Customer Reviews

The Mistake She Made (Harlequin Super Romance)

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Short and sweet. The characters were so right for each other. A slow growing kind of romance, based on friendship. The heroine attempts to make amends for a case of mistaken identity that put a man away for 10years. It truly is about the journey about lives ruined, lived in fear, seeking to make right what was wrong, fulfillment and atonement. It's a lovely romance book with a strong story plot.

In Arizona Artist Tori Amhearst is stunned when DNA proved Linc Crusoe is not the man who raped her. She is appalled as her testimony put him behind bars where he stayed for a decade. To make matters worse, just before he is to be freed, he is badly injured in a prison assault that rushed him to Scottsdale Trauma Center for emergency treatment; when he regains consciousness from the medically induced coma, he suffers from amnesia.

His only visitor is Tori who feels strongly she owes him for her wrongful accusation. He fails to recognize her so she explains she is a friend from college. As she falls in love with him, she knows she owes him the truth, but fears once aware of who she is he will rightfully end their relationship. She also knows he probably will regain his memory or someone will recognize her and tell him who she is.

THE MISTAKE SHE MADE is a fabulous romance starring a heroine who knows she cannot take back her error but wants to do whatever she can to make it easier on her victim. Linc is simplified by his condition, but the tormented Tori more than makes up for it with her anguish. The story line has a neat twist involving what really happened and a condemnation of states quick to convict with while ignoring DNA evidence as is Linc's case (until another criminal offered additional information). Fans will relish this second chance at life between the accuser and the accused.

Harriet Klausner

Tori will never forget the night that her life as a woman was nearly destroyed. Even years of therapy have not provided closure and her fear lingers. Linc may never even remember what happened that night!

Ten years ago, Tori was attacked and misidentified her attacker. Linc went to prison for 10 years for a brutal crime that he never committed. When a DNA test exonerates him, he is to be set free, but not before a heinous attack by another state prisoner injures him so seriously that he is left with a temporarily broken body and a possible permanent case of amnesia. Feeling responsible for robbing Linc of ten years of his life, Tori takes Linc into her home until he can get on his feet, physically and financially. She never expects to fall in love with the man who she mistakenly sent to prison. Linc has NO IDEA who she really is, and guess what, he's falling for her, too. And...the real attacker is still out there.

While the themes in this book are quite serious, the originally drawn characters are empathetic, refreshing, tender, and compassionate. It seems inconceivable that these two could ever be together, yet the author pulls it off believably and without any contrived misunderstandings. Moreover, the plot is quite a page-turner, with danger as a thread humming through the whole book. A nice bonus is the red rock country of Arizona, a wonderful setting, and described as elegantly as the characters.

Six paragraphs from the ending, I read one of the best lines that I have ever read in a romance novel, something that you can carry with you, into your real love life. Well, you'll have to read it for yourself because it is not just about the destination. It is about the journey.

I don't know when I have ever loved a hero and heroine as much as these two...There's nothing better in a romance novel than a double redemption that is completely manifested by the power of love.

THE MISTAKE SHE MADE By Linda Style

Review by Sharlet Liebel

Hope, Trust, forgiveness - characteristics of lovers in a growing relationship. What if emotions are tainted with guilt, regret, and remorse by new partners? Such is the Harlequin book by Linda Style, The Mistake She Made (Harlequin Superromance) nominated by Romantic Times for the Best SuperRomance of the Year!

Tragedy happens almost as soon as vindication when he is released from prison for a crime that Linc Crusoe never committed. Impossible as it seems, Linc spends years in a tinderbox prison where hoods take-up residence and murder their cellmates. Daily journals of his innocence are ripped away by Snake who instigates and lands treacherous punches with the guard watching inside of Linc's cell. Instead of freedom, Crusoe is traumatized and when he finally becomes conscious his memory is gone.

A lovely blond-haired Tori Amhearst appears to be his sole visitor as he comes out of his coma. The staff thinks she's family. She's visited him every day. But Linc cannot remember his past or how he was hospitalized. There is mystery and a secret past between Tori and Lincoln Crusoe that was interrupted during their high school days. In fact, Tori's best friend Serena and she share other secrets.

Tori has learned that Linc Crusoe's DNA tests prove him innocent against evidence gathered at his trial where he was convicted of her rape 10-years ago. The news is unbearable because she identified him as her assailant. How can she forgive herself? The best she can do is to help him get his life back. Her therapy is painting murals in the small town where she keeps a low profile as an artist. Tori's companions are her two dogs and she has two best girlfriends. But now she has a new role.

In a newly dependent relationship, Linc becomes attached to Tori as she continues her hospital visits. Soon, they learn he might be released. But without friends or money this presents both a problem and need for a solution. Tori offers to help him get started; after all, he's in a wheelchair and can't work. He's reluctant. Prideful. Finally, Tori sets-up a convoluted temporary plan to help Linc. It might work and Tori, as yet, had not told Linc about their connection. This causes her total anxiety.

Their attraction becomes new love for both. And midst several close encounters of Linc's memory recovery Tori realizes how weak and slim her chances with him are if and when Linc learns of her deceit. Still she tries to help Linc retrace facts from documents at his trial. Delicate, gentle, and romantic scenes touch a deep yearning for this couple so that readers feel the passion of their romance during an unexpected outing.

As luck would have it, Linc is picked-up for a crime linked to a different investigation. Lincoln Crusoe is again in jail. This is so alarming because he has an alibi. He's been with Tori.

However, it is all too soon that Linc learns of Tori's cover-up and a break-up ensues. Prepare for the twists and turns that develop in an emotionally charged ending. A love story you'll want to read. Buy it at Amazon.