Review of 'I Remember (Remembrance Series)' by Cynthia P. O'Neill

Blurb:

Jordan Carlisle is a young, career driven woman with a passion for life and family. Her world is suddenly altered by both death and love when she is torn between family loyalty and a chance at happiness with the man who holds her in her dreams. Will time and technology bring her and the handsome stranger together or will the powerful forces that have plagued her since childhood keep them apart?

Gregory Riley has kept a secret most of his life to avoid discovery. Now he is on a quest to find the person who can change his life, forever. He knows her face, her touch and her voice; but nothing more. He uses clues, from his dreams, to find both her and a timeless love that defies explanation. In spite of the darkness working to keep them apart, can he get to her first and help her “remember”?

Jordan and Gregory discover a deep connection in the ability to encroach on one another’s dreams of both past and present. Together, they learn that their lives have crossed time and time again, only to end tragically. Guided by an unearthly visionary and help from those who have gone before, they are given clues and revelations to uncover their place in history. In order to stay together, they must discover where fate went astray, who is responsible and where they fit in to the ancient prophesy. Working side-by-side, they seek to unlock the hidden powers and mysteries that will defeat the darkness in this life and allow them to be together, forever. Will love finally prevail or will the darkness win again?

**My thoughts**

I really like the premise behind this series. To have experienced the love of your life in your dreams, well before meeting him, and then to have him appear in your life. To be able to meet each other in your dreams and take care of each other in that realm, as well as in this world. To find out that you have been star-crossed lovers in a previous life and must fight to save that love this time around. It's all such a magical, romantic idea! 

I connected to Jordan in the beginning, as she is dealing with her father's illness. Having just lost my own father to illness two years ago, I can always relate to these situations in books. I perfectly understand that need to put family first, to leave behind as much of the job as possible, to not get involved in new relationships, to have to put friends on the back burner for a while. And then in those weeks and months following the loss, I can remember feeling so discombobulated and apprehensive about life in general.

I love how Gregory does whatever he can to help Jordan, even though they haven't met in real life, yet. I do, however, find him a little too intense and almost creepy, as well, in the beginning. There are going to be two camps of thought in his early behavior. Some are going to embrace his deeds right away, and others are going to be a bit more skeptical. I have to admit that I am in that second group, but can be swayed after a while, just like many others in Jordan's life. Meeting someone online is not something to be taken lightly! (And Jordan knows this.) The difference is that he already seems to know what is going on, and is so excited about having found Jordan. Jordan, on the other hand, is oblivious to their shared past and has to slowly figure out what is going on. Gregory's intentions are completely honorable, and he doesn't see how he comes off at first. He is also so worried about losing her again, that he becomes extremely overprotective. I am of a different personality than Jordan, so it would be harder for me to handle that. Other people crave and thrive with the overprotective man.

I look forward to getting to know the characters better in future installments. In this book, you get to know the basics of them and their personalities, but I feel like they could be brought more to life in a richer manner. I am one who likes to get to know her characters better through their actions and interactions as opposed to mostly dialogue. Other readers prefer the dialogue! I see a lot of potential here!

I think this book is going to appeal to the super-romantics-at-heart who believe in soulmates and true love repeating itself for generations. It's for those who believe in second chances and meeting your loved ones in dreams.

 

Buy it on Amazon

 

About the Author:
Cynthia P. O’Neill grew up in a small town, called Clewiston, in South Florida. She moved to the Central Florida area to attend college and has never left. She met her friend, love, soul mate and married him. Together they have an amazing son, a feisty four-legged little boy, and a happy life together.

During the course of schooling, she read works by great literary artists, from Shakespeare, to Hemingway, and all the authors in between. She had never considered a field in writing until she stumbled across some Young Adult literature and discovered a love for forbidden romances of all genres.

Her background is focused in healthcare, science and business, while her husband’s is engineering. So you may find references to those areas in some of her books.

Several years after she got married, she started dreaming about her first book, I Remember. Eight years later the story was still strong and the urge to write it down developed. It wasn’t until a few friends asked if she had ever considered writing a Young Adult novel, plus having fallen in love with several new authors who wrote in the first person, that the idea took new light. The story played itself out in her dreams, until one day she talked with her family, told them the idea and finally set down to write, with their encouragement.

Cynthia’s first book is geared towards the Young Adult, Historical and Paranormal Romance fans. She does hope to grow as a writer and write in multiple genres.

She tries to make her writing very personal and close to her heart. Regular life is the inspiration for her books, but her imagination takes them to new heights, opening up possibilities that would normally not exist.

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