When we picked up this book we expected parallel stories
across two lifetimes. That is what the synopsis suggested. But though there is
a flash of past life, this story remains firmly in the contemporary timeline
with two awfully winsome ladies falling in love with each other.
Lindsay Hall And her rather kooky best friend, Patty, kind
of chase the paranormal in their teens. After rounds with Ouija boards and the
like, they get ahold of past-life regression hypnosis CDs and while Patty
sleeps through them, Lindsay has a deeply impactful experience. She 'sees' a
dramatic moment of two girls in love with each other being torn apart. She
knows one of them (Katie) is her but has no idea who the other girl, Roo, is.
Making a poor choice right after the regression, teen Lindsay's life is changed
when she becomes pregnant.
Present day Lindsay is a successful and in-demand portrait
artist. She is divorced and has a teenaged daughter, Brook. Patty owns an at
gallery, is still kooky, still her best friend and still kind of holding a
candle for Lindsay. After years of having dreamt of her, Lindsay finally paints
Roo.
Ren Christopher's best friend, Deb lives in the same town as
Lindsay and owns a popular coffee shop. Deb is Ren's safe place and home, so
before moving to Paris for a new job, Ren arrives in town to spend a couple of
weeks withDeb and her family.
At the first sight of Ren, Lindsay embarrassingly faints.
Rather quickly, Ren and Lindsay get to know each other better and find an
undeniable attraction.
This book is so much fun to read. The dialogues are fun and
funny. Ditto the situations and the cast of characters -- including Brook, Deb
and Patty. At the same time, no one is a one-dimensional jester or comic
relief. They are all well-rounded people who add to the goings-on in wonderful
ways.
The whole past life angle was frankly quite unnecessary and
forced. It particularly felt that way because Lindsay is not overly angsty
about it. She is funny, cool, quite adorable -- and very, very present.
Lindsay's fainting may have been because of Roo but her relationship with Ren
is never driven by a past life hangover. The second reason that the past life
angle seemed unnecessary was because we never get to know how Ren feels about
it or how she deals with it. However, this angle is used to create the conflict
in the relationship (we felt that this one could've done without any conflict.
Their parting was already inevitable with Ren's imminent move to Paris. But
well).
Both, Lindsay and Ren are so, so attractive. The ending was
kind of hurried and didn't have any lead up but the two ladies are just so
lovely that we found ourselves not caring about shortfalls in the plot or
pacing -- we were just happy that they got together.
This is definitely recommended: lovely ladies, excellent
chemistry, great supporting cast and high fun factor in the writing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐★
