Family Shapes Us – A review of “Forget Me” by Kimberley Ash
Book #2 in the Van Allen Brothers series by Kimberley Ash is more a look at family relationships than a romance. “Forget Me” concentrates on Laurel Moore’s return from NYC to her hometown to keep the family bar running after her father’s death. In so doing, she reconnects with her past love, Jonah Van Allen who has shed his “bad boy” image to become a psychologist with a PhD under his belt. While their relationship rekindles and burns brightly, both of their families are brought into the story and it quickly becomes a treatise on dysfunctional relationships: with mothers, brothers, fathers, in-laws, employees, friends….. You get the idea. A large part of the story centers around Laurel’s skills as an innovative chef and her creativity, which is evident in the dishes she whips up in her kitchen. The family dynamics and how they affect Laurel and Jonah are at least as important as the affair itself. In the midst of all the goings on, the pacing falters here and there, enough so that I kept finding things other than reading to occupy my time (heretofore unheard of). However, the characters are well drawn and the dialogue is authentic. As previously noted, the plot is tightly interwoven and aside from some steamy love scenes, it’s most definitely family centric.
ReadMyLips 