The Awakening of a Forbidden Passion

I thought this book is easy to read and a page turner. The characters were enjoyable to read about. I truly enjoyed reading this story. This books has some twists and turns and some drama. It was well written and a good storyline. I look forward to reading more stories by this author.
I read and reviewed an Advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

The heroine, Miss Priscilla Morton, an heiress, to me is a strange character. I did not dislike her but I did not like her either. She was too temperamental in a negative way. She worried, tried to intellectualize things. She had a lot of back and forth feelings. For example: Before her accident her father arranged her betrothal to a childhood friend, Phillip, the Duke of Ridlington. For some unknown reason she could not settle down her feelings. She never felt comfortable with him and when she thought of him, she became jittery and nervous. She felt all the feelings and emotions were telling her something was not quite right. Then later she would try to dismiss these thoughts and try to feel everything would work out fine. I did not feel particularly enamored of this characteristic. One thing I did garner from her was that she was a romantic at heart even though that was not played up very well. The day before her wedding, she fell down a flight of stairs, became unconscious and did not wake. She ended up with a gash on her head that needed stitching and she had selective amnesia. The last thing she remembered took place weeks and weeks ago. But for her it was only yesterday. Her sister Bridgette was younger than her, not by much and was a complete witch with a B. For 90 percent of the story Bridgette acted mean, spiteful, insulting, bitter, angry towards Priscilla no matter how much Priscilla wanted a closer relationship with her. I wrote Bridgette off as an over dramatic complainer and full of resentment. The doctor that attended to Priscilla was Dr. George Rowley. Priscilla recognized him immediately from a ball she attended where she did take an interest in him. They were never introduced. After George examined Priscilla, he had to stitch the gash for it was deep. He also recognized her selective amnesia. She was assured over time her memories would most likely return to her. During her long recuperation she had to deal with some unpleasant things. First, she could not remember Philip the man. She only remembered Philip the spoiled bratty child. Second, her mother wanted her wedding to rescheduled as soon as possible. Priscilla could not agree to it. She felt she needed to get to know Philip all over again. Every time Philip spent time with her, she dreaded it. For some reason something felt off. But then she would talk herself out of it and look forward to falling in love with him all over again. Little did she know she never loved him. Because of her recuperation George was around much of the time helping her physically and mentally recover. They became friends. Well as you can guess George and Priscilla began to more than like each other. Priscilla’s wedding to Philip is indefinitely postponed. (which Priscilla is grateful for) Her sister Bridgette is still being a pain the arse. But Priscilla is gaining her memory a fraction at a time. She is having dreadful nightmares as if something foreboding is waiting for her. I liked George’s character. He is the son of a noble and a Lord in his own right. As a compassionate, intelligent medical doctor, he devotes himself to the needy in the slums of London. I like his brother Nathaniel too. There is a sad reason George became a doctor but you will find out when you read this. Anyway, Bridgitte is acting suspicious and Priscilla confronts her wanting to know what is going on. As usual Bridgitte treats her as inconsequential and sends her off. The only time Priscilla is a peace is when she is with George. They can no longer deny their attraction to each other and passionately kiss and embrace. Priscilla know something is not right with Philip. When she asks him, he deflects as if nothing is wrong. Suddenly Priscilla remembers everything and hysterically cries and she runs to George for comfort which he does deliver. (ooh la la) The memories destroy people she held dear. The betrayal is great and when she tells her parents they are incensed. The overall story has merit. Priscilla and Bridgitte’s characters are less than desirable. The ending was shocking and revealing. (I feel that was the best part of the whole book.) I found Priscilla’s forgiveness toward those who betrayed her a little too willing, unrealistic. When you read this, you will know what I mean. I really wanted to like this book. I love to be introduced to new authors. I don’t know if Emily Honeyfield’s future books will be different but I am willing to read her next book hoping it will be better than this.