#BookReview: Papina by Katie Hamstead

Reviewer: Mary

I received a review copy

Summary:

Forrest and Braydon Miller moved to the small town of Papina to follow their dreams and start a family. Braydon loves her new life in the quiet town, kept alive by the prestigious boarding school overlooking the valley. She is so proud of her husband’s work, helping the teens on the reservation.
Until one day, Forrest doesn’t come home.
Scandal spreads when one of the teenagers is found missing, too. But Braydon refuses to believe her husband would leave her. When the teen is found, she isn’t talking—literally.
While Braydon’s heart is breaking, she needs to hold her crumbling life together, raise her son, and find a way to love the teenager enough to find the truth of what happened to her husband.

Review:

Braydon Miller has it all – a loving husband who adores her, a healthy newborn son, and a new life in the small town of Papina. Originally a big-city girl, Braydon adjusts to small-town living when her husband, Forrest, lands a job counseling troubled students at a nearby boarding school. They are welcomed into the town with open arms, and everyone in Papina can see how much Forrest loves Bray and their 3-month-old son Jackson. So when Forrest disappears one evening without a trace – coincidentally the same night as his 14-year-old student, Nova – speculations arise.

Bray knows something has to be wrong. Forrest would never leave her and Jackson, but he’s not answering his phone and no one can find him. The police have no leads as to what might have happened that night, until they find Nova. A foster kid with a history of armed robbery, Nova has her own issues and isn’t talking to anyone about the night Forrest went missing. Bray knows what her husband would do in her situation, and decides to take Nova in and love her like her own. The question is, will Bray be able to break down the walls Nova has built up to finally figure out what happened to Forrest? Will her life ever be the same as it was before one night changed it all?

With continuous dialogue and character development, this book sweeps the reader into a mysterious adventure of ups and downs. In the beginning of the book, you fall in love with Forrest and desperately crave to know his fate – but just a few more chapters in, and you’re completely invested in the journey of this newfound mom of two forced to stay strong and move on with her life. While certain points drag on, and even feel repeated, this book still manages to captivate you. You won’t be able to put it down until it slowly reveals the final missing pieces to a puzzle gone horribly wrong.

4 stars