What Hope Remembers, the third novel in the Misty Willow series, was fantastic! I hadn’t read the first two novels in the series, so the setting was new to me. It’s a stand-alone book, so I didn’t have anything to really get caught up on, thankfully.
Amy is a former lobbyist who gets back to her roots in the country. Joining her brother and cousin, she has to find her way back to the simple life, a little begrudgingly. A recovering anorexic, Amy struggles with her past and struggles to move beyond those demons.
When she reconnects with Gabe, her teenage sweetheart, Amy pretends to not remember him. It’s easier that way, because now she is not the same person that she was then. And she really doesn’t want him to know the present Amy.
On the flipside, Gabe wants to take right off where he and Amy left off. A former Marine who also is an ex-con, Gabe has returned to Aunt Tess and her horse farm to start over. Like Amy, Gabe has a past he’d like to forget, too. He’s put his faith and trust in God to help him move forward in his life. Hesitant to tell her about his time since they last parted, Gabe instead focuses on being friends and helping keep Aunt Tess’s property going when a developer threatens her hand.
Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed What Hope Remembers. Johnnie Alexander is not afraid to make her characters realistic and have character flaws. Ms. Alexander finds just the right amount of flaw without it becoming overwhelming or seem fake. Character flaw and character strength are nicely balanced in a true-to-life feel.
The setting and circumstances are smoothly told. I appreciated the story unfolding bit by bit. Ms. Alexander did that beautifully and seamlessly.
The secondary characters all hold relevance to the story, and no unnecessary backstories drew me away from Amy and Gabe’s story.
This is a novel that I would highly recommend to individuals who love a really clean and inspiring love story that is well written and entertaining.
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Johnnie’s Website: http://johnnie-alexander.com/
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Many thanks to Revell!
