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Left in the Dark
Cal Restrepo, sole survivor of the automobile accident that took the life of his ex-lover, emerges from a state of unconsciousness to find himself under the care of a psychiatrist and a physical therapist in the exclusive sanatorium called Wending Hills.
Although Cal eventually emerges from a terrifying state of almost complete amnesia, his memories continue to be patchy, mixed up and those from the last few months of his life before the accident are nearly impenetrable.
Once returned home, Cal slowly begins to acclimate; to join the missing pieces of the puzzle of his life together. With the support of his old friend, Joshua, Cal starts to think that maybe he can get through this. Maybe Doctor Malhotra - the psychiatrist at Wending Hills - had been right: this was an opportunity to begin again.
The arrival of handsome and personable Nurse Practitioner Marc Duguay (assigned by Malhotra to monitor Cal’s post release progress) seems to Cal to be a harbinger of good things to come.
Feeling hopeful in mind and stronger in body, Cal gradually reconnects with neighbors and friends, but soon begins to see the cracks in the veneer of the story of his past life that he has thus far accepted as true.
Although Cal eventually emerges from a terrifying state of almost complete amnesia, his memories continue to be patchy, mixed up and those from the last few months of his life before the accident are nearly impenetrable.
Once returned home, Cal slowly begins to acclimate; to join the missing pieces of the puzzle of his life together. With the support of his old friend, Joshua, Cal starts to think that maybe he can get through this. Maybe Doctor Malhotra - the psychiatrist at Wending Hills - had been right: this was an opportunity to begin again.
The arrival of handsome and personable Nurse Practitioner Marc Duguay (assigned by Malhotra to monitor Cal’s post release progress) seems to Cal to be a harbinger of good things to come.
Feeling hopeful in mind and stronger in body, Cal gradually reconnects with neighbors and friends, but soon begins to see the cracks in the veneer of the story of his past life that he has thus far accepted as true.
- GenresM M Romance
Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2020
28 people want to read
About the author
Zev de Valera
8 books14 followersBorn in New York City and raised in the San Joaquin Valley of California, Zev now splits his time between Brooklyn , New York and Stratford, Connecticut with his husband, two cats and one dog.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 12, 2021
4.5 stars We are joining Cal on his, extraordinarily journey where he’s recovering from a car accident. He lost his ex-lover with it, he’s injured physically and mentally, he’s got an, almost complete, amnesia. His friend Joshua brings him home now he’s free to go, after a recovery period in the sanatorium.
There are triggers for his memory, like Bruno, Cal’s dog, friends, neighbors, colleagues.
Cal doesn’t realize it yet, but he is missing significant parts of the last few months before his accident.
“I was suffering from amnesia yet had the strongest desire to forget.”
Cal gets help from Nurse Practitioner Marc Duguay to get back on his feet. Marc is funny and is honest about how he feels about Cal. The attraction is mutual.
Cal is a colorful personality, he’s an art teacher, he had a career as an award-winning costume designer.
He gets that the world isn’t what it is when you fill in the gaps yourself. Little by little he understands what happened before the accident. Not everyone is what he thought they were, including himself. Some vague memories are nudging suggesting there is more going on.
This was a solidly written story. I don’t want to zoom in on the details that could give spoilers but… believe me there are some shocking facts, I didn’t see them coming.
Cal and Marc are sweet together and the author managed even here a nice twist.
The secondary characters have an important spot in this narrative.
All the different aspects of Cal’s life are good entwined, unexpected, surprising, and a lot to digest.
Overall a captivating, entertaining story, a great experience, all intriguing AF.
Read and Reviewed for LoveBytesReviews
There are triggers for his memory, like Bruno, Cal’s dog, friends, neighbors, colleagues.
Cal doesn’t realize it yet, but he is missing significant parts of the last few months before his accident.
“I was suffering from amnesia yet had the strongest desire to forget.”
Cal gets help from Nurse Practitioner Marc Duguay to get back on his feet. Marc is funny and is honest about how he feels about Cal. The attraction is mutual.
Cal is a colorful personality, he’s an art teacher, he had a career as an award-winning costume designer.
He gets that the world isn’t what it is when you fill in the gaps yourself. Little by little he understands what happened before the accident. Not everyone is what he thought they were, including himself. Some vague memories are nudging suggesting there is more going on.
This was a solidly written story. I don’t want to zoom in on the details that could give spoilers but… believe me there are some shocking facts, I didn’t see them coming.
Cal and Marc are sweet together and the author managed even here a nice twist.
The secondary characters have an important spot in this narrative.
All the different aspects of Cal’s life are good entwined, unexpected, surprising, and a lot to digest.
Overall a captivating, entertaining story, a great experience, all intriguing AF.
Read and Reviewed for LoveBytesReviews
April 10, 2021
When Cal Restrepo wakes up, he discovers he is the sole survivor of a car crash that has claimed the life of his partner. After being in a hospital for a long time, and under the care of a psychiatrist he is released back to his life. There's one problem, and that is that even though Cal has recovered from complete amnesia, he still has holes in his past. He remembers his dog but can't remember why he had the accident. He remembers that he likes and knows his neighbour but doesn't recall that they were having an affair.
Life can be pretty confusing when your past presents itself in bits and pieces. When Cal meets Marc Duguay - the nurse who has been assigned to assist him with the transition to living at home - he finds himself enjoying the man's company. He tries to take the advice of his Psychiatrist and see his memory challenges as permission to being again: without the emotional baggage from his memories, can he change up his life?
It's hard to describe this book. It is really about Cal's journey from the accident back to his life. Because of the holes in his memory, he has to look at things differently than he may have the first time around.
While I was reading, I enjoyed the way that the mystery of Cal's past unfolded for me at the same time as it did for him. He has conversations with people who have been in his life for a long time and realizes that things weren't what they seemed. It's also interesting that once Cal settles a bit and begins to separate his emotional responses from his scattered memories, he begins to see things more clearly.
I really enjoyed the way that Cal's progression was written. His returning memories often left him with an emotional response, and it was interesting to read his thoughts and feelings. I didn't mind the POV switching as there were some parts of the book that could only be explained by a supporting character. I did feel as though if this were a longer novel, that the author could have stuck with one POV.
I enjoyed this story; it had the feel of a movie... when there's a flashback reveal at the end that ties all the pieces together. The pacing was good, but I would have loved for the main relationship to have blossomed a little slower. It did feel a little bit too quick for me.
Please read the content warnings for this one.
Life can be pretty confusing when your past presents itself in bits and pieces. When Cal meets Marc Duguay - the nurse who has been assigned to assist him with the transition to living at home - he finds himself enjoying the man's company. He tries to take the advice of his Psychiatrist and see his memory challenges as permission to being again: without the emotional baggage from his memories, can he change up his life?
It's hard to describe this book. It is really about Cal's journey from the accident back to his life. Because of the holes in his memory, he has to look at things differently than he may have the first time around.
While I was reading, I enjoyed the way that the mystery of Cal's past unfolded for me at the same time as it did for him. He has conversations with people who have been in his life for a long time and realizes that things weren't what they seemed. It's also interesting that once Cal settles a bit and begins to separate his emotional responses from his scattered memories, he begins to see things more clearly.
I really enjoyed the way that Cal's progression was written. His returning memories often left him with an emotional response, and it was interesting to read his thoughts and feelings. I didn't mind the POV switching as there were some parts of the book that could only be explained by a supporting character. I did feel as though if this were a longer novel, that the author could have stuck with one POV.
I enjoyed this story; it had the feel of a movie... when there's a flashback reveal at the end that ties all the pieces together. The pacing was good, but I would have loved for the main relationship to have blossomed a little slower. It did feel a little bit too quick for me.
Please read the content warnings for this one.
November 18, 2021
Not as dark as I thought it may have been.
Cal is recovering though we don’t get the accident details until right at the end.
However, we do get to unravel Cal, his ex partner Paul, neighbours Eric and Jill’s lives. It is an intriguing look into the tangled webs we weave, new people who change dynamics.
As each truth is revealed, there is another that is still to be revealed.
Cal is recovering though we don’t get the accident details until right at the end.
However, we do get to unravel Cal, his ex partner Paul, neighbours Eric and Jill’s lives. It is an intriguing look into the tangled webs we weave, new people who change dynamics.
As each truth is revealed, there is another that is still to be revealed.
February 1, 2022
** 3.5 Stars **
It was a good read, although I didn't love it as much as Blood Relations. Somehow, I expected the story to be darker. But I'd still recommend it, though!
It was a good read, although I didn't love it as much as Blood Relations. Somehow, I expected the story to be darker. But I'd still recommend it, though!
May 4, 2021
3.5 stars
I was hesitant to spend money on this one because it had so few reviews, and based on the covers of the author's other books, I was expecting it to be pretty shitty, but the blurb had me curious. It was actually well written, though not exactly what I expected it to be. I figured it'd end up on my mindfuckery shelf, but it doesn't quite fit. While you do spend most of the book in the dark with the MC as far as what all transpired before his accident, the revelations were not as world altering as I expected and hoped they'd be. I also found it difficult to relate to Cal, because he ultimately did not seem to be strongly affected by these revelations, like he was too emotionally detached, therefore I was as well. Overall, though, it was an enjoyable read.
I was hesitant to spend money on this one because it had so few reviews, and based on the covers of the author's other books, I was expecting it to be pretty shitty, but the blurb had me curious. It was actually well written, though not exactly what I expected it to be. I figured it'd end up on my mindfuckery shelf, but it doesn't quite fit. While you do spend most of the book in the dark with the MC as far as what all transpired before his accident, the revelations were not as world altering as I expected and hoped they'd be. I also found it difficult to relate to Cal, because he ultimately did not seem to be strongly affected by these revelations, like he was too emotionally detached, therefore I was as well. Overall, though, it was an enjoyable read.
April 4, 2024
While the writing was engaging enough, I never really connected to any characters and spent the entire book feeling like I was waiting for something to happen. Even when things did happen, nothing felt climatic.
May 3, 2021
Wow, what a story! The blurb hooked me right away and I finished it in a night.
The characters are really well done, each of them were memorable and had their own personalities and quirks which is something that is sometimes sorely lacking in this genre. When I can remember a character's name, who they are, and how they relate to the main characters after one mention or meeting with them then I know the book is well-written in that regard. Each of the characters existed beyond just progressing the plot and each one served to give exposition on the main character without telling us but, instead, showing us.
The story itself felt like a nice, long walk through Cal's recovery. As we walk, we meet these people who made up his life before the accident and new people who help him along his way. There's guilt, mourning, revelations, new beginnings, and letting things go. There's instances where it's hard to imagine how you would manage such things and there's funny bits that make you smile.
I enjoyed this book immensely and I'm glad I picked it up after sifting through many Goodreads lists looking for something new to read!
The characters are really well done, each of them were memorable and had their own personalities and quirks which is something that is sometimes sorely lacking in this genre. When I can remember a character's name, who they are, and how they relate to the main characters after one mention or meeting with them then I know the book is well-written in that regard. Each of the characters existed beyond just progressing the plot and each one served to give exposition on the main character without telling us but, instead, showing us.
The story itself felt like a nice, long walk through Cal's recovery. As we walk, we meet these people who made up his life before the accident and new people who help him along his way. There's guilt, mourning, revelations, new beginnings, and letting things go. There's instances where it's hard to imagine how you would manage such things and there's funny bits that make you smile.
I enjoyed this book immensely and I'm glad I picked it up after sifting through many Goodreads lists looking for something new to read!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews