Withering Hope

Have you ever prayed for the characters in a book even though you know their fates have already been determined by the author? Well, I found myself doing just that. This is an emotionally stirring, all inspiring great read. Keeping a tissue box handy is advisable. It got off to a slow start, but hey, what great book doesn’t? Once I got past that small lull, I was hooked! Therefore, I more than highly recommend this book! Layla Hagen, you should take it to the big screen!!!

I loved this book, and the relationship that develops between Tristan & Aimee. So far, it’s the only book that I’ve read by Layla Hagan, but I really enjoyed it!

Withering Hope was a beautiful and at times suspenseful story. What do you do when you crash land in the Amazon Rainforest and how do you react. Tristan and Aimee not only get to know one another but they get know their own strengths too. Their form a bond. A friendship which slowly turns to an undeniable love. True love.
Most of the story takes place in the forest. It was fast paced and exciting. I would have loved more story of them after they were rescued. How they transitioned back to their new normalcy. The epilogue was fantastic. Beyond amazing. Withering Hope was a great surprise.

4 Hope Stars

This book was a non stop page turner. I couldn’t put it down and when I did all I would do was think about what was going to happen. The story felt so realistic and heartwarming.

I absolutely could not put this book down! It was so good. It is such an original story. And at the end I cried. So romantic and so sad! A definite read from a great Author

Definitely worth the read. A romantic suspense.

Unexpected story line with good characters and a more realistic than usual scenario. Good read.

Favorite Quotes:

“His face has beautiful features, with black eyes and high cheekbones. Though for all their beauty, his features are peppered with a harshness I can’t place. Like tiny shards of glass in the sun – shimmering bright and beautiful, like diamonds, but cutting at the touch.”

“I need you in a way I never thought I could need anything. It’s like air. You don’t notice how much you need it until you don’t have it.”

“If there something I learned in war, it’s that no one is unimportant. Every person means the world to someone. That makes us vulnerable, but it also makes life a gift. I had no one who could give me that gift. Now I do.”

“Death has its beauty. It makes you see the eternity in every second; it makes you see every moment’s perfection instead of searching an eternity for the perfect moment.”

My Review:

I adore Layla Hagen’s work, she makes me appreciate NA. And this was sort of like a NA version of Lost, but without the smoke monster or Others. A pilot and his female passenger, who is on her way home to marry the pilot’s boss, are doing their best to stay alive after crashing in the Amazon rainforest. Living on a thread and in survivalist mode, they ultimately find themselves and each other in the process. Of course they try to fight their growing attraction, but as their situation grows more and more desperate, maintaining their emotional distance from each other becomes increasingly difficult. Add in some entertaining and interesting story twists like PTSD, survivor’s guilt, driven personalities, nightmares, snakes, jaguars, tropical sicknesses, and a few steamy loves scenes between two highly likeable and fully fleshed out characters, and there you have it. And even a hardened old cougar like me had to tear up at the touching and sweet ending. Ms. Hagen is a talented wordsmith, her writing is insightful and can be deeply profound, all while making it rather effortless for the reader to grasp. She also has an exceptional flair for descriptive writing – she paints pictures with her words, and I truly enjoy her form of art.

I couldn’t put this down. This was such a refreshing read that still had me thinking of the notebook and forever love. Well done!

I truly could not put this book down. I was captured with the story.