About the Book
Marketing maven Emma Taylor had a globe-hopping upbringing with her army family. But when it was time to choose her own place to call home, she chose Hawaii, where she’d spent four years of high-school. She convinced herself her choice had nothing to do with Michael, the only man she’d ever truly loved, right there on Oahu, and she’s managed to make a cozy, satisfying life for herself there. But when Michael re-emerges, her happy existence begins to feel like a bit of a sham.
Michael did the right thing letting Emma live in Paris, severing her small-town tie to the island that would only drag her back. He knew it would break their hearts, but she was off to bigger and better things and he wasn’t going to be the one to stand in her way. He was sure eventually, he’d meet someone else, the way people always did when they got older. They were just kids, and girls were literally lining up for him. And for years, he’d convinced himself he was the hero in all this, until he couldn’t convince himself any longer.
My Review
I was really looking forward to Aloha Old Flame, as I have enjoyed Daniella Brodsky in the past, but unfortunately I didn’t end up loving this one. Both main characters were tough to get along with, and the constant need for one truthful conversation that couldn’t be had ended up frustrating me frequently. I would have assumed that Emma and Michael were a lot younger than they actually are based on their actions and again, the inability to have an adult conversation about really important things before making some of the choices they both did, and that left me quite unsatisfied. The storyline with Emma and her best friend also confused me, and seemed to skip around and came back into play at odd times. Overall, this wasn’t a novel I could recommend because of the disjointed scenes and inability to care for the characters inside, which has me disappointed because I had really high hopes for this one.
2.5 stars
