My Review - Abandoned Memories

5 out of 5 stars

ABANDONED MEMORIES follows the settlers of New Hope, a confederate colony trying to put behind their failures and short-comings as they strike out in the jungles of Brazil. But what they find is an evil far worse than they left behind.

Angeline Moore is looking for a fresh start. Forced to live a despicable life and wanted by the law, America has nothing for her. Unfortunately, another passenger on the voyage to Brazil knows exactly who she is and what she’s done. As she keeps her distance from this nemesis, she finds herself drawn to James Callaway, the colony’s preacher. Knowing she could never live up to his expectations, she keeps her feelings to herself. But, when James reveals he has feelings for her as well, Angeline doesn’t know what to do. She wants nothing more than to have a loving relationship with a man that would cherish her, but knowing how James feels about her kind, she knows once he finds out the truth about her past he will cast her aside like every other man in her life.

James Callaway feels he is a two-time failure. A doctor afraid of blood, and a preacher that has allowed immorality to taint his life, he wants for nothing more than a fresh start. He desires to be the spiritual leader of New Hope and make sure illicit women and wicked vices never infect this new colony. As his affection for Angeline Moore grows, he is convinced she is just the kind of pure-hearted woman he wants at his side as he leads the people of New Hope.

As Angeline and James, along with the other settlers struggle with their own inner demons, a supernatural evil is slowly overtaking the new colony. Infestations, floods, fires, horrible visions, and the murder of one of their own, plague New Hope. The discovery of an ancient temple and a tattered Hebrew book holds the key to the oppression that terrorizes them. They must decipher what this book is telling them if they are to take the evil captive before it can destroy them.

ABANDONED MEMORIES surprised me with the amount of supernatural/Sci-Fi influences in the story, but instead of dissecting it, I allowed myself to get immersed in the adventure because I knew MaryLu would bring the focus back to the Lord. With a large cast of characters—some who were fleshed out in books one and two in this series—there was plenty of action, angst, and heartache. With pirates, greed, and blackmail thrown into the already oppressive battles the people of New Hope had to fight, ABANDONED MEMORIES was a book that though not my normal cup of tea, I certainly couldn’t put down until I knew how the story ended. Another page-turner from Ms. Tyndall.