Review: The Good-bye Bride by Denise Hunter

The Good-bye Bride by Denise Hunter

I love revisiting Summer Harbor! 

Let’s begin with the summary:

She only remembers loving him. But he can't forget the way she left.

Following a concussion, Lucy Lovett can't remember the last seven months of her life. She doesn't remember leaving her fiancé Zac Callahan weeks before their wedding or moving to Portland, Maine. And she sure doesn't remember getting engaged to another man. All she remembers is loving Zac more than life itself.

It's taken Zac months to move on after Lucy left him with no explanation. He's thrown himself into his family's farm and his restaurant business in Summer Harbor. Now Lucy's back, vulnerable, homeless, and still in love with him. She needs his help putting the pieces together, but letting her back into his life is a risk—and the stakes are high. If he follows his heart he'll win back the love of his life. But if her memory returns he'll lose her all over again.

And now, my review:

The heroine in the story has lost only her recent memory. The first person she calls in a time of trouble is her estranged fiancé. Ah! What a premise! So much built-in tension. I was hooked from the opening lines, and then the chapters flew by for great pacing. 

Another element I love about Denise’s writing is her male POV. This series centers on three brothers, and I’ve enjoyed eavesdropping on their internal thoughts and banter because they seem so real. And fun. 

We revisit the past a few times in this story, and those flashbacks help us understand the beginnings of the hero and heroine’s relationship. This helped increase the sense of romance since their current relationship was so complicated. 

Our heroine fears abandonment, and no wonder. Because of this, she’s afraid to form attachments. Poor Zac, though. He doesn’t want to play the fool again. If she ran off once before, why wouldn’t she do it again?

 

Besides the theme of overcoming the past, we find the themes of learning to trust, and earning trust. The central scripture was that of perfect love casting out fear. I felt the author explained the concept of this verse very well. 

A fun read!