Review: The Other Gloria by LA Villafane

The Other Gloria

by LA Villafane

Publisher: Empire Publishing

Pages: 255

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The truth lies in what she can't remember. There is another who harbors her unspeakable secrets. Meeting her is where the danger lies.

On a dark January night in 2019, Gloria finds herself behind the wheel of a car, beaten and covered in blood. She has no idea where she’s coming from, or where she might be headed. After pulling to the side of the road, she begins to fade out of consciousness.

The next thing she experiences is waking in bed next to a man who should be her beloved fiancé, Rick. However, she soon discovers it is her dangerous ex-husband, Charles, whom she thought she had escaped two years earlier, in 2017. She eventually finds that the year she was woken to is 2003, and she is living her life with this abusive man all over again.

Due to the abuse she endured, Gloria suffers from dissociative disorder, which has stolen the memories of her two young daughters growing up. There is another who holds these memories; the Other Gloria. She thinks maybe God has given her a do-over, and she might be able to do better, stay present, and recover the lost memories of their childhood. She knows, to do this, she must escape Charles once again.

Gloria’s plan for escaping this time around includes finding Rick, who doesn’t know she exists in 2003, but she soon comes to the realization that meeting Rick will not be enough. She knows she must do the one thing she never wanted to do – meet the Other Gloria and finally discover the unspeakable secrets she holds.

Kritters Thoughts:  With two story lines and a prologue that sends you back in time, this book was a bit hard to read and follow.  The Other Gloria starts with a Gloria who finds herself in a car covered with blood, but can't find the source, but then she is sent back in time to a time where she had two young daughters and was in a horrible marriage.  The other storyline is a few years back and Gloria has left the marriage with adult daughters and has found a new love.  

The storylines were hard to follow, but the big for me for this book was I didn't understand how they were going to collide and to be frank I have finished the book a few days ago and have thought of it and still don't feel as though I got it all and that for me is frustrating as a reader.  The sad thing is I am not sure if I read it again, that I would pick up anything and get it any more than I do now.  

I did finish the book because I did enjoy Gloria the character and her daughters.  The author did create a character that I cared about and wanted to know more about, so that lead me to keep reading even with the confusing storylines and plot lines.  

I would read another by this author, but would be real critical about the synopsis.  The building of great characters gives me enough to want to try this author again, but with a little reservation.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Smith Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.