Thursday, March 24, 2016

Book Review: Forgetting August (Lost & Found #1) by J.L. Berg


She can forgive, but can she forget?
Some days, Everly still thinks she sees him. In the food court at the mall, or in a car speeding past as the light changes. It only lasts a second, but when it happens, she slips back to a time when she was ruled-and nearly ruined-by August Kincaid. And it doesn't matter that she's moved on, that she's about to marry another man. In those moments the only thing she can do to regain control is take a deep breath and remind herself that August can't hurt her-because he's in a coma. Except that he's not anymore.

August is awake. With no memories, he sets out to solve the mystery of his lost life. He unearths a photograph of a beautiful redhead named Everly and knows instinctively that she's the key. But when he finds her, the August she describes is more monster than man.

Tortured by the thought of having hurt her, August wants only to become the man Everly deserves. As the new August emerges, Everly glimpses the person she first fell in love with. But can she trust that this August is real? When the final secret of their shared past is revealed, one of them will make a choice that changes their future forever . . .



 


Oh, how I wanted to love this book. I thought that the blurb sounded like an amazing idea for a book and I couldn't wait to dive into the story. Quite a few friends on Goodreads really enjoyed this one and I was excited to enjoy the ride. But that ride never really came for me. 

I think that my first problem with the book was the characters. Or character, actually. My issue was with Everly. I understood the confusion and anger that consumed her life. I didn't really get how she could be so very angry and then the next second, totally forgiving. This anger had consumed her life for more than two years. That's a long time to just be able to smile and laugh with the man who perpetuated that anger. The author made it very clear that Everly was conflicted, which is understandable. It just seemed too easy for her to gloss over that sometimes. It made Everly not seem consistent. 

But maybe that is what made the story amazing for some people ... that deep-rooted conflict within Everly ... the fight between good and evil and never really having a sure footing on either side. That back and forth was just a little much for me after a certain point. There is only so much that a person can take with the 'I love you/I don't love you' back and forth. It seemed almost cruel, what Everly was doing to the two men in her life. I grew tired of reading about her flip-flopping. I just wanted her to make a decision. 

I can't think of another word or phrase for how the book as a whole made me feel except one phrase that sounds super shitty and condescending ... long winded. There were just a lot of parts that were dragged out and I think that it was at a disservice to the plot when it happened throughout the entire book. I found myself just skimming paragraphs because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. After the first half of the book, I grew tired of reading what each character was thinking and feeling. Just spit it out and move on, people! When the suspense should have been at an all-time high within the plot, the story grew so lethargic that it just completely negates any suspenseful scene that you may be immersed in. 

I wanted to love this one. Unfortunately, we just didn't mesh. I think that I may pass on this author in the future. If the story was slimmed down a bit and the weird love triangle was not quite as intense, it may have been a good fit with me. Others have enjoyed Forgetting August, so don't take my word for it. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *



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