Bittersweet Hollow (Romantic Suspense Series)
Book 1: Devil’s Lake
Book 2: Devil’s Creek
After two years of brutal captivity, Portia Lamont has escaped and returned to her family’s Vermont horse farm—only to find her parents gone to New York to try an experimental treatment for her mother’s cancer, and her childhood friend Boone Hawke running the farm.
Like the rest of her family, Boone has … rest of her family, Boone has never given up hope that Portia would return. But when she turns up battered, skinny as a twelve-year-old boy, afraid of everything and unable to talk about what happened, he does the only thing he can—try to help her heal. He summons the town doctor and Portia’s parents, and sets out to put this beautiful, broken woman back together again.
Through her family’s love and Boone’s gentle affection, Portia gradually comes back to herself, and starts to fall for her old friend in a whole new way. But one thing threatens her fragile hope for recovery: The man who took her promised that if she ever escaped, he’d kill her. Slowly. And someone is definitely watching her…waiting to make his next deadly move.
NOTE: This book contains explicit sexual content. For adults only!
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Aaron Paul Lazar somehow manages to write a book filled with tenderness, horror, and suspense all at the same time. A frightful tale of abduction by a twisted man, this story celebrates survival and resilience in his portrayal of Portia. The torment Portia endured would have been almost unbearable to read except that this skilled writer wraps it in the comfort of home, family, and the natural beauty of a pastoral setting.
Portia’s family and friends aren’t flawless. Nor is the home to which she flees after eluding her captor free from other troubles. What they do have is open hearts and a desire to deal with Portia as the wounded woman she is, supporting her as she comes to grips with the experience she’s endured. She’s got guts and so do they when they discover her ordeal isn’t over. Resourcefulness, too, as they team up to keep her safe.
An homage to the Ohio woman who escaped abduction after years of captivity, this story is an apt tribute. It’s not a clinical case study so the recovery time frame is compressed but it captures a survivor’s spirit. His message is a hopeful one: there is life after a tragedy–even a happily ever after in this case.
This book is dedicated to the women kidnapped and held hostage for ten years in Cleveland, Ohio, and so it is with great tenderness that the author, Aaron Paul Lazar, imparts this story, which I imagine must have been inspired by what he learned about the case, and by his great compassion. Part I of the story opens with Portia coming back home, having escaped from her abductor. She is in a severely weakened state, “Her heart slammed against her ribs, quickening with every mile she recognized,” and has an overwhelming yearning for safety, for home. “Green mountains surged into the clouds in the background. guarding the rolling hills of the valley where her family’s farm nestled in the hollow.” But the place is empty, except for her childhood friend, whom she barely recognizes, and because of her harrowing experience, she is afraid to be touched. “‘It’s me.’ He offered her a hand, but she pulled her away.”
Portia would like to bury the past. “She needed to forget. Really forget…. Don’t think about him.” But part of her healing is to remember. Part II of the book goes back ten years, recreating her abduction. “Shhhh,” says Murphy, in his frighteningly metallic voice. “It’s okay. You’re with me now, sugar.” We get a glimpse into the way she managed to survive the torture and starvation. “Pretend to be respectful and sweet,” she tells herself. “Go along with him. Watch and wait… If you don’t fight him, he’ll have nothing to push against.” And throughout the ordeal, she braces herself. “You can do this.”
Part III and IV, Revenge and Payback, bring a much needed conclusion to the story. Anderson and Boone work their way toward Devil’s Lake and watch for the cabin with the boarded up windows. Grace, Portia’s sister, plays a great role, which I am not going to divulge here, except to say that in the end, she and Portia renew their bond of sisterhood, and cleanse themselves of the past. It is so symbolic that they do it by diving beneath the surface of Devil’s Lake.
Five stars.
This isn’t my favorite genre, and I really recoiled when I read the book blurb. However, I had promised the author that I would read and review this book which I won in a Facebook contest.
Guess what? I couldn’t put the book down! I won’t lie, it was difficult reading about Portia’s kidnapping and the psychological terror she withstood at the hands of a madman.
However, Lazar balances the horror and suspense in such a way that I didn’t cringe at every page turn. He chooses his descriptions carefully as if he had Portia’s feelings in mind as he wrote.
The introduction of Boone, her childhood friend, softens the harsh edges of the story. Immediately, you can feel the connection between the two characters even though Portia is nowhere near ready to become involved in a relationship.
Portia’s sister Grace, who has her own problems and issues to deal with, displays an inner strength and fortitude in the face of danger that I found admirable. The two sisters are direct opposites who play off each other’s personalities all the way to the explosive ending.
If you’re in the mood for something different, Devil’s Lake will deliver in the mystery and suspense department. The story is creative and I couldn’t predict what would happen next. But beware. There is explicit sexual content. I didn’t find anything offensive so don’t let that put you off.
I’m interested in the rest of the series as I would like to see where this author’s creativity takes the characters and the continuing story.
The Kindle book and the Audible version are listed as FREE. For a few hours of great entertainment, you can’t go wrong.
MY RATING:
Character Believability: 5
Flow and Pace: 5
Reader Engagement: 5
Reader Enrichment: 5
Reader Enjoyment: 5
Overall Rate: 5 out of 5 Stars
Aaron Paul Lazar tries to deal with several sensitive emotional issues: cancer, kidnapping, and rape. He fails to treat them realistically or sensitively. Mr. Lazar sets his scenes well with good description. His characters are developed nicely.