Trains & Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith

Have you ever needed something to just slap you in the face and make you wake up to reality? Relationships are hard, breakups are even harder. And sometimes we get stuck in this mind set that they will start over, even though you know in your heart it's really over.

I've been in that type of relationship. I've been the one hoping it will start over, but I've also been the one to cause the pain as well. So when I picked up Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith I truly didn't know what to expect.

I truthfully just really liked the cover. What I found was much more. I read the book from front to back in one night. I have never done this, never once in my life. The stories that Smith places between these four strangers on a train will propel you into the story of love and loneliness.

Would one divulge such intricate details to someone they don't know? Have you ever been stuck next to someone on a flight across the country and suddenly they know your whole story or you know theirs? What about the person on the train next to you? Everyone has a story of love and Smith shows us very eloquently how they intertwine into an amazing lesson.

Smith takes you on a ride through each characters story of love and how they question the existence of true love, whether with "the one" or family. Each character has a story, one that defines the position of their life, another a secret that must stay hidden, and two that leave each in a question of faith, trust and understanding.

While reading this book I found myself releasing my love and guilt from past relationships, understanding that paths cross, love is meant to bloom and fade, and that sometimes secrets are ok to be left hidden. The heart is a scary place, it can shatter into pieces instantly and take years to rebuild. But Smith does a great job of throwing the existence of an awkward situation and turning it into a true love story.

I thought that I would wind up reading about how to lonely passengers fall in love, but what I got was so much more. While this is a love story, it's not one in which the title portrays. I recommend this book with my whole heart. I have never fallen so deeply in love with a book or the stories behind it.