When you are faced with challenges, what matters most is how you choose to dealwith them. That determines your fate… her world to the core. Innocence is stolen, lives are shattered, and a young life is lost. Nothing will ever be the same again for Daniela.
Daniela Franco finds it difficult to trust others after a horrible ordeal she experienced in her hometown. With a past that relentlessly controls her life, she decides to protect herself by never allowing anyone to get close enough to destroy her again. Daniela stays focused on work and school while staying away from the college party scene. She keeps a tiny circle of friends which keeps her safe, but life has a way of changing things.
Her secrets from the past begin to slowly resurface and threaten to rock her world again in the dark and destructive way it did years earlier. Can Daniela face the demons from her past that are determined to finish what was started? Will the people she has grown to trust survive her secrets as well as their own?
Changes are certain with new friendships, chances to build trust again, the possibility of finding love, and experiencing intimacy the way it is meant to be.
Daniela must try to live with what she lost and with what will soon be found…
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What She Lost and Found by M.L. Garcia is an emotional story about a young woman, Daniela, whose life has been torn apart by rape and murder. Trying to build a new life in a new city, she finds her past holding her back from getting close to anyone, particularly men. As the story progresses, she realises she has a lot more to go through before she will fully be safe.
I really like the characters in this. Bridget, Daniela’s former roommate and closest friend at uni, is full of energy and love for her friends. Love triangle notwithstanding, I also like Nathan and Alex and admire how they respect Daniela and her boundaries.
It’s written in a first person, fairly informal style. At times I found this a little frustrating as Daniela’s thoughts and worries kept the story from flowing but I suppose that’s a pretty accurate portrayal of how her concerns were keeping her from getting on with her life. There’s a lot of detail – we are told exactly what Daniela is wearing every time she gets changed – which for me was a bit excessive but might for others help paint a vivid picture.
With rape and murder scenes, often fairly vividly described, this is quite a dark book but it is balanced with cheerful, playful friendship and gentle romance. It might be triggering for some readers. I found it quite tense at times, but mostly in an “I can’t put this book down!” kind of way.
For me, this is a four star read. I would recommend it to new adult readers who want a book about overcoming challenges and tragedy.
4 Stars
What She Lost and Found by M.L Garcia is story with a bit of a love triangle. It twisted and turned, and kept me reading the whole way through. The tension was really well done and had me on the edge of my seat. There was plenty of love, loss, grief, pain, mature content, great characters, interesting and surprising developments, and more. There is even a ‘stalker’ element- which added an extra element of intensity, mystery, and suspense.
The story definitely had a lot going on in it, and a lot of characters too- but Ms. Garcia choreographed all the elements quite skillfully. I really felt for Daniela and everything she went through. I loved Bridget, everyone needs a supportive friend like her! And the HOT guys !
Well written and engrossing read!
Thank You, Ms. Garcia!
I enjoyed this book. This story has a little bit of everything in it to satisfy everyone. It is creative, engaging and realistic. Daniela is a great character that I enjoyed watching grow throughout the story. She is strong considering what she goes through. I was taken on an emotional roller coaster ride that I didn’t want to put down. It is a journey of hurt, learning to trust and letting yourself heal. It was worth the read and I highly recommend this book.