Sunday 16 July 2017

Review: Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale

From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everything We Keep comes the highly anticipated sequel. Told from one man’s two perspectives, Everything We Left Behind effortlessly blends suspense, mystery, and romance in an exploration of loss, resilience, and the compelling need to protect the ones we love at all cost.

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.



(This book is the sequel to Everything We Keep.)

Paperback, 348 pages
Published July 4th 2017 by Lake Union Publishing
Series: Everything We Keep #2
Genre: Fiction

Kristine's Thoughts:

** I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**

Everything We Left Behind is the sequel to Everything We Keep. I would not recommend reading this as a stand alone because it would be a bit confusing at first. I really enjoyed Everything We Keep with its huge question mark ending so I was anxious to dive into this book.

This book is a sequel so I won't get into the plot or re-tell the story. I will say that this book did not hold my interest like the first book did. I did not like James the way I liked Aimee in the first book. He was kind of dull and the story was kind of predictable and unbelievable.

I found myself only reading a few pages at a time and then I would have to put the book down. In part I think this was because it was clear early on that the outcome of the first book would not change and that was what I wanted. The relief of knowing that Aimee's story ended the way I wanted it to made me less anxious to know how James would end. Sad but true.

I didn't hate this book but I was a little indifferent to it. At times the plot was too busy yet for the most part I found it kind of slow. For anyone who has read Everything We Keep it is a must read though in order answer that giant question mark at the end. Just don't expect it to be as good. That is just my opinion and I encourage people to decide for themselves.




About the Author
Kerry Lonsdale believes life is more exciting with twists and turns, which may be why she enjoys dropping her characters into unexpected scenarios and foreign settings. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and is a founder of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She resides in Northern California with her husband, two children, and an aging golden retriever who’s convinced she’s still a puppy.


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