First love at heart of ‘Always Something there to remind Me’

Remember your first love?  What if you could go back and do things all over again and be with the first guy you fell in love with — would life be better?

Erin Edwards has a full and hectic life. Single mom to teenage daughter Camille, Erin is an event planner for a luxury resort and is involved with Rick, her current boyfriend, who she has been with for a year. Rick is successful, kind and is also raising a teenage daughter on his own, so he and Erin have much in common. But when Rick finally pops the question, the first thing Erin thinks of is Nate Lawson.

Nate was Erin's high school boyfriend. Except he was more than that — 16-year-old Erin was convinced she had found the love of her life in Nate. She thought he would be the man she would marry, have children with and that they would grow old together. But one night Erin made a mistake that Nate just wouldn't forgive and she was left alone.

Now, ever since Rick proposed, all Erin can think about is Nate. She decides she has to find out exactly what she wants from her life.

When fate throws Nate back into her reality, Erin is thrilled, fondly remembering the good times and that magical feeling of her first love. The chemistry is still there between them, and it looks like there might be a chance at a reconnection. But, there is a problem — Nate is married to one of Erin’s best friends from high school. That little fact throws Erin’s dreams into a tailspin.

Regrets, heartache and high school dreams unfulfilled are all prevalent themes in Beth Harbison’s new book, “Always Something there to remind Me.” Alternating the chapters of this tale between present day and the past, and taking her main character on a trip back in time to the simpler, lustier days of first love, Harbison attempts to answer the big question of “what if” in a rollicking story that is humorous, heartwarming and fast-paced. If you have ever fondly thought about your first love and how life would be different if things had worked out, then this is the novel for you.