The Lost Coast

by Jane Kindred

Some histories should stay lost. Especially those written in blood.

The only things Millie Lang’s mother gave her were third-degree burns, and a name Millie refuses to use. Abandoned as an infant, Millie grew up as “the girl with the scars”, shunted from one foster family to the next.

Before she met Lukas Strand, she’d never understood what “home” meant. Then Lukas disappeared without a word. Eight years later, Millie is secure in the life she’s built as a physical therapist. Until she gets a letter from a mysterious stranger who knows her real name.

From the moment she arrives at the sprawling vineyard manor on California’s Lost Coast to work with the owner’s young son, she begins to doubt her secret benefactor’s motives. The vineyard is known as The Strand—and Lukas is her patient’s father.

As Millie delves into the tangled threads of their family histories, she realizes the fire that scarred her may not have been an accident—and Lukas’s son is in danger. Unless she survives long enough to unearth the key to some very uncomfortable truths…

Contains a vineyard owner whose family tree may not have the ideal number of branches, and a woman who is about to discover the magic hidden in her own DNA. May cause unsettling feelings of creeping anxiety and a sudden urge to make bad puns about wood.

Genres: Paranormal

373 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2015

About the author

Jane Kindred is the author of epic fantasy series The House of Arkhangel’sk, Demons of Elysium, and Looking Glass Gods. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.

You can find Jane on Facebook, Twitter, and her website, www.janekindred.com.

Reviews

[☾ Dαɴιyα ☽ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been trying to remember what it was about this book that once made me think I would like it and request it on NetGalley, but it's been so long I can't recall anything about it. All I know now is I made a mistake.

It's quite simple: this was not a book for me.

In terms of genre, I wouldn't know how to classify it. The Lost Coast had paranormal elements, murder mystery, erotica, a little romance. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me.

My only status update was What is happening here?! It's a question I kept asking throughout the book, whether it was because I genuinely had no idea what was happening or because I couldn't believe some things were actually happening. In the case of The Lost Coast that was not a good thing.

The main star and narrator of The Lost Coast is Millie, a woman who as a child survived a fire that left her with severe scars, knew nothing of her family, and had her heart broken by one Lukas Strand eight years ago when he disappeared from her life without a word. They meet again when going after a mysterious job offer and promise to find out more about her mother brings her to a place called The Lost Coast and to the home of her long lost lover, one he shares with his wife, and son who she was hired to take care of.

That's when she starts receiving anonymous messages about her childhood and her mother, which makes it the beginning of solving the mystery that is her origin.

During her stay at that estate, Millie will find herself in the middle of the Strand family drama, murders, attempted murders, and family traditions that will really have you wondering what in the world is happening there. Traditions that included incest, a fact I wish was included in the warning. I know the publisher uses that warning portion to describe all the fun things in a book, but I think incest should be in a real warning. It's something I'd like to avoid in books, and in this story it was particularly difficult to read. It's only described through conversations, but it was difficult nonetheless.

Those family traditions are strongly linked with what Lukas's and his wife's families are. And what they are is what made this book a paranormal one. I don't read much PNR, so I can't say if something like this was ever written about. I can only say I haven't ever found it in a book before. Not sure if I would want to repeat it because I found it a bit confusing. That it was connected to the incestuous relations didn't help.

So, Millie is finding out about her mother, father, and her family in general, she's dealing with some odd people at that estate, she's helping her ex's son get better, and keeping him out of danger, she's still attracted to her ex, Lukas, and that's not even half of it. Her life couldn't be any more complicated.

That brings me to her love-life complications, and the erotic and slightly romantic aspects of the novel. Lukas, who for me even at the end was still a mystery, was in a forbidden zone for Millie, but staying away was hard for both of them. Then another man entered her life and bedroom. I had no idea where it was headed from there, but the ending sounded like there was happiness in store for her in the future.

Overall, this was not a book I hated; just one that confused me a great deal, and ultimately didn't work for me. If any of the story parts I've mentioned seem appealing to you, then by all means, pick it up and see for yourself.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost Coast is a deviation from Kindred’s usual fantasy-inspired offerings. Sexually tame, this gothic-inspired modern romance is built on a supernatural base that drips with intrigue, mystery and some deliciously dark humor. Jealousy, incest, murder and insanity all vie for the heroine’s attention as she pursues an emotionally and physically dangerous path that promises answers to all her questions — if she can just stay alive long enough to discover them.

Read the rest of my review at Rt Reviews Magazine http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-rev...

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very twisty mystery with some red herrings, a little bit of myth and magic, families with some really bizarre traditions (trigger warning for mentions of incest), people plotting against each other. Not your normal PT gig. It was an entertaining and distracting read, and it kept my attention , which is what I needed--a nice escape novel. Okay, so the families are a little twisted. Everything's relative, right?

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost Coast is just one of the books that have you scratching your head. It starts out very innocent, moves into the odd and comes out with a what did I just read.

Millie was burned and abandoned as in infant. Growing up known as the girl with scars, she is shuffled from one foster care after another. She’s an adult now and has become a physical therapist. Her life is as normal as she can have it until she receives a job offer help a child from a mysterious stranger who knows her real name and who knows what else. Having recently lost her own job, she decides to drive out to check out the job.

I don’t know how to describe The Lost Coast other than to say it was all very strange. Let’s start with Millie. I liked her. She had a hard life growing up but she seems to be sanding pretty well on her own two feet. Lukas, was a mixed bag. Less than loving about how he treats his son I kind of hated him, but there was such a odd mystery around him. The whole story had this odd mixed feel to it. Who was innocent, and who was not had me guessing the whole way through. Millie keeps getting these odd texts from someone who knows secrets about her had me trying to puzzle out this book every time one came through. I knew The Lost Coast took a sharp turn into crazy town when Millie receives a box of letters. A warning and a spoiler: If you have a problem with incest this is not the book for you. Just putting that out there now.

I’m not going into much further details about this book other than to say I had a hard time putting it down. Lots of twisty plots, overly polite smiling characters (You know the ones that make you back up slowly while mentally you’re screaming) and a supernatural shocker that, well, I read a lot of PNRs but that was just something else. If a strange mystery with a paranormal twist is something that appeals to you, then The Lost Coast by Jane Kindred is right up your alley.


I received this book from the JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine and in no way was I compensated.
Stars - 4, Flames - 3

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at www.iseeyoursmile.com

Bam! My mind hasn't been blown, but I can't help feeling a little bit stunned. This book. This was something else. I have not read ANYTHING like this before.

The cover is pretty, but I don't think it comes close to representing how the main hero and heroine are described. Which is disappointing to me. My brain had to work to undo the cover once Ms. Kindred began her descriptions of Millie and Lukas. My head made them equally attractive as the ones on the cover, but they don't look like the cover. Add a few years and some scars.

Format: Electronic
Tissue warning: No
HEA: Yes, we assume.
Triggers: Incest (I hate to say it, but this actually plays a big part in the backstory, and I actually might not have read the book if I had seen "incest" in a description, but I feel it's my duty to warn)
My reviewer rating: 3.5—The first half of the book I'd give a 2.5. The second half I give a solid 4.
Recommend to others: Yes, as long as you can look past the incest. It's not graphic, I promise, it's just uncomfortable to think about at times.