Pictures of You by Emma Grey is a tender and heartfelt exploration of the impact of toxic relationships and how domestic abuse doesn’t always look like fists, bruises, and hospital visits. Rather, it can be manipulation, isolation, control, and gaslighting.
What It’s About?
When 29-year-old Evie Hudson wakes in a hospital following a tragic accident, she has zero recollection of the events that landed her there. She’s trapped thirteen years in the past as a seventeen-year-old, totally oblivious to the reality she’s in at present, where she’s lost her husband, Oliver.
As she is released to her in-laws to recover, she realizes her life is nothing like she imagined it would be. She’s lost contact with her best friend, Bree, and family. After experiencing a panic attack at her husband’s funeral, she rushes out and jumps into the car of what she thinks is an Uber, but is her close high-school friend Drew.
As they journey back to her hometown, Drew tries to delicately help her piece together her memory while dealing with his own emotions concerning Evie and Oliver. Told in dual points of view with alternating timelines between the present and the past, you see how perception is everything and what real love looks like.
Book Details: Pictures of You by Emma Grey
Release Date Nov. 12, 2024
Page Count 448, Paperback
Publisher Zibby Publishing
Where to Buy: Amazon | [Bookshops.org| Barnes & Noble | Books A Million
Add to TBR: Goodreads | The StoryGraph
Main Characters
Evie Hudson (FMC): a once vivacious and idealistic young woman determined to live life by her terms with her best friend Bree by her side, wakes up following a tragic car accident where she’s lost her husband and has amnesia. She’s shocked to realize her life is nothing like she dreamed it would be.
Oliver Roche: Evie’s deceased husband, who on paper has everything: wildly gorgeous, wealthy, and class. However, his toxic and controlling behaviors pose a continual problem in his relationship with Evie.
Drew Kennedy: Evie’s high school friend who becomes estranged from her following a series of events involving Oliver and his obsession with dominating Evie’s life.
Bree: Evie’s former best friend, who becomes lost in the fray as Oliver begins to isolate Evie from her family and friends.
Key Themes
Highlighting the Realities of Toxic Relationships & Domestic Abuse
This novel goes into depth regarding what an abusive relationship looks like from inception to its dramatic conclusion. You also witness the collateral damage that is common with these situations, especially in long-term relationships.
The Healing Powers of Memory
Evie suffers from a condition following the accident that not only takes her memories but also causes her mind to regress to when she was 17 years old. This juxtaposition of her past self with her present self, crumbling under the weight of the consequences of the life choices she made, and how essentially this is a blessing in disguise, as she’s finally able to gain much-needed clarity and proper perspective.
The Gift of a Second Chance
Throughout this novel, you see Evie frustrated and disappointed by how her life turned out and how she became estranged from the ones she loves. But we also see her redemption and how she’s able to essentially get a new opportunity to turn her life around and become the person she’s always wanted to be.
What Truly Makes Up Our Identity
Do memories define us, or are they our actions? You see how identity is so much more than memories, actions, or behaviors. Oftentimes, it’s the things left unsaid, our secret innermost thoughts and desires, and the paths we’re too fearful to take.
Tropes & Representation
Amnesia- Evie loses 13 years of her life and wakes in the hospital believing she’s 17, essentially starting back at the beginning, before the events and people who would change her life enter the story.
Friends-to-lovers- Drew and Evie had a deep emotional connection in their teens that never went anywhere. Now, as adults in a different situation under different circumstances, they finally have a chance at romance.
Flashbacks- We receive flashbacks from both Evie and Drew as she learns about what has transpired to land her where she is today. The beauty of this is that we see the complete picture from both of their perspectives as the mystery of why Evie is so estranged from her loved ones and how the crash happened unfolds.
Domestic Abuse Awareness- Grey is highly detailed and intentional in how she depicts and explores Evie’s and Oliver’s relationship from the seemingly romantic beginning, and how he escalated his behavior with manipulation and control.
Mental Health Rep- Drew and Evie both struggle with mental health due to life circumstances, and Grey doesn’t shy away from these dark emotions and realities. Detailing the reality of how trauma impacts a person psychologically.
Key Takeaways
A New Perspective Regarding Domestic Abuse
This novel opened my eyes to the reality that abusive relationships aren’t only based on violence. There are a variety of ways in which a person can abuse you emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and financially. I believe those of us who have been blessed not to find ourselves in abusive situations often think we’re impervious to such situations because we’re too smart. What this novel revealed to me is how, with proper manipulation, I too could quickly land myself in a similar dynamic.
The way Grey made me fall in love with Oliver in the beginning, as I took his intentions and behaviors as genuine when they were him grooming and tricking her into a false sense of safety, where he later began to escalate his control over her, utilizing gaslighting, manipulation, isolation, and total dependence on him.
The Truth About Identity
This novel also does a great job of exploring the complexities of identity, especially as we mature and evolve. We often believe we must become these dramatically different versions of ourselves, but as witnessed with Evie’s disorder being trapped 13 years in the past, sometimes our younger selves were on to something.
There’s obvious naivety and immaturity that are present when we’re young, preventing us from thinking critically and making the best decisions. When it comes to the core identifying qualities of who we are as people, I’ve learned that these things don’t change. And more often than not, we spend the majority of our middle-aged years trying to recapture the bravery of our youth, desperate to live up to the people we believed we’d become.
Romantic Ideals aren’t all they’re cracked up to be
Sometimes we can become so idealistic regarding our potential partners and who they must be. We create these lists of what they need to look like, how much money they make, etc., etc, that we forget to look for qualities, actions, and behaviors that signify they are good people and safe humans to build our lives with.
On page, Oliver was Evie’s dream man, but the reality is that Drew was the best person for her, as he satisfied her needs holistically. Whereas Oliver was more of a trophy, the girl feels lucky to be chosen by such a person. How often do we become entangled with problematic people because we’re drawn to the pretty packaging, only to realize it lacks substance.
Content
The topics and themes within this novel deal with the psychological aspects of domestic abuse, the struggles associated with reconciling your ideal self with your real self, and the gift of redemption and second chances.
All of which made for an interesting premise and fascinating character-driven story full of heartfelt emotion and poignancy.
Writing Style
Grey’s writing style is intimate, reflective, and relatable. She had a clear idea of who her target reader was for this novel, as it appeared to focus on the younger millennial transitioning into their thirties and reflecting back on their life and who they want to be in their next decade of life.
When it comes to the romance in this novel, it’s written in such a heartfelt and emotional way. As she explores different concepts and ideas about love, compatibility, and what makes a person the one.
Although this novel featured some heavy topics and themes, they were handled with care without making the novel overly melancholic. There was hope and beauty in this story and for these characters.
Plot Development
The plot was well-structured and organized, evoking an air of mystery regarding the unraveling of Evie’s life. I particularly enjoyed how Grey balanced the past and present timelines to help add context to the story while allowing space for it to unfold in a way that made sense for the reader.
Additionally, the story is well-paced, to where I didn’t find myself losing interest or becoming irritated with Evie’s amnesia, as again her manipulation of the timeline was aptly timed, allowing you to gather the truth about events and how they impact the present.
Characterization
Grey’s characters felt real and palpable, creating a realistic and plausible story. Both Evie and Drew had layers and depth. They weren’t perfect as they both had their flaws and imperfections. However, this just added to making them feel more human.
Final Thoughts
I was blown away by how well-written this novel was. With this being my second novel by Emma Grey, I’m finding that her writing style is right up my alley, as she exhibits what I seek in contemporary women’s fiction. An author to watch!
Recommendation
If you’re a fan of heartfelt, emotional, and reflective women’s fiction that explores challenging topics (please check trigger warnings), then you’ll enjoy this novel. It is promoted as a romance, but please don’t go into it looking for a super romantic atmosphere. While there’s a minor romance in these pages, it’s not truly explored in a way that would be satisfactory to one seeking a romantic read.
