As a first time reader of Carina Taylor, I didn’t know what to expect. This lighthearted/second chance romantic comedy was a delight. Delving into the realm of amnesia, I was concerned it was going to be a little “soap opera”-ish but Taylor kept it realistic and plausible.

What I liked about the story: I loved Margaret and how she was woven through the entire story. She is revered and feared in the same breath. I enjoyed the unfolding of the story, the demonstration of how love, no matter how battered – if it is meant to be, will find a way. I also enjoyed how Archie and Meyer vocalized the right and wrong way to be in a marriage and how putting more effort in trying to change the other person or conform will put devastating cracks in a foundation.

What I didn’t like about the story: For a seasoned writer, I was disappointed in how novice the text felt in places and the lack of character development. In terms of the text, there was a lot of redundancy when elaborating on certain points.

While I would point the finger at editing more than Taylor for that oversight (along with having Meyer’s name at the top of each chapter but the POV never changed), the concern I had with the characters is more within how they were presented and developed.

I get supporting characters are there to help push the story forward but I feel a huge opportunity was missed as to why these characters were introduced. A doctor doesn’t just leave and take a job in a small town to help out a friend. What is Dr. Sharpe’s story? He is taking a huge risk in the game he is playing to help Archie – why? Her sister Bailey, learning about their sibling dynamic would have helped with how influential Bailey was with her sister and any decision making. We get that Kingston is protective but again, the sibling relationship is skirted around. We don’t know much about Bailey other than she is a mom and Kingston is a player of sorts. I don’t even get the purpose of the Willa/Kingston subplot – did that go anywhere, did he learn his lesson, what was the point?

As for Meyer – again I feel we missed out on learning more about her. You can put the pieces together to assume she is a people pleaser and that caused a lot of issues/resentment in her marriage but that was more of my assumption that clarification by the writer. I didn’t feel like I knew Artie at all! I knew OF Artie – he is talented at drawing, singing, can’t dance but asides for that I didn’t really know him enough to connect.

That is probably the biggest problem I had with this story, I couldn’t connect with the characters. That and Meyer’s logic never made any sense. She didn’t know how Artie felt despite hearing him and his intentions on the phone. She mourned losing her husband a second time despite him saying that when she wanted him, he would be there. She created obstacles that were more childish and unnecessary than relevant to the story.

Overall this story had a lot of potential but fizzled before it got across the finish line. Better editing would have made this a 5 star book.

Thank you again Netgallery for choosing me to be an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.