Lotus by Jennifer Hartmann

Sydney and Oliver were each other's first love, inseparable, best friends...until he disappeared. It's been twenty two years and Sydney has learned to survive but she never gave up on him. Then he shows up one day with no knowledge of modern day life and no memory of his life before.

Oliver had been kept underground that whole time, his only comfort a series of comics he created with himself playing the hero to a little blonde girl with pigtails. As Oliver struggles to adjust, the feelings they had for each other in childhood become even stronger.

I've only read one other book by this author, but I still think about it all the time. She has a way of writing about terrible tragedy and abuse in a sensitive and relatable way that just rips your heart out but then builds you back up again leaving you with a sense of hope and happiness. Oliver endured such a horrible ordeal and came through with emotional scars but the man he became was wonderful to read. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.