Lorna versus Laura

(Lorna & Tristan #1)

Cynthia Hilston

Tristan Blake/Lorna Ashford

lorna-versus-laura-ch — **Published:** September 2, 2017

My Rating: 5/5

BookBlurb

Ever since a tragic accident took the lives of her parents, grief-stricken and lonely Lorna Ashford has buried herself by destroying everything left behind — objects, memories, relationships, and even her faith. In the backdrop of 1940s Cleveland, Ohio, Lorna sets out to begin anew after her brother leaves to fight in World War II. Living in a new house, she takes up painting and strikes up an unlikely friendship with the eccentric widower next door. But something is off about neighbor Tristan Blake, who lives in a house stuck in the past — his wife’s blackened out eyes stare out of picture frames, and dead flowers linger in her vases. Lorna can’t figure him out, as Tristan is both closed off, yet offers to help her at every turn. As Lorna’s life seems to be coming together, another tragedy threatens to undo all that she has worked to rebuild. Tristan becomes her rock. But with Tristan’s mysterious past, will Lorna be able to paint a masterpiece of love to become Laura again, or will everything she’s worked to create with Tristan be nothing more than a messy splatter of paint on a canvas?

Review_RmA

Lorna versus Laura is actually the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading from author Cynthia Hilston and I couldn’t put it down. This was an absolutely fantastic read set in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1940s. This is the first book in the Lorna & Tristan series. I have to admit once I finished it, I immediately grabbed the second book “Rocks and Flowers in a Box” to see what happened next! Although both books could stand on their own, I highly recommend reading both together to appreciate Lorna and Tristan’s story!

Lorna Ashford & Tristan Blake are neighbors. As we get to know both characters, we see that both are dealing with extreme depression and grief from things in their past. As they gradually get to know each other, they both slowly start to move forward in starting a new chapter in their lives. But the path to their HEA is not as easy or as clear as they both think. As secrets are revealed, their newly found love is tested to the extreme. Will they survive it?

This was such an emotional and heart-wrenching story at times! Tristan and Lorna are both very broken people, barely living. As more and more of their pasts are revealed, we get to understand the depth of their grief and can’t help but hope that these two people can find a way together to accept, forgive, and move forward. I liked both Tristan and Lorna and I felt they were good for each other. I liked how Ms. Hilston gave us glimpses of their past to truly understand just what happened and how Tristan and Lorna got to the place they both were. With fabulous secondary characters and excellent writing, this was a wonderful start to this series.