Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale ~ Review

Title: Everything We Left Behind (Everything #2)

Author: Kerry Lonsdale

Genre: Adult, Suspense

Length: 348 paged

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Release Date: July 4, 2017

Source: NetGalley

Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Two months before his wedding, financial executive James Donato chased his trade-laundering brother Phil to Mexico, only to be lost at sea and presumed dead. Six and a half years later, he emerges from a dissociative fugue state to find he’s been living in Oaxaca as artist Carlos Dominguez, widower and father of two sons, with his sister-in-law Natalya Hayes, a retired professional surfer, helping to keep his life afloat. But his fiancée, Aimee Tierney, the love of his life, has moved on. She’s married and has a child of her own.

Devastated, James and his sons return to California. But Phil is scheduled for release from prison, and he’s determined to find James, who witnessed something in Mexico that could land Phil back in confinement. Under mounting family pressure, James flees with his sons to Kauai, seeking refuge with Natalya. As James begins to unravel the mystery of his fractured identity, danger is never far behind, and Natalya may be the only person he can trust.

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The ending to Everything We Keep left me wanting so much more! There were knots left all tied up and people on the verge of breakthroughs or breakdowns that I never had a chance to see. Everything We Left Behind picks up with James and tells his totally crazy story.

We start with a whammy - his memory comes back. His real memory. That means the person he has been for the past several years is completely erased. The man with a family, children, friends, and a business are wiped away forever as the original person re-emerges.  I can't even imagine how confused and disbelieving he must have been. But Kerry Lonsdale took me there! It was amazing - not what happened to him - but how I was brought into that situation and those feelings.

Fast forward a little and we have a family quickly becoming dysfunctional. James' memories pick up with him still together with Aimee, who has moved on and is living a new life. Their conversations and interactions were another brilliant look into the lives of these people. We finally find out exactly what happened with Phil and how James almost died in the first book.

There were a few moments that things got confusing. I wasn't sure which part of the timeline I was in as things jump around quite a bit. Just a tad more streamlining and I think this would have been just about perfect.

*I voluntarily received a review copy of this book*

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Everything Series

Everything We Keep

Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale

Title: Everything We Keep
Author: Kerry Lonsdale
Genre: Adult, Thriller
Length: 306 Pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Release Date: August 1, 2016
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

A luminous debut with unexpected twists, Everything We Keepexplores the devastation of loss, the euphoria of finding love again, and the pulse-racing repercussions of discovering the truth about the ones we hold dear and the lengths they will go to protect us.

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

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I loved this book until the epilogue. Then I wanted to throw the book - not because of anything wrong - I know it was just a personal preference - but OH MY GOD it made me so mad. Now, this could be seen as a good sign. It takes a lot for me to have that type of reaction to a book. I was so drawn into the characters and their lives that I felt like they were my friends. Good thing!!

I learned a lot about memory and what it can and can't do. It's quite fascinating, and from my simple research partner (Google) the author did a great job of portraying the circumstances. As Aimee comes to grips with what has happened to her fiance, we learn right along with her, and it was a great way of relaying information without doing just a big info dump on me.

Everything We Keep is an incredible emotional ride. I felt everything in the spectrum right along with Aimee and even James (the little bit we get to see). Right before the end, I was frustrated with life, but satisfied with the way Aimee had reacted and sorted things. Then the last two page....and the almost throwing. I want to say those pages ruined the book for me, until I tried to explain it all to someone. Their comment, "If it touched you so deeply, then it was a good book."

And they were right. This was a book that was beyond amazing and engaging. But if you read it, be prepared. It is not what you are going to expect. I could tell you the story, and it still wouldn't be what you expect. You have to live this one to truly experience it.

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