Strong willed Carina Rivera is tired of struggling with painful memories.Abandoned by her father as a baby and molested as a child by a neighbor man, she’s been dealing with pain for as long as she can remember.Carina sets out to return to her childhood relationship with God, determined to leave the darkness of her troubled past and the bad reputation her own mistakes have earned her. But when … her. But when she’s suddenly thrust into the position of her family’s sole breadwinner, Carina comes face to face with the kind of temptation she’s not sure she has the strength to resist—her handsome supervisor, Aaron Mendoza.
Dark. Forbidden. Carina knows she needs to stay away … everything about Aaron is off limits.
But Aaron is calling to hidden desires within Carina, luring her down a dangerous path that leads to his web of seduction.
Will Carina allow the shadows of her past to creep into her present and darken her future?
Can she escape from the trap set for her by the evil dwelling within Aaron?
more
This book took me on an emotional roller-coaster with characters you want to know and root for and a smartly written story that kept me totally immersed in all that was happening from beginning to end. God’s love and grace is shown throughout this inspirational read that may be difficult for a very sensitive reader. This is the first book I have read by Jeanine Lunsford but I can hardly wait to read book two in the Rivera Sisters series. I received an advance reader copy of this book from Book Sirens and am voluntarily leaving my review. I also purchased a copy to read again.
Remembering First Love (The Rivera Sisters Series Book 1) by Jeanine Lunsford
Starts with a glimpse of what’s to come that is filled with not only prayer but frightful secrets.
Story starts with Carina and she’s heading down the aisle as a bridesmaid.
Her sister Amelia is getting married to Richard and she is the good sister. Carina was and is till known as the bad sister and had once wanted Richard.
She needs to prove to her mother that she’s not the same girl she used to be-how responsible she is…
Like that the book also concentrates on Amelia and her new life and the move to Texas. Hated hearing of the abuse of the factory Hispanic girls must go through at the sewing factory..
Although she tries hard to follow her Christian upbringing she also falls for one of the bosses, who’s not a Christian….
Terrifying, haunting, dark, abusive scenes and you wonder if her belief in God will save her…
About the author is included at the end along with her other works.
Didn’t care for the subject but thought it’d be more of a contemporary romance book as categorized.
Received this review copy from the author via BookSirens and this is my honest opinion.
I had a hard time initially reading this book. In fact, I set it down more than once but decided to finally plow through it and I am glad I did. Carina’s story is one of redemption and forgiveness. Carina had been a survivor of childhood molestation and always seemed to gravitate to the bad boys. Aaron and his father were lecherous, horrible men. Aaron had his own past to deal with but I had a hard time cutting him some slack because of his treatment of Carina. In one breath, he would say he loved her and she was his everything and the next he would be abusing her. I know that happens and I was so sad for Carina because she couldn’t see that she had worth until much later.
I wouldn’t say this book was necessarily a clean read, because there was sex, while not graphically descriptive. There is also violence, also not graphically descriptive. I did enjoy the story that Carina finally had enough and knew she deserved more than she was receiving from someone who said he loved her.
I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.
Remembering First Love is such a moving story. Carina has been through things that no child ever should. Thinking that God has abandoned her, she goes through life on her own, searching for love and affection in all the wrong places. Through an abusive husband, two tragic losses she continues to believe that she is on her own. God works in his own way and is always in control and that is something Carina will need to see. There are trigger warnings due to domestic violence. I read this in one sitting because I could not put it down. The characters are wonderfully written and Carina’s story is beautifully told. I can’t wait to read the next book to see how things end up for her.