Fantastic book that started with a rush, and the intensity never let up. The story opens with Luke hurtling down a mountain in Wyoming in an SUV with no brakes and two other SUVs in hot pursuit. When the inevitable happens, and the SUV crashes, two men haul a dazed Luke out of the vehicle. Hearing them talk about putting a bullet in his head leaves him with two options: die or try to escape. So Luke rolls off the side of the road and down a steep drop, sustaining more injuries before stumbling away to look for help. He eventually ends up knocking on the door of an isolated cabin.

Ava Wallace (aka author A. L. Baines) moved to her grandparents' cabin from Chicago after surviving a horrific attack that left her scarred and suffering from PTSD. With her big white dog, Maxie, Ava avoids people as much as possible and is not pleased to have a strange man pounding on her door. Doing her best to ignore her anxiety, Ava provides first aid before driving him to the local hospital. Complicating matters, Luke can't remember his name and thinks he is a character from her series, of which he's a huge fan). I loved this scene which was at the same time hilarious and heartbreaking.

Sure he's in danger, Luke convinces Ava to let him stay with her while he tries to recover his memory. Instinct tells Ava he's right, but the last time she helped a strange man, it didn't end well for her. I loved the combination of romance and suspense. As Luke learns more about Ava's past, his admiration for her grows, as do stronger feelings. I loved how he saw past her scars to the strong and resilient woman she is. His unstinting respect goes a long way toward changing Ava's view of herself as damaged goods. Likewise, Ava's growing trust helps Luke face some things from the past that still haunt him. I especially enjoyed the mixing of their real lives with those of the characters in Ava's books. I loved how Luke saw so much of Ava in her character of Willow. The ending was fantastic. I loved their conversation on the cabin's porch, especially Luke's teasing about her book.

The suspense of the story kept me glued to the pages from the start. From Luke's hair-raising trip down the mountain to the final confrontation with the bad guys, I never knew what would happen next. The biggest question was whether Luke would get his memory back before the bad guys caught up with him. Each new memory revealed another puzzle piece and added to the surety that Luke was caught up in something big. The final confrontation was a nail-biter, with Ava caught up in her worst nightmare before Luke's arrival. Luke's comment to "Summon the dragon" was the perfect way to take down the final adversary. ( )