More Than by Diane Barnes – Review by Jennifer Gordon

More Than by Diane Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An enjoyable and engaging story which had me hooked from start to finish. Following the death of her husband, Peggy Moriarty’s life has revolved around her twins, Grace and Greg, but now they are teenagers and don’t need Peggy as much. Having been a single Mum, she’s at a loss of what to fill her time with and her only hobby is watching a show about a Medium who connects bereaved people with their deceased loved ones, ‘Messages from Beyond’. Grace and Greg give their Mum a gift certificate for an exercise class when they leave for college, and having got over feeling insulted, Peggy throws herself into getting in shape and eating healthily. However, her aim is to gain enough confidence to go on ‘Messages from Beyond’, and talk to her late husband one last time.
Having made friends at the gym, they along with her daughters boyfriend’s mother, Carmen help Peggy to emerge from her shell and spread her wings. Before long Peggy discovers that she’s not just a mother, and a widow, and that her body issues don’t define her either. This was such a touching and emotional read, Peggy is such a likeable and relatable character that I felt instantly engaged with her. The storyline took me on an emotional rollercoaster and it deals with difficult subjects such as, bereavement, grief, and body and weight issues, sensitively and realistically. All the characters are well defined and add to the overall all storyline, and the plot kept me happily turning the pages. Both the story and the characters stayed with me long after I had finished the last page.

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