I was asked to review a book from an author I had never heard of before. But she she's not a debut author. So graciously the author offered me both book 1 and 2 from her current series. And I devoured them both.
Lara Van Hulzen may not be a new name to you, but if she is ... read on! Her tagline is Romance with a Twist of Faith and she definitely delivers.
Book One in Van Hulzen's Men of Honor series is titled Remember Me. It is a fast moving, twisting tale of lost love, redemption and renewal in God's economy.
Publisher's blurb:
Detective Ben Russo is in trouble.
He just can’t remember why.
When a car accident lands Ben in the hospital, he can’t recall anything about his life. What he does know is he’s enchanted by a tiny nurse named Tess, but can’t shake the feeling they’re both in danger.
After being left at the altar, Tess Jansenn moves to a new town and starts over. When her ex-fiancé, Ben, shows up in the ER where she works with no memory of her, she must decide – tell Ben who he is or let him remember on his own.
Can Tess forgive and forget what drove them apart, and when Ben remembers, will the consequences of his choices make it too late for love?
This story was fascinating to me from the start. Tess is thrown into such a tail-spin from page two on. The action and tension picks up instantly and moves you quickly through the entire story.
I enjoyed the characters immensely. Tess, although shaken by being left at the alter is confident and capable. She is a hard-working nurse, her faith in God is strong and she is surrounded by a tight-knit support system. All of that make the story believable as she tries to sort out what to do with this "lumberjack-of-a-man" who just tromped unknowingly back into her life ... and heart.
The suspense plot of the story takes a bit to get going, but I never felt bored or impatient. There was a lot to sort out between the two characters and the author did a great job of keeping the story entertaining. Once the suspense plot of the story gets into action, the reader is in for a ride.
The romance of the book is strong and compelling. Even though the reader should dislike Ben for ditching Tess at the alter, I didn't. I rooted for him from almost page one. I loved that there wasn't open hostility between the two characters - as Tess knew Ben didn't know who she was there was no point in being angry towards him.
The secondary characters were lovely as well. Tess's friends that walk beside her through the entire ordeal are well-rounded and fun characters. As a prequel maybe Ms. Van Hulzen could share with the readers their love story. :)
Anyway, a very nice lead into story number two in the series, as both main characters reach out to other family and friends to help solve the storyline. Once Ben remembers who he is he involves his police partner Dane in trying to keep Tess safe. And Tess reaches out to her vibrant and lively sister Aimee. Fireworks fly instantly. However this happens quite late in the story so not to distract from the current love story. It sure was a fun addition though.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this story. My only disappointment was that the story wrapped up super quickly. The tension and suspense is high throughout and then it was suddenly over and resolved. That felt a little off to me. But in the end it didn't deter my positive ratings!
That's all for Book One. Stay tuned for book two review to follow right away. However, if you're new to the name Lara Van Hulzen, take a moment to visit her. Her website and Goodreads author page are full of information. She also has a blog where she shares her thoughts.
Thank you to the author for a chance to read and review this book. I received the book free of charge in exchange for honest review.
If you are into e-books, this title is excellently priced right now and available at amazon.ca and amazon.com and barnes&noble. Go get your copy!
No comments:
Post a Comment