- Received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review -
4.5 stars.
An original love story between a married couple, parents to two little boys, “This Reminds Me of Us”, by Julia Gabriel (Serif Books), is an emotional, heartfelt read, featuring a hero who feels he’s just an ordinary guy, unworthy of his wife and terrified of losing this very special lady.
Brave in different ways, Oliver and Serena are amazing, beautiful characters. I admit I was not that fond of Oliver’s fears, suspicion and jealousy, indeed I found myself often annoyed with the tendency to doubt his wife’s faithfulness. But he has been through so much pain and loss recently, it’s normal to feel that way. And it was refreshing to have a hot firefighter hero, who is also solid, steady and reliable, loves being a family man and sees himself as a bit boring (but people and life aren’t always exciting, after all).
I also liked how the author handled the amnesia and how Serena dealt with it.
The family dynamics and the two boys, who are amazing characters (loved having Mason’s point of view!) are fabulous to read, too. Even the dead characters are believable and the grief over their deaths seamlessly interwoven throughout the story
And then, meeting again the fabulous hero from “Two of Hearts”, Matt, and revisiting St. Caroline was also great - I just wish Matt gets more attention in future stories; he deserves so much more.