Bond & Benevolence: Good Samaritan by J.C. Johnston

All Ophelia ever wanted was to play an instrument, then one magical day she revives a violin in exchange for a promise she will take good care of it and learn to play.  Her first lessons come from Samantha, the same girl who gave her the violin. Seeing as Sam's father is a bit... over protective, he escorts her to the lessons. While there he starts to open up to Gail (Ophelia's mother) something he hasn't done since Sam's mother died. Time goes on and the parents fall in love, and everything seems perfect, but looks aren't what they seem. When some problems from Sam's fathers past come into the present thing will never be the same.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and I truly enjoyed the character of Sam. How she turns from a good spirited young girl, to a woman changed by tragedy, betrayal, and the loss of all of her mother figures.

This book is told from Ophelia's perspective, but she isn't the main focus, it's Sam. The changes she goes through the decisions she makes, focused on her. You do see hints of Ophelia but not as much as you'd expect from a story written in first person. It threw me a little bit at first but I grew to like it.

Another thing that I enjoyed was the starkness of the differences between Ophelia and Sam's background. Sam grew up in one of the richest communities, where as Ophelia grew up in the Bronx. The writer seemed perfectly at ease with both settings.

I am so happy I got a chance to read this book. It's one of those that show the best and the worst of humanity side by side. Where the evil may seem insurmountable but the good slowly chips away at it little by little. It helped restore my faith in humanity a little bit.

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my review which I freely and honestly give.