THE ONE LEFT BEHIND by Lena Nicole

THE ONE LEFT BEHIND 
(The One Series)
by Lena Nicole

ARC Review

Published: November 10, 2013

My rating: 3.5 of 5 ⭐️







After suffering a brain injury in a car accident, it takes Addison a while to wake up, when she does she can remember everything.....except the past six months or so.....which would include meeting, dating and becoming engaged to Colin. She has no clue who he is, let alone have feelings for him. But everyone is pushing her to remember him.

Colin, who was also injured in the accident, came away with minor injuries, and cannot believe that the love of his life now looks at him as if he is a stranger. Trying to trigger her into remembering by talking about shared memories has only alienated her more, and for now he is going to try an keep his distance, frustrating as it may be.

Having closed herself off from the pressure from friends and family, Addison welcomes the friendship of Pierce, someone who has no connection to her from before the accident. He treats her like a normal person and has no other expectations than for her to be herself. Addison does feel guilty over having hurt Colin and she does her best to keep him in her life as a friend, but that is a difficult transition for Colin to make and one he is not quite ready to give in to yet.

As Pierce and Addison get closer and time does not seem to help in restoring Addison's memory, it seems time for life to move on, both for Addison, and for Colin, but not necessarily in the same direction......

******

A very provocative storyline, with interesting points of view.

The characters were portrayed in a very personable and likeable way and it helped to have both Addison and Colin's POV to draw from, even when they at times appeared to be at opposite sides of the spectrum. Both were victims in this story, and no one was a villain. 

There was definite character growth visible for Addison and Pierce was the catalyst for that. He drew a lot out of her, challenged her in ways that forced her to demand more of herself than she ever had before. Whereas the implication is that Colin was not that welcoming of the changes in Addison, he liked her fine the way she was. 

The writing was well done, obviously clever and sound. The cover is phenomenal and reminds me of Rodin's "Le Penseur" (The Thinker). I liked the content, the message of the book, even though it might have been a bit repetitive in places. It isn't a book full of action and so unless a whole lot of different or new things happen, it threatens to become a tad drawn out. I guess I was waiting for some kind of build up towards something......and that something finally happened, but by that time ended up a bit of an out-of-the-blue cliffhanger, virtually on the last page of the book.

Having said all that......it doesn't take away that there is a good story here, an interesting concept, well-thought out and intelligent writing, but what would do it a world of good would be a bit more pizazz from these talented writers (there are two). Give us a bit of fire, a little passion, and I'm not referring to sex (there is sex in the book!!)......a little more UMPHF!!!! You obviously have it...now let it all hang out!!

 I am very curious to read the next instalment, and I hope it comes with a resolution........ I DO NOT LIKE CLIFFHANGERS!!! LOL

✨A clever, insightful, poignant first novel!✨

**ARC provided in return for an honest review.**