Daphne Clair always writes novels with plenty of emotion, connecting readers to her story as she develops connections among the characters. From reviews on Goodreads, readers either love Dark Remembrance or hate it, some citing the thread of violence that underlies Logan’s pursuit of Raina as a reason to hate the story and others citing Raina’s deliberate denial of any feelings for Logan as a reason to dislike her and the book. I liked it quite a bit despite both.

Logan’s best friend, Perry, had left Raina a widow with small child when he took one too many chances when flying. Perry always expected Logan to take care of Raina in his absence, despite knowing that Logan was fiercely attracted to Raina. Now with Perry gone Logan is taking steps to make Raina his wife, and finally Raina accepts after sitting up all night with son Danny who’s sick with whooping cough. (??? We’ve had vaccinations for whooping cough for years! But this is Harlequin where medical facts don’t always drive the story.) Anyway the little boy is sick all night, Riana is exhausted and she knows Logan is right when he insists that both Raina and Danny need him.

The rest of the story is how Raina deals with her own, long-suppressed desire for Logan, how she comes to love him and how she eventually forces them both to admit to love.

There is some light violence in Dark Remembrance. Logan is forceful and pushes Raina into marriage and on their wedding night he goes ahead even when she does turns off after he says something stupid. Later he admits he thought about forcing her, but decided that he couldn’t live with himself if he raped her. He’s a man who’s been in love with someone unattainable – his best friend’s wife – for four years and he’s nearly desperate with longing and wanting, and her constant rejection is tearing him apart.

Raina is attracted to Logan, but she’s scared to admit that she was attracted even when her husband was alive, and cloaked it behind animosity. Logan said it best, that he hated that she was so loyal to her dead husband but he honored her for it too. She decides to marry Logan for her son’s benefit, reluctant to admit she wants to marry him for herself too. Raina is torn between loyalty to her dead husband, love for her son, attraction and caring for Logan.

Over the course of a couple months of marriage Logan courts Raina, softly and steadily convincing her to give him and their feelings for each other a chance. She decides to go see him at work and have it out in the open, but when she arrives Raina can see Logan and his secretary Angela embrace through the frosted glass door. Of course she runs back to the car and tears away, earning a speeding ticket. After that Raina is colder and less caring, less open, and when she hears Logan and Angela at a party she assumes they are having an affair. She is hurt and angry and that helps her realize that yes, she loves Logan. But now she thinks he stopped loving her.

Raina’s young son Danny is part of the glue that tugs them together since they have to be friends in front of him, and of course, both adults love the boy. The two are committed to staying together, keep stumbling towards some sort of emotional rendezvous, and eventually reach their loving happiness.

Daphne Clair writes with so much love for her New Zealand countryside and cities that it makes me want to go there. Dark Remembrance is less of a travelogue than some of her novels; this time she shows us a few places, quiet lakes, lovely beaches, busy cities, mountains, although without the loving detail she provides in other novels.

4 Stars

I read this in on Archive.org and Amazon and Thriftbooks both have paperback copies available as of mid-November 2020.

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