When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her―until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behaviour takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.
Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow―another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental to all of them.
My Review:
I noticed that this book doesn't have as many good reviews on Goodreads as all the other CoHo's books, but honestly, I can say that it was a brilliant book! It was different but in a very good way. It was told from the main character's, Leeds, POV, which worked so well, especially when it came to keeping the suspense all throughout the book.
I really enjoyed how the story jumped from Leeds telling the story of how he and Layla met, to the interview excerpts with the detective in the present. I think it was the main reason that I couldn't put this book down and wanted to keep going to find out what is going on with Layla and Leeds in this B&B in the middle of nowhere. The chapters changing from Leeds' story to the interviews with the detective really made me want to know what Leeds has done to Layla and how the mysterious Willow adds to all of this...
Not going to lie, I read this book in a couple of hours and that to me shows that it is a great book. I thought at first that I might not enjoy it, since it has a paranormal aspect to it, and I am not a huge fan of paranormal books, but honestly, in this book paranormal aspect just made this book stand out. I just could not put it down, the way this book gripped me. Plus, it did have a little bit of 'The Shinning' vibe to it with the whole empty B&B in the middle of nowhere..so it's definitely a bonus.
Also, I just really like CoHo's writing style. The way she explores different stories and the way she successfully brings different genres together into one book. Her writing really plays on your feelings too.
There were some red flags in terms of the characters. For example, some of the things that Leeds did to Layla because of the Willow were rather traumatic and although Leeds loves Layla, I would not call those actions romantic or done out of love. At times, his character did scare me but the more I read this book the more I realised, that he might be suffering from the tragedy that happened to Layla, but instead of the physical scars, he is suffering mentally and in silence, as he wants to be strong for Layla on the outside. It is seen quite clearly through the book that what happened to Layla really took a toll on him.
Overall: Definitely recommend this book to someone who likes a thought-provoking, emotionally compelling, a paranormal book that is not a thriller but is a great story that is different to mainstream love romances and paranormal books. It is worth a read if you are a fan of CoHo or like to start reading her books. Also, I would say it is an excellent book to get you out of the reading slump. It definitely helped me to get out of one!
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