The Same Backward as Forward

Finished May 25

The Same Backward as Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I picked this up in a bookstore because it is one of those novels that tells the story from two points of view, flipping the book to read the second viewpoint. It sounded intriguing and I only later realized it is the sixth book in a series. However, it appears that the actions here are before most of the other books in the series, and so it is sort of a prequel. Because I picked it off a display, I also didn't realize that it was a young adult novel, and given that the two main characters are in their late twenties / early thirties, I think that classification may be from the series and not this specific title. 

Hannah Rooney is a young woman whose mother runs a local criminal empire. Hannah moved out of her home as soon as she could and is studying to be a nurse. She interacts with her family as little as possible, with the exception of her younger sister Kaylie, a wild child, who she tries to protect and keep an eye on. Along the coast where they live is a private island, Hawthorne Island, owned by a wealthy family. As Hannah's story begins, she has stopped in at a local bar to see Kaylie and notices three obviously well-off young men who seem also wild as well as arrogant. That night there is a fire on the island with no apparent survivors, and Hannah is distraught when she finds out Kaylie was out there. 

When local recluse fisherman Jackson comes to Hannah for help, she is surprised to find that there was a survivor, one of the young men she'd seen the night before. He is in bad shape, with burns and injuries. It soon becomes apparent that he also has no memory of what happened or who he is. As Hannah works to save him, partly as a punishment for the death of her sister, she and Jackson must also work in secret, hiding him from both her family and his own. 

They dub him Harry.

Harry's story is the one I read second, and it continues in time past Hannah's. It is also a story of trauma, and one can see what the two have in common. There are many secrets in both families as well as ruthless individuals. Harry loves puzzles of all kinds, wordgames, codes, and games. As he and Hannah engage in these with each other, they come to know each other better than anyone else does, and this gives them both strength and vulnerability. 

The puzzles and games were interesting and seem to a theme of the series overall. This book went in a direction I didn't expect it to,

Miracle Creek Christmas

Finished July 25
Miracle Creek Christmas by Krista Jensen

This novel features Riley Madigan an art teacher who has left behind a love affair gone wrong in California and come to the small mountain town of Miracle Creek to escape and recover. There, she revitalizes the school art program, participating in creating the set and props for the school production of Peter Pan, and begins to renovate an old house she's bought.
Her art work on the set attracts the attention of Mark Rivers, a local firefighter who is still recovering from a work-related accident that left him with severe burns, as well as the loss of his best friend, another fire-fighter. Mark's mom was an artist, and she passed away from cancer when he was a teenager, but Riley's work reminds him of his mom's style and he wonders if her can convince her to help him replace a sentimental piece of his mom's that was also lost in a fire the same year he was injured.
Riley isn't looking for a romance, feeling disillusioned by her recent relationship, and she also has baggage from other losses in her life. Part of her wants to fix up the house and move on, but she has also started to make connections in town, and enjoy the setting and the people.
There is miscommunication to start, and wariness on both sides of this developing romance, but Riley and Mark have things in common and services that they can offer each other in a practical way.
I liked how Mark brought Riley out of her comfort zone, exposing her to people that needed her in a different way and to the landscape around them. I liked how Riley looked beyond the scars to see Mark as a person with his own issues. A nice read.

Officially Quit Reading This Novel

Quit January 22

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

I tried, really I did, but I couldn't get interested in this one. I am 258 pages in and still not having any fun, so I decided to cut my losses.

The main character is a pornography actor/producer who has been badly burned in a car crash, including the loss of his penis. He is very depressed and reacts to assistance by hospital personnel in a hostile manner. He is befriended by an odd woman, who tells him they knew each other in previous times, beginning in the Middle Ages. She tells stories of their past and he reflects on his life. One of my colleagues tells me the medical information is very accurate.

I'm not sure why I didn't connect with this one, as it has been making best seller lists all over. As they say, each to his own, and I'm afraid that this isn't mine.