e-Audio, 07:44:18
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
Release Date: April 4, 2023
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: April 11-13, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: PRH App
TW: Homophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Child Abuse, Car Accident, Religious Bigotry
For Readers Interested In: Romance, YA, LGBTQ+, Amnesia, Realistic FictionA romantic ode to the strength of love and the power of choosing each other, against odds and obstacles, again and again.
What would you do if you forgot the love of your life ever even existed?
Stevie and Nora had a love. A secret, epic, once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. They also had a plan: to leave their small, ultra-conservative town and families behind after graduation and move to California, where they could finally stop hiding that love.
But then Stevie has a terrible fall. And when she comes to, she can remember nothing of the last two years—not California, not coming to terms with her sexuality, not even Nora. Suddenly, Stevie finds herself in a life she doesn’t quite understand, one where she’s estranged from her parents, drifting away from her friends, lying about the hours she works, dating a boy she can’t remember crushing on, and headed towards a future that isn’t at all what her fifteen-year-old self would have envisioned.
And Nora finds herself…forgotten. Can the two beat the odds a second time and find their way back together when “together” itself is just a lost memory?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I usually steer away from romances with amnesia. The usually always make me cry when the person can’t remember. Just the thought of maybe losing someone they love gets me every time. It’s weird because I know they’ll find their way to each other, but still. I can never help it. But once everyone started talking about how good this was and all of the things they loved about it, I knew I needed to get my hands on it.
As you can see I read this a little late. I had to audio from the Simon & Schuster audio app, but I hadn’t downloaded it yet. I didn’t want to waste my download on something I didn’t want to read. But when people started talking about it I knew I needed to set aside my issues. As it turns out, I still cried lol I could FEEL the pain of Nora radiating off the page. She didn’t know what to say or do and she was stuck there just watching things happen. I can’t imagine what that was like. And for Stevie, the betrayal was almost life changing. What they let her believe was not ok. Not only her parents, but also her so called friends. The way they were gaslighting her and sometimes just outright lying could have actually got her in real trouble. (Especially the friend thing when she made the realization on why they weren’t friends anymore…..)
Now I did say in my Goodreads pre-review that my heart was broken but then it was stitched back together. What stitched it back together was the romance. They were so sweet. A true testament of love conquers all. And it happened so organically. Nora didn’t want to overwhelm Stevie even when it hurt her. I don’t know if I could have done that. I probably would have just left. But because of this, when it came to them making up, it was like the sweetest thing. This is where I got a little teary lol
The narrator was of course on point. I LOVE Natalie Nadus! I even follow her on TikTok. She is awesome at what she does. Every character has their own voice and there’s special effects as well. I don’t think this audio would have been as good as it was without her. Definitely check out the audiobook if you haven’t read this yet!
Overall, I give this
