As a child, she filled his void. As a woman, she completed him. Clare has lived on St. Isabel Island all her life, except for a few months she can’t recall. A traumatic childhood experience has left a blank spot in her memory and a lingering feeling of having lost more than just a small, painful piece of her past. When the enigmatic Dr. Richard Kelly arrives on her island, she’s found that missing part. Yet she’s certain the man is a stranger to her, until she discovers he’s been hiding something from her, a secret that reawakens her childhood fears and threatens to upset her life again.
Richard Kelly’s hard-earned career as a world-renowned neurosurgeon has been derailed by his ex-wife’s unspeakable betrayal. His entire life is on a downward spiral. In a desperate attempt to outrun his demons, he sets off to a remote island in the South to trace the origins of an anonymous painting. He doesn’t expect to come face to face with the girl he once knew as Misty, and he’s instantly captivated by her genuine charm. But if the charismatic kindergarten teacher of the secret lagoon is the Misty of his past, why doesn’t she remember him?
My Take:
The story was a little slower than my normal reads, but it really picked up in part two. Part one is only from Richard‘s point of view and deals mostly with the past. I think this could’ve been shorter to get to the good stuff faster. In part two we finally get to see Claire/Misty’s point of view. For me, this is where the story finally started to pull me in.
There were times when I got very frustrated with the characters and their reasoning for not coming out and telling the truth. The book could’ve been a lot shorter if people had just talk to each other. Claire’s sister, Courtney, really annoyed me. Having said all of that, I enjoyed the journey the characters went on to discover the mysteries of the past and finally admit their love for each other. The final twist at the end was nice. It was believable, and fitting for the story.
I also appreciated the cleanliness of the romance parts. I give the book and recording 4 stars and a PG rating.
1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
Movie Ratings in relation to my review:
Clean--Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no intimacy on or off "screen"
PG--Some innuendo but nothing kids don't hear every day, intimacy is all closed door
PG-13--some language (swear words not related to intimacy), more talk about intimacy, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but intimacy is closed door.
PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on-screen intimacy
R--swearing (F-bomb, on “screen” intimacy, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the intimacy and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always
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