Review by Ferdinand_otieno -- Lara's Journal

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

[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 a Dark, intelligent and sexy Psychological thriller. It has a blend of romance and erotica, suspense and mystery. It is the second book in Hidden Motives Series, and it has strong and complex characters who will keep you reading. The book follows the story of a psychiatrist, Simone Bennett, as she tries to move past the events of the first book in the series.

Dr. Simone Bennett is a psychiatrist who is plagued by the trauma in her past. She was kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer and she is still haunted by that event. When her college friend Arami invites her to stay with her in Miami, she agrees in an effort to forget her troubles. She has sex with a stranger one day while out partying only to meet him the next day and be told that he, Armando, is Arami’s cousin. Meanwhile, she finds herself Skyping with her patients in order to tend to them. With Armando approaching her for a romantic relationship, she finds herself questioning her readiness to date. One of her patients, Carl, has just discovered the diaries of his wife, Lara. He wants Simone to read them and help him deal with her death. Simone agrees to this because she wants to know what happened in Lara’s life that led to her death. She sets about the task of reading Lara’s journal while trying to manage Armando. Will she give Armando a chance? What will she discover in Lara’s journal? Will she be able to move on from her traumatic past? Is there danger lurking in Simone’s future? All these questions will be answered in this amazing book.

The main theme I encountered in this book was trauma. Simone has to deal with her past and it is the reason she moved to Miami. Lara has had to deal with a lot of childhood and adult trauma that she clearly highlights in her journal. His was the theme that drove this book from the beginning. The other themes I encountered in this book were; betrayal, love, death, determination, abuse, hope and justice. The author uses these themes masterfully to not only make the characters interesting, but to also make the plot memorable.

The character development in this book was written masterfully. Simone Bennett is haunted and scarred from her past and she starts the book trying to live through this. The author develops her story with the addition of Armando and the Lara’s journal. These help her deal with her fears and grow stronger from her trauma. Lara is a character in her journal, but I found her life story to be one of the greatest aspects of this book. The journal highlighted her development from childhood to adulthood. The excellent back story in the journals, coupled with the fantastic drama that Simone faces, made me compare this book to Life Before by K.L. Romo.

I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This is because I found the story inspiring and captivating. I had to not only get hooked on Lara’s journey in her journals, but with Simone and her story. The book was professionally edited and there were no spelling or editing errors that snapped me from the book’s magic. I found myself reading the entire book in two days. The only thing I did not like about this book is the suspense throughout the book whenever Simone puts the journal away. I found myself trying to force her to keep reading the journal.

I would recommend this book to all romantic drama and dramatic thriller fans. The author used an amazing writing style that kept jumping between two stories and time periods. I enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of the author’s works.

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Lara's Journal
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[Rupali Mishra]

Thank you for the review; it was enjoyable.