesting and somewhat suspenseful waiting to see what would happen, but do you really need to break my heart to do that? C'mon man. Why can't true love last forever, and a family of four live happily ever after?

[SPOILERS OVER!!!]