Date published August 2008
ISBN 978-0-373-71509-1
Contemporary series romance
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Ratmammy
MORE THAN A MEMORY opens with main character Jo Carroll boxing up things that had belonged to her recently deceased mother. While going through her mother's items, Jo finds a box filled with things she can't figure out whom they belonged to. A high school yearbook shows a person that looks a lot like her, but she doesn’t recognize the name of the girl, Colleen Drake, nor the school, White Oak Valley high. Who is this Colleen Drake? Jo guesses that Colleen may be a cousin she has yet to meet.
Jo Carroll had had a very serious accident seven years ago, but unfortunately she lost all her memories because of it. Her mother Sharon took care of her, and helped Jo fill in the blanks. But the high school for this yearbook was located in Tennessee, and was not part of her past as far as she knew. She lived in New York, and was a famous violinist for the Boston Philharmonic. She had no ties to Tennessee. However, this Colleen Drake had won numerous awards just like Jo, playing a similar instrument. She also shared the same last name as Jo's father, Joseph Drake, who had died in that accident that took Jo’s memories. So Jo thought that Colleen must be a cousin on her father’s side of the family.
Jo's agent, Jerrold Cleary, is angry that Jo isn't putting much effort into the latest concert series. She should be practicing, not going through all of her mother's things. But Jo has a weird feeling about what she's discovering, and needs to get some answers. So, Jo flies to Tennessee to seek out the answers that no one seems to have for her in New York. However, what she finds upon arriving in White Oak Valley will turn her world upside down. Her newly discovered past opens up before her, a past that her mother did not want Jo to remember. That past also brings back a man that Jo didn't know existed, a man that had once been the love of her life.
I cannot say how much I enjoyed this book. This book by Roz Denny Fox is by far my favorite of hers. The mystery behind Jo Carroll's past was fascinating, and it is what drove the story line and kept me reading. The story of her hidden past and why her mother lied to her will anger readers, knowing what Jo’s mother did to further her daughter’s success. The subject of amnesia is absorbing, and the story of Jo’s journey in regaining her memory was engaging and made this book a page-turner.
The characters of the book are realistic and help make the book enjoyable. Even the minor characters, such as Garret’s sisters and friends, help add to the story and make it worth reading. The friendships that Jo makes with the owners of the Inn she stays at, located at the edge of town, helped me feel even more sympathetic to Jo. The owners are outsiders just as Jo is, despite her having a past there. While most of the town questions Jo’s sincerity when she says she doesn’t remember, this one couple embraces her as someone they trust explicitly, and they help Jo adjust and find her past.
Despite the short length of these Super Romances, Ms Fox was able to write Jo’s story in enough detail that we get a full feel for what Jo has gone through. I felt that enough detail was in the story to give the reader a completely satisfying novel that didn't leave any gaps. I got a good sense of Jo's past, the story behind her mother's deceptions, and her time spent with Garret when they were teenagers and falling in love. One of the better Super Romances I've read in quite a while, I'm giving MORE THAN A MEMORY a highly recommended 4.5 stars. I enjoyed it thoroughly and remembered why I enjoy reading these Harlequin Super Romances so much. The quality of writing is usually always guaranteed, and I get what I expect from them, a good wholesome romance with a bit of "oomph" to it.
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