Review of Lara's Journal

[Danielle Briggs]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Lara's Journal" by A. Gavazzoni.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Lara’s Journal by A. Gavazzoni is the second book in the Hidden Motives series. The book follows two storylines simultaneously. Presently, Doctor Simone Bennet is recovering from the trauma she experienced in the first book and trying to return to her normal life. She returns home from visiting a friend in Miami and begins seeing patients again. But as much as she’d like to get back to normal, she is forced to face a multitude of issues, ranging from an obsessed lover to a string of murders linked to her!

The second storyline begins once Simone is given a journal that she is asked to read by a former patient of hers. To escape the troubles in her own life, she begins reading it regularly. In the journal, we read a first-hand account from Lara about her childhood through her college years. We see Lara go through terrible and horrific things consistently and see her mental state change because of them.

The maturation of Lara throughout her journal was very profound and almost sad when considering how it came about. Most of what happened to her is presented in a shocking and spontaneous way, which helps the reader feel how Laura felt in those moments. The characters are very well developed in the book, allowing us to feel emotionally connected to them. Even secondary characters, such as Carl or Edward, are well-developed. Unlike most romance novels, a lot of the sexual encounters in this book are very unemotional and purely physical. I surprisingly enjoyed this because it fits perfectly with the story. If the author had made them more emotionally charged, it would not have made sense. The author is able to keep constant suspense in both storylines, making me want to read faster to find out what happens next for both characters. The book has many twists and turns that leave readers guessing and ends with a cliffhanger that will no doubt be resolved in the third and final book in the series.

The only negative that I found in this book was that sometimes Simone’s actions did not match her character. There were a few times when I wondered why she didn't call the cops or act differently in the situation, especially given what she'd been through recently. Because of this, Simone looked very naive which I knew she was not supposed to be.

As the second in a series, I would not recommend reading this book as a standalone. Even though a person could get by without reading the first installment, it does include background information that is very useful for this book. The ending also forces the reader to want to read the next book since it closes on a cliffhanger. Many of the scenes in this book are graphic in nature, so sensitive readers should avoid this book. Readers that enjoy BDSM and other highly erotic books would enjoy this book.

Even with the above negative, I would still give this book a 4 out of 4. The constant state of suspense and gripping storyline made it hard for me to let go, and I found myself reading every opportunity I had.

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Lara's Journal
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[Rupali Mishra]

An extremely interesting assessment. According to your advise, I will defiantly read this book.

[Charmaine Mahlangu]

The author here highlights how Doctors cannot really treat themselves but find it really easy to diagnose or analyse lives they do not own. A female psychiatrist Dr Simone Bunnet travels around looking for the obvious. Happiness .

Simone Bunnet who has experienced severe trauma at the hands of a man named Peter Hays who had kidnapped him months before, now suffers severely from PTSD. As this wouldn't be easy to decipher she lives her life carefree and unattending to her own needs as she sleeps with a stranger for the first time in a bar. Currently visiting her high school friend Arami ,she learns more about herself while helping her patients.

Carl a man who had expressed previously to her about wanting to be her patient just before the Peter Hays incident is struggling to move from his own traumas. Carl dated a woman by the name of Lara who died in what looked like a sexual experiment .He is haunted by her death to this day and how her journal explains her erotic experiences. This allows our psychiatrist to dive into our Laras Journal.

This is a good book not much editing was needed but errors were found but only few of them. The descriptions of the characters and dialogue was easy to make me fall in love with the book . Less characters were involved and that was great also. I give this book a 4 out of 5 rating. Truly an impressive read.

[Julie Marie Basil]

This sounds like a very unique book. I haven't read many books that involve reading a character's journal as one element of storytelling, rather than as the means of narration for the entire story. Your review is well-written and very informative for potential readers. Keep up the good work!