Year of the Category Challenge Review: To Protect the Child by Anna DeStefano

A child she can’t forget…

FBI agent Alexa Vega wakes in an Atlanta hospital with no memory of how she got there. Except for brief flashes of a little girl’s image, she can’t remember anything, including the assignment that led to her brutal attack. The only person she feels she can trust is the man who saved her Dr. Robert Livingston.

In his care she begins to recover…and to fall for him. Those feelings are returned, because Robert hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Alexa. But as her memory returns, Alexa knows she has to finish what she started. She has to track down her attackers. It’s the only way she can save a child she’s sworn to protect.

She’s determined to succeed, even if it means losing everything else including Robert’s love.

Alexa Vega has been in deep undercover for a few years trying to get the goods on a criminal. But when she gets closer to her subject she realizes that not only is this guy a total criminal in the internet fraud business, but he is molesting his 14 year old daughter and apparently doing it for a while. When the bad guydecides to take his daughter with him in his travels Alexa decides that now’s the time to get the girl, Evie, out of the house. Alexa is willing to not get all of the information regarding the Big Bad if she can save the child. In the attempt to escape Alexa and Evie are found out and Alexa is beaten almost to death. Evie is taken back home and Alexa is taken to the hospital.

Alexa has brain surgery and wakes up to a warm hand in hers and a kind face. She also wakes up to snippets of a terrifying event but she can’t make heads or tails of what it means since she doesn’t even know her own name.

Robert Livingston, neurologist and Alexa’s surgeon, is strangely drawn to his patient. The man who is nothing but professional has suddenly taken a keen interest in Alexa and is staying by her side. He can’t seem to keep himself away from her and it’s causing all sorts of problems. He’s also very confused as there are police guarding Alexa’s room. The police say it’s because they want to find the muggers who beat her, but Robert’s pretty sure it’s something more.

Quite unexpectedly Alexa gets her memory back and realizes that she’s failed Evie and needs to get back to her to get her away from her father. She will do anything to save the girl, including escape from her hospital room after only 3 or 4 days after brain surgery.

I’m not quite sure where to start with this one. This book was a total impulse buy at the UBS that I went to with Nikki and Lori earlier in the month. I figured – just grab it and then I wouldn’t have to spend time on the computer at eharlequin looking up books to buy. I have to say that I normally really enjoy amnesia stories so that was a bonus as well. But Alexa had her memory back so very quickly I really wouldn’t call this book an amnesia story at all. Once she was faced with a certain character – the special agent in charge of the investigation that she was working on – it all came flooding back. I also found it odd that that particular character was the one that triggered her memory, as one of her best friends that she’d known most of her life didn’t seem to trigger anything. But that’s how the story went.

So Robert’s feeling protective and drawn to his patient, telling himself that it’s because no one was there for her and no one’s calling to find out how she is, etc. And Alexa’s feeling like Robert is the only one she can trust because he’s being so nice to her. When she escapes the hospital Robert finds her and they talk about her career and what she really does, etc but that’s about it. Next thing Robert’s telling Alexa that he loves her and she’s figuring out that she loves him. I frankly had to ask myself – is this small amount of being together and talking basis for love? Personally, I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the story and the book was very heartwarming, but are we supposed to really believe that these people are going to live happily ever after when they don’t know anything about each other? Really? I think it could be the start of a dating relationship and a “let’s get to know each other better because I’m liking you a lot” relationship but HEA? I’d have to say no. Were there qualities about Alexa that Robert loved? Yes. Were there qualities about Robert that Alexa loved? Yes. But a few fabulous qualities does not an entire person make and I found it quite hard to fathom how these two could express their love for other so quickly.

So end result: Cute book. Liked the premise of the book and the writing flowed very nicely. I would definitely read more by this author in the future. However I didn’t “get” the HEA in the end.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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