A Reason for Hope by Kristin Von Kreisler: I’ll start my review by saying this book should have a trigger warning. It deals 
with date rape, and while the act itself isn’t depicted, the events leading up to it and immediately following it, including the physical exam and dealing with the police, are. If this is a trigger for you, I would recommend steering clear of this one.
Tessa Jordan is a bookmobile librarian, and when she meets Nick Payne, a man running for city council, on a dating site, she figures he can’t be a bad guy. That was until she wakes up after a date naked, with no idea of what happened. After debating for a few days, and with the encouragement of her best friend, she reports it. The problem is that the drugs are no longer in her system, and the prosecutor, Will, is unable to press charges for lack of conclusive evidence.
Tessa then goes on a journey of healing, with the help of a group of other rape victims and a Labrador Retriever named Hope. Will is Hope’s main handler, but she works for the prosecutor’s office as a comfort dog, providing comfort to those in emotional distress. What Tessa really wants though is justice, and as much as Will admires Tessa and wants to get it for her, he may be unable to, unless he can find more of Nick’s victims who would be willing to come forward and report their attacks.
I enjoyed Hope. She’s very in tune with everyone’s feelings and I could see her being helpful in providing comfort to victim. Some of my favorite scenes involved the dog.
I did have a few issues with the story, the main one being Tessa. Yes, I understood her frustration about the justice system and her irritation that nothing could be done without other victims coming forward, but I found her to be whiny and a bit naive as to how the justice system works. I also felt she was unfairly mean to Will, who really wanted nothing more to get justice for her. He became a prosecutor to get justice for rape victims, as his own sister had been raped in high school but never reported it. I felt bad for him because he didn’t deserve the way Tessa treated him. I couldn’t blame him when he finally got angry with her.
My other issue was that throughout the book, Will was interested in Tessa, but I didn’t feel like she felt the same. Then towards the end they become a couple, with no real explanation other than they went from being friends to lovers. I didn’t see this friendship throughout most of the book, which made it very hard to buy that explanation and buy into their relationship. I could see how it could be used to point out that Tessa had healed, but I honestly felt like that could have been left out.
A Reason for Hope is an emotional story about finding healing in the darkest of times. It’s also about searching for justice and learning to take one’s life back when it feels like someone else has taken it away. It’s a tough read in spots, but through it all, hope always shines through.
Book Info:
Publication: December 28, 2021 | Kensington Publishing Corporation |
On San Julian Island, across Puget Sound from Seattle, Tessa Jordan works as a bookmobile librarian, recommending books and poems to her patrons. In her spare time, she cares for a colony of feral cats. But Tessa’s simple, satisfying life is shockingly upended after she meets Nick Payne, a respected community leader, and he invites her to dinner.
Far from a pleasant first date, Tessa’s evening with Nick leaves her feeling confused and upset. After deep soul-searching, she decides to step forward and accuse him of assault. Her distress grows when local prosecutor Will Armstrong declines to pursue her case, citing lack of evidence. Her main solace is Hope, a courthouse dog, trained to comfort victims through the difficult judicial process. As she lays her head in Tessa’s lap, her gentle brown eyes seem to say, Don’t worry. Everything will be all right.
Will, who is Hope’s primary handler, longs to get justice for Tessa, yet knows how rocky the path will be. It’s Hope who, true to her name, shines a bright ray through the darkness. With Hope by their side, Will and Tessa find surprising strength in each other as they learn just how resilient a heart—whether human or canine—can be.
