Drawn to Life by Elisabeth Wagner

Name: Drawn to Life
Author: Elisabeth Wagner
Format: ebook
Pages: 273
Release date: 28th April 2015
Publisher: AmazonCrossing

Teaser

Mia Lang always thought she could brave any storm, until a frightening turn of fate caused her to lose everything she once held dear - her best friend, her boyfriend, her career, and even her desire to live.

Hoping to heal her scars and find the will to face the world again, Mia embarks on an adventure across Europe by train. But when she meets Samuel Winter—on the run from his own troubled past—her whole world is turned upside down again. Perhaps this time, though, the pieces will fall where they’re meant to. Armed with the sort of courage that only comes from having nothing to lose, Mia is about to find out, in this beautiful story of resilience and discovery.


My thoughts

I kindly received Drawn to Life in exchange of an honest review by the publisher via NetGalley.

I unexpectly spotted Elisabth Wagner's Drawn to Life on NetGalley a couple of months ago. Neither have I heard of the authors name or her books before. I was surprised when I found out Elisabth Wagner already published a few novels on the german market. Drawn to Life is her first english publication. The cover and the blurb won me over so I did not hesitate to press the request button.

In Elisabth Wagner's Drawn to Life we meet twenty-three year old Mia. For Mia everything has changed within one year. Previously she was standing with two feet on the ground, finished successfully her studies, landed the job of her dreams after graduation and was in a loving relationship. Now Mia is alone, sick and depressed. The diagnosis of skin cancer and its consequences were so bad for her that she falls into a deep hole. Mias therapist advises her to go on a trip to get away. After initial hesitation, Mia is alone on a train to Budapest, where she had studied one semester three years earlier. There she meets Samuel who looks outrageously good, shares her passion for music and brings her world upside down. From this moment on we follow them on their trip around Europe.

Drawn to Life takes you on a journey to wonderful places like Graz, Vienna, Nice, Roma, Marseille, Paris and brings you all the way back. It's a touching book about two young people who believed lost everything but they fight their way back to love and happiness.

Mia is very likeable character. I warmed up with her immediately. You suffer with her and wish her that everything turns out well. Even Samuel is wonderfully authentic and sympathetic character. I loved Samuel for how understanding and caring he was - he was just wonderful. Very quickly I was able to connect to him too and I was eager to learn more from him.

This book could have been a five star read for me if there wasn't these confusing jumps from the past into the present all the time. It takes quite a few pages before you understand what is going on. The middle of the book is actually the most beautiful, because finally something runs in chronological order and then the whole time jumping starts again. I have to admit the authors writing style was something I needed to get used to. It was not disturbing my flow of reading it was just different from what I've read so far. It's very simple, pictorial and touching. Although I was missing some depth into the story.

In conclusion I can say I did enjoy this book although I had my issues with it too. I enjoyed reading the storyline Elisabth Wagner created. It captivated me so much that I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happens next. When I finished this book I loved to discover Elisabeth Wagner Pinterest board for this book. Seeing her inspiration and how she imaged all those places and characters was fatntastic. This made me feel even more connected to the book.