I love reading books from Chautona Havig, and also love reading books from the Independence Islands series. This book lived up to my expectations. This story of a discovered journal by Mallory leads to a second chance at love for another couple. Adding audio narration to this story helps bring the story to life. Christa DelSorbo captures these characters completely and flawlessly in my opinion. I loved hearing the story read aloud. The next best thing to reading this book comes from listening to the audiobook version read by Christa DelSorbo.

Ms. Havig creates stories and characters that draw the reader in and makes them feel what the characters are feeling. I feel this book provides the perfect introduction to the next island in the series. Any time, I have the chance to listen to a book I read and love brings me happiness.

Christa DelSorbo brings the words written by Chautona Havig to life. She helps me feel as though I am there with the characters.

While you can read this book alone, I recommend reading all of the books in the series in order. I promise you will enjoy them. Many characters reappear, so you continue to get to know more about them. So check out this book for yourself as a book to read or audiobook to listen to at any time.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook, but this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. ( )

Finding a Memory by Chautona Havig is book 19 in the Independence Island series. This is the first of the series that is based on Sparrow Island. This is an awesome series that is being written by six different authors and covers five different island. These are good stand alone stories, but they do reference people from the earlier stories.

Mallory is accidently given an old diary and starts reading it to find out who the owner is. The diary is that of a young girl, Patty, who finds a second chance at love after her boyfriend goes missing in Viet Nam. During the wedding rehearsal the old boyfriend comes back and she chooses him instead. I just loved the realness to this story, the struggles the family goes through with PTSD in a time when it was not known. I especially loved how Frank is able to move on with marrying and having a family. I loved how committed he was to his wife and how loving she must have been to know he loved Patty still.

This is a wonderful story that at times touches on sensitive topics like abuse, addiction and PTSD. I appreciated how well the author did with writing this story and making it feel real.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, this is my honest review. ( )

I love reading books from Chautona Havig, and also love reading books from the Independence Islands series. This book lived up to my expectations. This story of a discovered journal by Mallory leads to a second chance at love for another couple.

Ms. Havig creates stories and characters that draw the reader in, and makes them feel what the characters are feeling. I feel this book provides the perfect introduction to the next island in the series.

While you can read this book alone, I recommend reading all of the books in the series in order. I promise you will enjoy them. Many characters reappear, so you continue to get to know more about them. So check out this book for yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, but this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. ( )

Well Chautona you have finally done it. You have written one of the best books I have ever read. There are many stories out there about second chances and forgiveness. What sets this book apart from others is the characters who not only express their weaknesses but they address them with realistic emotions. My heart broke as the story unfolds into this long ago relationship that never quite got a chance to blossom.

There are a few characters I want to focus on because they defined the story for me. Patti’s life has been filled with pain, abuse, regrets and anger. Marrying the man she did was more out of a sense of honoring her word. Patti tries so hard to make the marriage work, but she had no idea that her husband was dealing with PTSD. It was during the Vietnam war that he served and no one really understood the physiological effects it had on those who served at that time. It would be easy to be angry at Jon for the abuse he inflicted on his family, but the author made me look deeper into his character. Yes I was angry at what he did, but I also wanted him to get help and realize that he needed to change his life. Somehow I felt sorrow for him as his life exploded around him. Maybe he thought that he was unworthy to be loved and gave up. The author deals with PTSD with understanding and shows that it affects everyone in different ways.

One of the most emotional parts of the book is when Patti cries out and expresses her anger towards God. Why did He allow her to go through so much pain during her marriage? Perhaps in our moments of why me, we should be asking “what message are you teaching me God? So many years passed and she still found her heart yearning for someone she never forgot. It is time to get the tissues ready because here comes the part where I start to break down in tears.

I think my favorite character in the entire story is a woman who loved her husband knowing that he loved another woman. I admire how she gave grace to a man who still hopes someday to rekindle a relationship with another woman. Their marriage is good and Frank did love Gina but he couldn’t give his full heart to her. I cried as I realized the sacrifice Gina made as a wife. She loved her husband and was willing to share his emotional bond with someone from his past. How many of us could do that? I don’t think I could. Her character taught me how to be kind, gentle and forgiving.

Mallory is the one who finds a diary that sets off years of old memories for two people. Her determination to solve the mystery of who the diary belongs to opens the door for a beautiful journey through years where hope and second chances can happen no matter how old you are. The ending is both joyful and a bit of a cliffhanger. I can’t wait to see where Mallory and Benjamin’s story goes.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. ( )

Chautona Havig has gotten me loving contemporary romance (not my fave genre), loving a song too old for me to like, and one I don’t even know! Oh, wait! I do remember looking it up and listening to it. The things a great author can do to you against your will!!

Finding a Memory by Chautona Havig first appealed to me because it was clear it featured older characters in a second-chance relationship. Part of the Independence Islands series, I enjoyed the book more because I was familiar with the other main couple who have been mentioned in past books.

Much of the book is presented as a mystery, as Mallory Barrows, owner of The Book Barrow, reads an old diary she finds. If you like The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, you will enjoy this novel. As the diary progresses, Mallory gets very emotionally involved in the lives of the people described. I couldn’t help myself. I was just as emotionally involved, but also in the lives of Mallory and her slow-moving boyfriend, Benjamin.

Ms. Havig always finds a way and the perfect time to insert truth. One time when the diarist was at her lowest, she writes, “This is what I learned. * God knows everything. * I don’t know everything. * I can trust God. * I have to seek Him first. * People will fail me. * God never will. * My job is to love God and others. * I must teach my child about God. * Jesus is my rock. Not ...”
Another favorite quote, so appropriate for what the character was going through: “The Lord had other plans that I don’t understand, but I do trust Him.”

One last (but these are not all) reason why I love this novel and all of Ms. Havig’s books- her sense of humor and ability to turn a phrase that never fails to make me smile. Which she does often! My fave example here? “That machine makes enough noise to make mummies in sarcophaguses plead for earplugs.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. ( )