Every now in a blue moon, I come across a rare gem of a book that occupies my every waking thought - a book I don't want to put down for a minute, but when I have to, it's all I can think about; a book I've grown so attached to that it saddens me, even a hundred pages from the end, to think about turning that final page.  That was We Begin at the End for me.  It broke my heart a million times over, slowly put together some of the pieces, while others remained scattered to the wind.  This is most definitely a book you'll want to read with a box of tissues at hand.  I don't remember the last time I became so attached to characters. In fact, my mind keeps returning over and over again to Duchess.  Time will tell, but she may just be my favorite literary character I've encountered. This is a story with depth and layers - a mix of suspense and slow-burning literary fiction.  It's a story rich in setting, intricate in plot; and it packs a mighty punch.  


I will say that it took me some time to settle into this book and the writing style. I actually almost put it aside a couple times, but I'm so happy I stuck with it.  Somewhere around page 80 or 90, I reached a turning point, and from there on out, it basically owned me.