Forgotten Paradise by Shira Anthony
3 of 5 stars
I finished reading this a few days ago, but I needed a little minute to digest. I read it quite quickly, but then it seemed to leave my head just as quickly. It was like eating popcorn: enjoyable while it’s happening but leaves you feeling unsatisfied and wondering why you just ate that entire bag.
Okay, now onto a brief summary. Adam Preston is on vacation at an all-inclusive resort in the D.R., trying to get some relief from the stress of a large company’s attempt to buy his family-owned tech business. There he meets Jonah James, who leads him on dives and of course is very attractive. They hit it off, but Jonah is reluctant to take things further because there’s an employee policy against fraternization–oh, and he has amnesia.
Lest you think this a simple amnesia story, let me mention how complex the plot gets. There’s some lovers-to-enemies action (yes, lovers-to-enemies, not enemies-to-lovers) and a different take on the second chances trope. Jonah’s past is more remarkable and problematic than he could’ve imagined. I won’t say any more about it. No spoilers.
I liked the different take on the tropes used and the convolution of the plot. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, things get more interesting. But something was missing for me. Maybe it was stronger chemistry between the heroes. They’re both likable and sympathetic on their own, and their feelings for each other are believable. We can see this in short chapters that alternate between them in third person point of view. But the desire and sexual tension could’ve been emphasized more.
In the end, I would recommend this for the meaty plot and the tropiness. It delivers as category romance about two male heroes.
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