Review: A beautiful romantic journey that melted my heart!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2014
Lost and Found is the story I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the most. Being a huge fan of Karey White I knew her story would be endearing and extremely romantic. One of the main things I have enjoyed about the Ripple Effect Romance series is getting to the end and finding out who the next book will be about. I make it a point not to read any of the synopsis' because I love the surprise of watching the characters being set up and trying to guess who the next one will feature.Lost and Found is all about Jace's baby sister Lydia Sutton. During Righting A Wrong she befriends Cambri and the two hit it off. Lydia wants a summer filled with adventure in her otherwise tame and somewhat lackluster life and Cambri offers the use of her condo in Charlotte North Carolina for her to stay in. During her three month stay she is to get out, sightsee, get into trouble and have a fling then report back to Cambri with all the juicy details. The funny thing is her adventure didn't begin until her trip home brings her right into the path of Mr. Hottie, Blake Knowles. People meet in all sorts of the strangest places and an airport waiting area is where the magic happens for these two.Lydia and Blake strike up a conversation while waiting for their flight to board and discover they're on the same flight. Lydia confides in Blake her tale of adventureless woe and he in turn speaks of his adventure to find something his grandfather left him before he died which turned out to be a bust also. When their flight is cancelled Lydia makes a split second decision to stay behind and help Blake with his quest and convinces him to stay for a few days to do it. Before Blake's grandfather died he left a box of mementos with a woman named Gladys he felt Blake needed to have. When his search lead him to Gladys who had passed away shortly after his grandfather he thought his search was over and it left him feeling sad he didn't get to get to this mission sooner. Blake is a workaholic young lawyer aspiring to be partner at his firm working 80 hour weeks with no time for much of anything else. It took him almost four months to break away from his job to be able to finally fulfill his grandfathers last wishes. Blake was my favorite guy in this series and it may be because I'm biased to White's writing but he was just an all around great guy. Hardworking, charming, fun loving and sweet, Blake was an instant favorite of mine. The adventure he takes Lydia on and the events surrounding their journey were heart meltingly adorable.Lydia being the shy unassuming fifth grade teacher that she is really surprised me throughout the story in several different ways. I could tell right away she was a little sheltered by just brief mentions about her parents who seemed overprotective of her. Yeah she's their only daughter and the baby but it really shed some light on her personality. It seems she's kept herself from experiencing anything really fun from both her insecurities and how it will affect her relationship with her parents. Lydia spent the majority of her three month "Adventure" reading books and ordering take out and talking herself out of doing anything fun while in Charlotte. This was a personality trait I could sympathize with because I tend to talk myself out of fun things all the time. For her, this wasn't just about an adventure but stepping out of her comfort zone and being the kind of woman she always wanted to be. At first she took baby steps with talking to Blake and getting to know a little about him, breaking down her shy barrier. Then later having the guts to go crazy and not overthink her decisions so much. Lydia had a tendency to be goofy and a little bumbling but to me that just made her character so much more likable and relatable.The adventure aspect of the story between Lydia and Blake was at times exciting and funny to emotional and extremely romantic. Their first fun filled day they go skydiving which had me laughing and a little teary eyed. It was amazing to watch Lydia tackle something so big and conquer her fear all at once. Plus it didn't hurt that Blake was a little rattled by the whole experience. Next they started searching for Gladys in order to find the box his grandfather left him and that ordeal has Lydia going into Nancy Drew mode and nearly committing a felony. Which by the way was hilarious as well. When they were finally able to track down the mysterious box what they find inside was a message for Blake from his grandfather. This was like getting a story inside a story because the letters contained in the box show the journey his grandfather made from young Doctor in love with a woman, to the workaholic he became that ended up taking his life down a path he never intended it to. The message left behind is an eye opener for Blake. This was such a sweet and emotional set of scenes that not only gave Blake the closure he needed but it formed a bond between him and Lydia and solidified the growing attraction between them. These two were so much fun together and their bond was so effortless it was easy to fall in love with them.A chance meeting in an airport waiting area and a three day adventure full of mischief and romance that brought two people together, Lost and Found was exactly what I have come to expect and thrive on from White. There comes a time in every readers book filled journey where you get too bogged down in character drama, angst, mixed feelings and torn emotions where you have to just STOP. And dive into a story that won't rip you apart emotionally. Something tender and loving that grabs you by the heartstrings in a healthy way. That has you falling in love step by step and leaves you feeling satisfied and not more confused about love than when you started. Sometimes I come across a really good angsty read that gets me riled up and makes me love it and other times I just want something to sooth my ragey nerves. Lost and Found was exactly what I needed, right when I needed it and I loved every minute of it. I've been pleased with each addition to this series and I look forward to to the next set of characters and their story. If you want some good books with sweet romance that won't stress you out and have you questioning why we even bother loving other people then check out the Ripple Effect Romance novellas.