Title: The Memory House by Rachel Hauck
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Embracing the future means remembering the past . . .
When Beck Holiday lost her father in the North Tower on 9/11, she also lost her memories of him. Eighteen years later, she’s a tough New York City cop burdened with a damaging secret, suspended for misconduct, and struggling to get her life in order. Meanwhile a mysterious letter arrives informing her she’s inherited a house along Florida’s northern coast, and what she discovers there will change her life forever. Matters of the heart only become more complicated when she runs into handsome Bruno Endicott, a driven sports agent who fondly recalls the connection they shared as teenagers. But Beck doesn’t remember that, either.
Decades earlier, widow Everleigh Applegate lives a steady, uneventful life with her widowed mother after a tornado ripped through Waco, Texas, and destroyed her new, young married life. When she runs into old high school friend Don Callahan, she begins to yearn for change. Yet no matter how much she longs to love again, she is hindered by a secret she can never share.
Fifty years separate the women but through the power of love and miracle of faith, they each find healing in a beautiful Victorian known affectionately as The Memory House.
Review:
Featuring dual storylines, The Memory House by Rachel Hauck is a marvelous novel of healing, faith and love.
In the present, NYPD Sergeant Beck Holiday is suspended when she cannot control her anger toward a suspect who is abusing a dog. The suspension coincides with a complication in her personal life and an unexpected inheritance from a woman in Beck’s past. She has not seen Everleigh Applegate in eighteen years and due to her selective amnesia, her memories of her time spent in Florida are lost. At a bit of a crossroads, Beck travels to Florida to figure out her future.
Beck is rough around the edges, angry and lost. Having made a horrible decision months earlier, she has to try to decide what to do about the repercussions from this mistake in judgment. Undecided about what to do with her unanticipated inheritance, Beck is pleasantly surprised to reconnect with her childhood friend, Bruno, soon after her arrival in Florida.
Bruno is a sports agent who is struggling to get his fledgling business off the ground. He is not sure whether he will succeed since his vindictive former employer undercuts him at every turn. Although she does not remember him, Bruno is absolutely delighted to see Beck again. The passage of time has not dimmed his feelings for her and he is hopeful their friendship will deepen into romance.
In the past, Everleigh’s life is forever changed following a devastating tornado in Waco, TX. Seven years later, she is working at a local florist and lives with her mom. But after her brother’s childhood friend Don Callahan re-enters her life, Everleigh has to decide whether or not she is willing to risk her heart again.
The Memory House is a poignant novel that is quite compelling. Both Beck and Everleigh are emotionally shattered yet they deal with their losses in very different ways. Everleigh clings tightly to her memories whereas Beck cannot remember anything before her father’s tragic death. Rachel Hauck weaves these two storylines into a heartwarming story that will resonant with readers. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this charming and realistic Christian romance.
