Love Lift Me by Synthia St Clair

I don’t know what it was about this but I put it down twice because I was struggling to get a handle on the story. I found the flash backs confusing and some of the scenarios predictable but that is not to say that once I got into it I didn’t enjoy the story because I did. It just took a bit of commitment on my part to engage with the characters and I suppose I should congratulate the author for making me work for my pleasure.

Katherine Atwater is almost finished a nursing college when she gets the call that sends her back home to help care for her mother who has been diagnosed with cancer.  Abandoned by what is technically called her boyfriend but probably better described as a waste of space – she has no option but to take the bus back home and that is where we join the story – as she waits for the coach.

Lawyer Shane Logan is headed to the same town but with a totally different agenda – he has no family waiting for him, just a courtroom and a fight with one of the most prominent citizens. But mechanical problems with his car mean that he has now found himself seated alongside Katherine on the coach. The last place he thought he would be was on a coach and the last thing he ever though he would have to do was fight for his life and that of a stranger because after a road traffic accident, that is exactly what he as to do – Katherine’s life is in his hands.

Kat wakes up in the hospital after the accident with no Shane and little memory of what happened to her. She is rueful as she remembers the handsome man that she shared her time with and couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever see him again. He made her life seem a little less difficult.

Shane seeks Kat out and there begins a beautiful romance. He is the perfect gentleman and their courtship is carried out in true southern style. Their date on the paddle boat is delightful.

Nothing ever goes smoothly and this story really is no exception but the betrayal that Kat feels when Shane is vilified by the local media is painful to read. She trusted him and it appears that he has betrayed her in the worst possible way. But never believe everything you read or see on the news and the unlikely hero – Hale her no good ex-boyfriend proves to be more of  a man than we would have anticipated and he steps up to save the day and her relationship with Shane.

At its heart this is a good old love story – full of local dialect and description that adds flavour to the story. The characters are well rounded and complete but as I stated earlier the story was a little predictable and in some places drawn out for me. But it was worth the read

Rating 3 out of 5