She senses he's in danger because of his past.
If only he could remember why… Ava Wallace feels safe in
her remote cabin -- until a wounded man collapses at her door. He remembers
being a Marine, but he has no idea who left him for dead or how he ended up in
the mountains of Wyoming. As the stranger begins to recover his memory, he and
Ava begin to trust each other. But every recollection brings them closer to a
deadly revelation…
Fantastic book that started with a rush, and the intensity
never let up. The story opens with Luke hurtling down a mountain in Wyoming in
an SUV with no brakes and two other SUVs in hot pursuit. When the inevitable
happens, and the SUV crashes, two men haul a dazed Luke out of the vehicle. Hearing
them talk about putting a bullet in his head leaves him with two options: die
or try to escape. So Luke rolls off the side of the road and down a steep drop,
sustaining more injuries before stumbling away to look for help. He eventually
ends up knocking on the door of an isolated cabin.
Ava Wallace (aka author A. L. Baines) moved to her
grandparents' cabin from Chicago after surviving a horrific attack that left
her scarred and suffering from PTSD. With her big white dog, Maxie, Ava avoids
people as much as possible and is not pleased to have a strange man pounding on
her door. Doing her best to ignore her anxiety, Ava provides first aid before
driving him to the local hospital. Complicating matters, Luke can't remember his
name and thinks he is a character from her series, of which he's a huge fan). I
loved this scene which was at the same time hilarious and heartbreaking.
Sure he's in danger, Luke convinces Ava to let him stay
with her while he tries to recover his memory. Instinct tells Ava he's right,
but the last time she helped a strange man, it didn't end well for her. I loved
the combination of romance and suspense. As Luke learns more about Ava's past,
his admiration for her grows, as do stronger feelings. I loved how he saw past
her scars to the strong and resilient woman she is. His unstinting respect goes
a long way toward changing Ava's view of herself as damaged goods. Likewise, Ava's
growing trust helps Luke face some things from the past that still haunt him. I
especially enjoyed the mixing of their real lives with those of the characters
in Ava's books. I loved how Luke saw so much of Ava in her character of Willow.
The ending was fantastic. I loved their conversation on the cabin's porch, especially
Luke's teasing about her book.
The suspense of the story kept me glued to the pages from
the start. From Luke's hair-raising trip
down the mountain to the final confrontation with the bad guys, I never knew
what would happen next. The biggest question was whether Luke would get his
memory back before the bad guys caught up with him. Each new memory revealed
another puzzle piece and added to the surety that Luke was caught up in
something big. The final confrontation was a nail-biter, with Ava caught up in her
worst nightmare before Luke's arrival. Luke's comment to "Summon the
dragon" was the perfect way to take down the final adversary.
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