Reviews

Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine

By Gail Pruszkowski (Camp Swampy)

Lost Love Found by Tim Gomes is a romantic thriller with a well-drawn cast of characters. The hero gets a second chance at love but not without taking great risks and putting his life in danger.
Two years ago, Dan Jagger’s wife was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. She was on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. Dan is still grieving and certain that he will never find another love like Alia. He’s surprised to get a phone call from his high school sweetheart, Charlene, the girl who dumped him when he returned home from Viet Nam.
He’s not interested in seeing her but Charlene is persistent and they meet for dinner. Dan is reluctant to see her again but his relatives push him into it and soon they’re spending more and more time together. Meanwhile Dan’s only son Tim, an Army Reservist goes missing in Iraq. Dan’s world turns upside down again when Charlene’s past catches up with her and puts him in danger.
The plot is intriguing and the characters have interesting pasts but the pacing suffers from some technical flaws. The book starts out strong with a prologue that takes Dan back to his first battle in Viet Nam but the present day scenes contain long conversations, dialogue that slows things down and robs the story of suspense. Despite this there’s a lot to recommend the book. Description and setting are detailed, the plot takes a few twists and turns and the ending satisfies.
Link to Camp Swampy: http://write-juncture.blogspot.com

ForeWord Clarion Review

FICTION

Lost Love Found

Tim Gomes

iUniverse

244 pages

Softcover $16.95

978-1-4401-4867-5

Three Stars (out of Five)

Tim Gomes’s Lost Love Found is billed as a romance, and it certainly is, but it is also a bit of crime thriller, carrying a strong thread of intrigue.

It’s been two years since Dan Jagger’s wife died when Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11. Dan is still struggling to pull his life together when his former high school sweetheart, Darlene, calls out of the blue and asks to get together. Dan isn’t interested in the least. Alia had been Dan’s wife for more than thirty years, and his grief is crushing. Instead, he thanks Darlene for breaking up with him so long ago, which opened the door for him to meet Alia. But Darlene is persistent—insistent even—and Dan, unable to say no, reluctantly agrees to dinner at a restaurant that was his and Alia’s favorite.

Dan’s relatives, including his in-laws, get wind of the reunion between the former sweethearts, and not only do they endorse it, but they also do their best to push the couple together. Dan is unwilling at first, and Darlene seems oblivious to his reluctance, but they begin spending more time together. Soon Darlene is traveling to Dan’s various homes throughout the country, and living a lifestyle she is unaccustomed to.

Dan’s only son, Tim, whose feelings are complicated by loyalty to his mother, seems to be the only one with reservations. Tim checks into Darlene’s past, uncovering some grim details that lead him to warn his father to stay clear of her.

Tim, an Army Reservist, is then sent to Iraq where he leads a grueling mission, after which he is reported missing in action. He resurfaces as a hero and plays a major role in the final scene which involves a ghost from Darlene’s past. Gomes served in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. His experience allows him to bring authentic details into his tale.

With romance as the theme, readers expects a happy ending, and there is one, but the strong plot doesn’t deliver the tension it could. Pacing issues rob the tale of suspense, and problems are solved before tension has a chance to build. Gomes misses a chance to turn the spotlight of suspicion on Darlene, and there are other moments that will leave readers asking, “But why didn’t he…?” Dialogue at times becomes repetitive, overemphasizing things long since understood. Despite this, Gomes manages to land a big surprise at the end. The story isn’t perfect, but it has a lot to commend it.

Ruth Douillette

[Author’s Note: based on Ms. Doullette’s fine review, the nover was rewritted to enhance the suspense. Thank you Ms. Douiillette]

Kat Bryan’s

Lost Love Found
© 2010 by Tim Gomes

ISBN: 978-1-4401-4867-5
Publisher: iUniverse
SRP: $15.95
211 pp.
About the book: “Although two years have passed since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dan Jagger is still fraught with grief over the loss of his wife who was killed in the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. Dan buries himself in work, family, and gardening while facing the harsh reality that he may never again experience another love like Alia.

One day Dan receives a phone call from Charlene, his high school sweetheart, whom he hasn’t heard from since she broke his heart and sent him into the arms of Alia. Against his better judgment, Dan agrees to meet his former lover for dinner and soon learns that Charlene has lived a sordid life—twice married to a drug dealer and incarcerated herself. Despite all he has learned, Dan becomes involved with Charlene once again, setting in motion a course of events that leaves him vulnerable to danger. As he is unwillingly drawn into life-threatening scenarios executed by Charlene’s former husband, an ex-convict focused on revenge, Dan receives the shocking news that his only son, an Army Reservist, has gone missing in Iraq.

As fear, unease, and peril surround Dan, he must act decisively before he loses everything he has ever loved.”

I think most romance fans will like this book. I liked the plot, it was interesting enough I wanted to know what happened, and it had a different ending, but there were several things that detracted from the story for me. There were too many acronyms which all had to be explained (CIB, CO, FSB, RTO, OCS, FNG, NVA, LZ, VC, FNG, PO, PTO, DEA, CONUS among others), too many street names every time the characters went somewhere (who cares about street names?), and I just didn’t think the main character was too believable. Yes, he was a great guy but how many people these days think it’s terrible to date after your wife has been dead for 2 years? And I wondered how he ever became such a business success when he let people walk over him like he did when it came to Charlene. AND, how many sons could walk into their dad’s home and bedroom unannounced, catch them in bed with a girlfriend, and the dad doesn’t react? Just not very believable to me but please remember, this is just MY opinion.

Link to Kat Bryan’s Corner: http://kat-bryanscorner.blogspot.com/
Frugal Plus Review

Lost Love Found by Tim Gomes
Paperback: 244 pages

Publisher: iUniverse (July 23, 2009)

ISBN-10: 1440148678

ISBN-13: 978-1440148675
Even though two years have passed since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dan Jagger is still fraught with grief over the loss of his wife who was killed in the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. Dan buries himself in work, family, and gardening while facing the harsh reality that he may never again experience another love like Alia.
One day Dan receives a phone call from Charlene, his high school sweetheart, whom he hasn’t heard from since she broke his heart and sent him into the arms of Alia. Against his better judgment, Dan agrees to meet his former lover for dinner and soon learns that Charlene has lived a sordid life—twice marriedto a drug dealer and incarcerated herself. Despite all he has learned, Dan becomes involved with Charlene once again, setting in motion a course of events that leaves him vulnerable to danger. As he is unwillingly drawn into life-threatening scenarios executed by Charlene’s former husband, an ex-convict focused on revenge, Dan receives the shocking news that his only son, an Army Reservist, has gone missing in Iraq.
As fear, unease, and peril surround Dan, he must act decisively before he loses everything he has ever loved.
Two years after after Dan Jagger’s wife perished in the 9-11 attacks, he hears from an old flame, Charlene, who has the ability of using him as a doormat even though he is a successful business man. Charlene has quite the sorted life, and involves Dan in a dangerous relationship. Not only does Dan have Charlene to contend with, he has just found out his Son is missing in Iraq.
Amidst all the dangers will Dan come out of this finding the love he longs for and a Son that is safely back home?
Tim Gomes was raised in Fremont, California. While at the General Motors Institute, Gomes was drafted into the Vietnam War. He later earned his BA in Political Science and his MA in Public Administration from California State University. Gomes is a business analyst for a large bank in Fremont. He has been happily married for thirty-seven years and is the father of one son.
Link to Fugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/lost-love-found-by-tim-gomes/
Tutu’s Two Cents

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON BOOKS,READING,TRAVEL AND LIFE IN MAINE.
Tutu’s Two Cents Initial Comments (Com[plete Reading in progress)
Lost Love Found. An ARC from the author, I’d requested this one several months ago. Tim Gomes indicates that he delayed publication to do a major re-write. This one appears to be the story of high school sweethearts meeting up later in life, and promises to be more than just a beach read chick lit. I don’t normally read a lot of romances, but this one looked like it had a little more to offer.
Link to Tutu’s Two Cents: http://www.tutus2cents.blogspot.com/