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Cynthia Hilston is a stay at-home-mom of three young kids, happily married. Writing has always been like another child to her. After twenty years of waltzing in the world of fan fiction, she finally stepped away to do her debut dance with original works of fiction. She is also a freelance editor and paid book reviewer.
In her spare time – what spare time? – she devours books, watches Supernatural and Outlander, pets her orange kitty, looks at the stars, and dreams of what other stories she wishes to tell.
Reviewed by Daria White for Readers' Favorite
Lorna versus Laura by Cynthia Hilston takes place during World War II. Lorna is a young teacher raising her younger brother after their parents died in a horrific car accident. Lorna goes onto autopilot and focuses on taking care of the only family she has left. In her mind, there’s nothing else to live for, and God is to blame for the pain in her life. Six years after the accident, Lorna moves into a new home to help forget the past. She lives next door to Tristan Blake, who is a widower. While her brother is away fighting in the war, Lorna finds herself intrigued with her neighbor. She knows she should stay away from the bearded man who constantly repeats, “They need to take me away,” but Lorna can’t help but try to make friends with Tristan. His friendship comes in handy when tragedy strikes Lorna’s life again, but is it more than friendship?
Cynthia Hilston takes her readers back in time with this story. While love is the theme in Lorna versus Laura, I also believe forgiveness is prevalent too. Tristan is carrying a burden and, when Lorna finds out, he could lose her forever. Overall, I did enjoy the story of Lorna’s brewing friendship with Tristan, but I wish the story went a little deeper with their feelings for each other. We see Lorna falling for Tristan, but the author only depicts them spending time together. At first I thought, for Lorna to be so closed off from everyone, why does she fall for Tristan so quickly? However, this is possible when all you’ve known in life is pain and heartache. Then, something good comes along and you want to believe in it. Caution, in a way, is thrown to the wind and that’s what I believe happens with Lorna. She takes a chance on love despite her pain. Her heart doesn’t care about a timeline. She’s feeling again and that’s all that matters, but when the truth comes out she has to make a hard decision. I think this book is a great read and I think others will like this heartfelt story.
