What Endures by Katie Lee Published by Self-Published on August 1, 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 346
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Jason Kincaid is young, hot and successful.
An All-Star outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, he finally had everything he ever wanted, including a second chance with his high school sweetheart, Megan Williams.
But their hopes for a ‘happily-ever-after’ are dashed by tragedy.
A horrific car accident wipes out most of Jason's memories. Unable to recall anything from the last fifteen years of his life, Jason is suddenly adrift, his once charmed life now in ruins.
Megan finds herself in the untenable position of having to deal with the fact that the man she’s helping to rebuild his life may look, and even act, like her beloved fiancé, but in reality, isn’t any longer.
Trying to protect herself, as well as Jason, Megan fights the attraction between them. . .to no avail. As their potent connection inevitably draws them closer, Megan wonders,
With the memories of their relationship gone, can love endure?
The 411:
When major league baseball player Jason Kincaid wakes up from a month-long coma, he can’t remember the last fifteen years of his life, including falling in love with (and marrying, divorcing, and rekindling) Megan Williams. The doctors tell her not to give him too many details about things he can’t remember. Megan goes along with this because she doesn’t want to feel like an obligation to Jason. As they try to sort through what they mean to each other, they have to come to terms with the fact that nothing will ever be the same again. The only thing that Jason is sure of is the fact that there’s something about Megan and he doesn’t want to be apart from her.
“The only time I feel like I’m not split in two is with you. When I’m with you, it’s easy to forget I lost anything at all.”
Realizing nothing will ever be the same, Jason makes the decision to move forward with his life.
“I’m sick of it. Sick of being frustrated. Sick of this dark, depressing feeling that comes over me at times. sick of wondering and waiting. I’m sick of waiting, Megan.” “Waiting?” He nodded. “For my memories to come back.” He drew in a deep breath. “So I’m gonna do something about it. I’m gonna get those memories back.” …”Jason, what if you can’t remember?” “Then I won’t be any worse off than I am now,” he said softly. “I’ve lost 15 years. I’m not about to lose another second. So starting right now, I’m on a quest. I’m gonna get my life back. And since my life was evidently with you before the accident happened, that’s where I’m going to start.”
What We Loved:
We liked this story and thought the plot was pretty original. How would you feel if the person you’d loved since you were sixteen years old woke up and didn’t remember you?
I just…I don’t understand how he can remember his childhood but not…” Again she faltered. She didn’t want to sound selfish, but the question remained. How could he not remember her? Them?
Megan and Jason’s history is revealed to us in bits and pieces of their lives through flashbacks and memories, and we really enjoyed the way that played out.
Um...Not So Much:
While we understand that the doctors advised Megan against telling Jason about their past, we had a real problem with her basically lying to him.
“If I asked you something, would you tell me the truth?”
“Of course!” She sounded indignant that he was implying otherwise. “I’ve never lied to you, Jason.”
“Right,” he said, looking at her challengingly. “Then answer this question for me. What exactly was our relationship?”
“We were friends. We are friends.” Her answer was too nice, too neat. As if she were reciting a pre-written script.
“That’s it?” he challenged. “Nothing else? At no point were we more than friends?” There was that telltale pause from her. “Yes or no? It’s a pretty straightforward question.”
This book contained a lot of repetition and some unorganized plot points that we believe a good editor would have caught. The ending was pretty abrupt and there were definitely some things that were left too open-ended for us.
The Boys:
Overall, we liked the characters, especially Jason, in spite of him being a brat sometimes. He was a stand-up guy.
“I’m not gonna pretend that I haven’t wanted to kiss you. I’m attracted to you. I think that’s pretty clear, but we should take it a little slower. I don’t want to jump into anything because I don’t want to miss out on anything else.”
His step-brother (and Megan’s BFF), Tyler, was pretty awesome, too.
The Girls:
Megan makes some decisions that we just didn’t understand and at times she came off as a selfish brat to us. With that being said, we didn’t totally hate her and want to give her the benefit of the doubt since she suffered through the traumatic experience of almost losing the love of her life and then not having him remember her.
Dream Cast:
We have to admit that Jason Kincaid is pretty hot. Here’s how we picture him:
“Jason Kincaid”
What We Think Will Happen Next:
As far as we know, this is a standalone and there won’t be more. But we definitely think Lee left the door open for another book (about Tyler).
Bottom Line:
With its original plot and likable characters who never forget how much they mean to each other, What Endures is a story that reminds us to try to make the best with what life throws our way.
Verdict:
| Rating Report | |
|---|---|
| Cover |  |
| Characters | |
| Plot |  |
| Writing | |
| Swoon | |
| Overall: | 3 |
***About Katie Lee***
Katie Lee has had a lifelong love affair with books. She fell in love with her first book in the second grade and hasn’t looked back since. She first took up writing as a hobby, wanting to craft her own magical adventures, and through the love and encouragement of family and friends, decided to get serious about writing and share her stories with the world.
She currently resides in Maryland in the United States. She works for the government during the day, and her spare time is devoted to writing. She gains inspiration from all sorts of things, but mostly from the fun and adventurous trips she takes when she can. She loves hearing from her readers so drop her a note!
***GIVEAWAY***
Good luck!
Adding this to my to-read list! Thanks for the great review.
This sounds like a really nice read, and I love books with a deeper take-home message–thanks for sharing!! 🙂
I’m a sucker for sports stories & this one sounds different. Will be adding to my TBR list.
Thanks for the giveaway!