What Are We Reading Now - Lost Cause by @bonnysammy

Lost Cause By @bonnysammy
Review by SwedenSara

The sound of liquid dripping onto leaves leaked into my consciousness, waking me from what felt like an extremely deep slumber. My head was heavy and foggy. I was confused and disoriented. I opened my eyes to find myself lying prostrate on the leaf-covered ground of a very wet, very green forest. I scoured my brain for some recognition of my surroundings, but I wasn't in a familiar place. Of course, the haze and drowsiness filling my head didn't help illuminate my current situation.

One day, a woman wakes up alone, lost in a forest. As she slowly regains conscience, she realizes she is not only lost in the literal sense, but also figuratively. She has only two recollections: one being her name, the other being her age. After hours of wandering in circles, mysteriously finding herself coming back to the same place over and over again, she finally gives up and settles on the ground, crying and waiting for the lonely death she is sure is approaching.

After a while – I was not sure quite how long, but my tears had run dry and my sobbing had turned to strained whimpers – I heard a soft voice, an angel’s call, chime from the forest.

"Hello . . . Is anyone there?" The female voice sounded like a cherub, a pleasant and musical soprano.

The woman in the woods, Bella, is found and saved by Alice, Carlisle and Esme—but is it merely by accident, sheer luck or maybe something else? They take her home, care for her and offer their house and help to find out who she is.

As this story unfolds we realize this is a much more complex and intricate web than it seems. The author carefully sets the stage for the story, keeping some things strictly canon and some loosely based on it. The characters are well developed, and even though Bella is a mystery, she is incredibly easy to take in. She is trying desperately to grasp her past, as she also learns that the things she always thought were nothing but fairytales and legends are actually true. Her confusion is palpable as she discovers some facts about herself that she doesn’t know how to handle.

Bonnysammy’s writing is excellent, and her story is something as rare as it is is intelligent, different and innovative, yet very much in canon. For me, reading “Lost Cause” creates a need to find out more, to see where Bella comes from and where the story takes her.