Book Review: Past Encounters

Author: Davina Blake
Title: Past Encounters
Genre: Historical Fiction & Drama
Pages: ebook
First Published: June 30th, 2014
Where I Got It: My shelf (Online freebie)

"From the moment Rhoda Middleton opens one of her husband’s letters and finds it is from another woman, she is convinced he is having an affair. But when Rhoda tracks her down, she discovers the mysterious woman is not his lover after all, but the wife of his best friend, Archie Foster. 

There is only one problem - Rhoda has never even heard of Archie Foster. 

Devastated by this betrayal of trust, Rhoda tries to find out how and why her husband, Peter, has kept this friendship hidden for so long. Her search leads her back to 1945, but as she gradually uncovers Peter’s wartime secrets she must wrestle with painful memories of her own. For if they are ever to understand each other, Rhoda too must escape the ghosts of the past. Taking us on a journey from the atmospheric filming of Brief Encounter, to the extraordinary Great March of prisoners of war through snow-bound Germany, this is a novel of friendship, hope, and how in the end, it is the small things that enable love to survive."

My goodness. I don't even know where to begin. Perhaps I shall divide and conquer this one, but I'll mix it up and change the format:

The Characters
Peter - Idiot. I liked old Peter, but the version that came from the war became an idiot. Not his fault. Like Archie had said was partially due to being "paranoid" from the war. It drove me insane though that he would keep such a stupid secret from Rhoda. I do kinda sorta get his excuse (which I will not say, because it is a huge spoiler on both Rhoda's side and his), but still...she is your wife and you are hiding your war-buddy and his wife. :/ Idiot and selfish and blind and rude. >___> He lied for 10 years! GAH!

Rhoda - Another idiot. How you could you not see that Peter was lying? Really? Especially when he broke the window with his fist and said that he was "okay...nothing wrong". WHAT? Sighs. I do feel bad for Rhoda, but she was not an innocent while Peter was away at war. I get that the heart wants what the heart wants, but still...where is the loyalty?

Helen - At first I liked her, but then she made me mad. She made up for it at the end when she snapped. Good. That should have happened at the very beginning and avoided all these issues.

Archie - He was my favorite. I wish that he was alive to slap some sense into Peter's brain.

Matthew - Sighs....why?

Peter's parents - Hated them. They were nothing but rude to Rhoda and they needed a good slap. I'm glad Peter did stand up to them at one point.

The Story
It was rather slow in the beginning, but it certainly got better as the story went along. There is three POVs going on and some time jumping. However, the author did a lovely job with announcing when a change would happen. Thank goodness...I would have been utterly lost.

When I first started reading this, something was annoying me. It took me longer then I care to admit. Whenever the author switched from Helen's or Rhoda's POV to Peter's, she also switched the tense. Helen and Rhoda were using 1st person, while Peter was 3rd person. It annoyed me, but I got use to it as the story went along. 

I'm glad the story ended the way it did. I cannot say what happened, but the characters made me proud. I honestly wish that Helen and Archie get their own story; especially Helen I want a HEA for her too.

Conclusion
In the end, this was okay. I'm glad it was a freebie on Amazon. The characters all annoyed me from time to time, but the majority made it up at the end. I wish that the author did stay on track with 3rd person or 1st person, it was distracting and hard to transition between each one. I am glad that the author did announce when a change in POV or time was to occur. Honestly, I liked Peter's POV the best. The beginning was slow, but it did get better. I recommend this to those who like Historical Fiction with a whole bunch of unnecessary drama. I shall stamp this with 2 stars. It is more like, but I rounded. 

Favorite Character(s): Mmmmm, no one really. I did like Helen and Archie though
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Everyone had their moment when I wanted to punch them, but I really loathed Peter's parents; worthless.