What the Heart Remembers (Memory House, #3)

by Bette Lee Crosby

[kimbacaffeinate]

Max fell hard for a young man in Paris and when she journeyed home, she expected that he would be arriving behind her. Julien never showed, called, or emailed. For three years, she has struggled with unanswered questions and perhaps romanized the young man. She decides to take ten days to return to Paris, find Julien, and hopes to rekindle what was. As we grow older, we learn from experience you can never go back. As a result, we see Max struggle, deny and go through growth during her adventures.

It was hard seeing another side of Max in What the Heart Remembers. She was very strong and confident when we first met her in The Loft. I even had hopes of a haters to lovers’ romance with another character. However, Crosby did a wonderful job of portraying the many sides of Max. How many of us seem confident to the outside world, as we struggle with insecurities behind closed doors.

Crosby gives us the perspective of a few characters. Those of Max, Julien and a young woman now involved with Julien. I was not a fan of Julien from the onset because of how he ended things. My opinion only got worse, and I wanted to slap Max silly especially when an unexpected twist occurred, but this is a story about growth and ultimately I closed the book smiling. Max's trip wasn't at all what she expected and I loved how Crosby took it from dark to light.

There is a subtle and sweet romance that develops in What the Heart Remembers and it was my favorite aspect of the story.

While each of the books in the Memory House are designed to work as standalone I think they are best read in order. We see characters throughout the series and get updates, make connection and ties threads together creating the best reading experience if read in order. While not my favorite book, What the Heart Remembers had moments that made me joyful.

Copy provided by author. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer