This was an excellent novel. With brilliant main characters and a wonderful plot, this book is a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book.

Forgotten Boxes is a suspense novel written by Becki Willis. Charity Gannon lives in Maryland where she has a freelance graphic design business. Charity has come to Vermont to claim her inheritance from her aunt, Nell Tillman. While cleaning out the shed behind the house, Charity discovers a black garbage bag with four boxes inside. The boxes all of labels of Kingdom Parcel with the date of March 14, 1984. March 14, 1984 is the date her uncle, Harold Tillman, was found dead in his delivery truck by the side of the road. His death was declared a suicide. Nell kept the clothes that Harold wore the day he died in her bedroom on a hall tree. The shirt has a bullet hole surrounded by blood. Charity has never been able to get the complete story of her uncle’s death. Kingdom Parcel was the company her uncle started with two investors. Charity decides to deliver the boxes to their intended recipients. The first box provides a heartwarming love story, but the second undelivered box resulted in a terrible tragedy. The final two boxes lead Charity to Tarn Danbury, the sugarmaker and his parents. Charity had encountered Tarn at Dan’s Market in town. He introduced Charity to the delights of Vermont maple syrup and maple cream. These two boxes will provide the answers to a thirty-one year old mystery. But someone else wants those boxes and will do anything necessary to get them.

Forgotten Boxes is nicely written and is easily read. The pace does get a little slow at times especially during the descriptions of the scenery, food, and Tarn. The author likes to be descriptive in her narratives of nature and Tarn (I think she used every adjective available to describe him). The whirlwind romance between Charity and Tarn is very much in the forefront of the book, and I found it to be just plain sappy (I skimmed through the sections on their attraction to each other). I give Forgotten Boxes 2 out of 5 stars. The mystery can be figured out early in the book (it is obvious from the moment Harold goes into business with the two men). The reader will easily figure out what happened to Harold and the business long before it is revealed in Forgotten Boxes. I did not feel that this was a suspense novel (there is no thrill or trepidation at all). I thought the characters lacked development (they are superficial). We never get many details on Charity or her past (though we certainly know what she thinks about Tarn). The author does provide many detailed descriptions on Tarn’s appearance. If you enjoy sentimental romance novels, then you will like reading Forgotten Boxes. If you are looking for a good mystery or suspense novel, skip Forgotten Boxes.

Although I was excited to read this book, it feel short of my expectations for a variety of reasons.

This book is not a mystery/thriller. It is a romance. It may be a romance with mystery/thriller elements, yes, but while the blurb led me to believe that there would be a romantic subplot to this, the story revolved around the romance far too much for a book selling itself as a mystery.

Let's start with my biggest issue. This book perpetuates the idea that suicide is a bad thing. Charity's uncle is thought to have committed suicide, and Charity wants to "clear his name." One should not be ashamed of someone who had committed suicide; depression and mental illnesses that lead to suicide are REAL illnesses, and I was extremely bothered by the complete disregard Charity had towards this. Okay, her uncle didn't commit suicide, but why would it have been a problem if he had? Suicide is a terrible, terrible action that takes many lives and this book completely disrespects that. And I'm not okay with that.

Charity is taking care of her deceased aunt's cottage... but it takes 13% of the book before Charity mentions that her aunt's cottage is in Vermont. She makes such a big deal about the small town vibe, but I'm not sure if we're in Texas, where the author is from, or somewhere more South, or where, and then all of a sudden we're in Vermont. After that, we don't forget it. But I literally had to go back through and skim reread because I was so confused as to where the setting was. And then, the setting becomes entirely about maple syrup. I do believe there is more to Vermont than maple syrup, as Charity should know, as she could list of about ten random facts about it.

My biggest issue with this book was the instalove. Charity and Tarn both claim that they've had very few previous relationships, yet during their first encounter they're both attempting to flirt in a way that feels completely unnatural and formulaic. They kiss (no spoiler alert because it's obvious that it'll happen) when they just barely know each others' names. I just don't get it. For someone who is supposedly so pragmatic, why does Charity go crazy so fast for him? Do they ever talk? Why do they like each other? There is absolutely zero substance other than lust and physical attraction.

And I haven't even started on the premise. I like the premise. I was really excited about the premise and greedy to read this. But it's not believable. There are several plot holes where I wondered how it got to the point that Charity was even involved. The timing of it all is far too coincidental, and I'm really not sure why the case wasn't resolved thirty years ago and why the bad guys didn't just get away with it.

I also couldn't enjoy the way that this was written. There is a dream scene in this book, which is a completely tired trope when, as in this case, it contributes nothing to the book. That scene could have been deleted completely. Charity talks to herself often, until one time she seems to realise just how much she talks to herself. Yes, Charity, I was judging you. Or at least, I was judging you as a character for needing to convey information in that manner.

There are also flashbacks in the past that could have been useful, but they are too infrequent and random that they instead just distract. If all relevant scenes had been in the past this might have worked, but instead I feel like I know information that Charity doesn't until the end when she magically figures things out. Even the one character that could shed light couldn't have known everything that happened in flashbacks.

Finally, this girl puts her entire self worth on the one guy's attraction. She runs her own business as a graphic designer (though I don't know how she was working during this book??) and is pretty darn self sufficient. Yet she is a total damsel in distress, and it takes a man getting an erection in response to her for her to finally gain some confidence. I would have loved to have seen her being validated in some other way--maybe an award for her business or something that she showed pride in. But the only time she shows confidence is when a man is attracted to her.

Also, I wish she received more affirmation for her weight. She talks about being "big" because she is 5'7". Well, I am 5'6", and now I feel like I, too, am a whale. Maybe I'm not petite as she desires to be, but I generally feel pretty confident until this book tells me that unless I find a giant mountain man, I will be big, and the only way I'll get affirmation is in his attentions. Great. Thanks.

I'm sorry, but there are just too many issues with this book for me to recommend it at all.

Adored this charming love story. It is also a mystery. It jumps back and forth between past and present moving the tale along. Interesting details about maple syrup. Realistic characters.. I look forward to reading more by this author.