When Time Stands Still (Second Chance Romance #1)

Elle Sloan hasn’t seen Luke Hutchins in over a decade since she broke up with him over the phone. His mother calls her because Luke was in a bad car accident and can’t remember anything since the time he and Elle were together in college. She agrees to go see him, hoping to help recover. There are just a few complications: Elle is married, Luke’s family and friends still blame her for the breakup, and Elle has her own issues from her background to cope with.
I love second-chance stories, and Ms. Burr does a nice job on this one. The book goes back and forth from the current time to the ten years earlier when Elle and Luke met. It builds the story quite nicely and the pacing is good. Elle and Luke are a good pair though I did think that Elle might have displayed more angst over her background – her mother’s alcoholism and the bad boyfriend – than she did; it would have made her eventual reason for the breakup to be more believable.
The secondary characters are fun. Both Mena and Malone deserve their own book as Mena’s dialogue is hilarious.
Anyway, this was a good story, and I enjoyed the read very much. Readers who like second-chance romances will like this one.

WTSS begins in the present, when Elle receives a call from Lukes mom informing her that Luke is suffering from amnesia after a bad car accident. He has lost almost 10 years of his memories and believes they are still a couple, stuck in time before she left him with no explanation. She has moved on and married in the time since, but she cant refuse Candys request to see Luke and try to make amends for her previous absence. The story then goes back and forth between the past and present, so that the reader can experience the love and loss as their story progresses.

Im a sucker for second chance romances, especially when there is angst involved. I LOVE ANGST! There is nothing like the rip-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it theme, as long as the story has an HEA. I definitely give this one my highest recommendation!!

In a very unique take on the amnesia romance, Elle is called back to her ex-boyfriend’s side after he wakes up from a coma because he can’t remember the last ten years of his life and still thinks he and Elle are together. The story is told entirely from Elle’s perspective, but in alternating timelines between present day and back when Elle and Luke first met and started dating through their ultimate breakup. It is extremely hard to do dual timelines well without it being confusing but the author does a masterful job. This story can be incredibly heart-wrenching at times, and made me tear up at a few points, but we get a wonderful HEA (and a little bit of a soap-opera-esque ending) that brought joy to my heart.

CW/TW: sexual assault, alcoholic parent

5 stars – 9/10

When Time Stands Still is the story of Elle and Luke, which takes place with dual timelines. Luke has been in an accident and his memory has reverted to 10 years ago, before he and Elle broke up. The result is a genuinely sweet story that tackles some tough topics without making the book too heavy and sad. Sara does a great job of building her characters and creating a story where the reader is rooting for the good guy. I highly recommend this beautiful love story.

This was a great, sweet read. I love second chance books and this was very enjoyable. This was a first by this author but it won’t be the last.

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