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Forget Me Not

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A 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?

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 2023

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About the author

Alyson Derrick

5 books1,291 followers
Alyson Derrick was born and raised in Greenville, Pennsylvania, a town where burn barrels take the place of recycling bins. After making her great escape to Pittsburgh, where she earned her bachelor’s in English writing, Alyson started her own food truck, but soon realized she much prefers telling stories over slinging cheesesteaks. She is the coauthor of New York Times bestseller She Gets the Girl. Alyson currently resides in Pennsylvania with her wife and their dog, Hank.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,278 reviews
Profile Image for Alyson Derrick.
Author 5 books1,291 followers
Read
June 15, 2022
Hi! This book is my solo debut and I cannot WAIT for you all to read it. Here are some things you’ll find in FORGET ME NOT:

📦 a secret box of memories
🏳️‍🌈 two girls madly in love
🌾 a tough, farm girl love interest
💁🏻‍♀️ Asian-American MC
👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼 confused pining
🏡 a rural, ultra-conservative town

If you have any questions, about FMN, I've turned on my Ask the Author feature and I'd be happy to answer them. ❤️
Profile Image for Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books).
575 reviews526 followers
June 7, 2023
Actual rating 4.5 stars.

Beautiful. Raw. Chest tightening.

Do you know those books? That seem sweet and gentle but are so brutal at the same time? That read so easily until you fully get what’s underneath? That can leave a knot in your stomach and make you almost stop breathing?

Forget Me Not is such a book. It’s written so captivating I didn’t realize that I flew through the pages. And while Stevie is trying to pick up her life and doing day to day stuff, even though she lost two years due to amnesia, there is so much tension below the surface. Things I knew as the reader but things Stevie didn’t remember. Her mom, so sweet and caring, but also someone who dedicated her life to church. Her dad, who had changed and became a fervent Fox tv watcher. Nora, tough Nora, who had to watch her girlfriend from a distance going out with a boy because Stevie didn’t remember she had been in a relationship for two years. With a girl.

I wholeheartedly loved this novel. And while reading the last part, I tried so hard not to cry because I was on an awfully crowded train. So I blinked and blinked and swallowed the lump in my throat. There was one thing, though, that kept me from rating it a full five stars. I longed to read Nora’s POV, too, instead of snippets of her POV in letters. While reading, I kept thinking of her, and I wanted to know desperately how she was doing. Despite this, I highly recommend this story!

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Profile Image for Sara.
205 reviews21 followers
Shelved as 'interested'
September 5, 2021
lesbians and my fav flower as the title? you have my attention
Profile Image for Katie B.
1,405 reviews3,075 followers
March 31, 2023
I watched a lot of soap operas in the 1980s and 90s so I'm no stranger to an amnesia storyline. I was pleasantly surprised the author was able to come up with something that felt fresh and different using this trope. There's a lot of heart to this story and it's a book worth checking even if you don't typically read YA fiction.

Stevie and Nora are in love. Both their families and the town they live in are conservative, so they secretly have come up with a plan to move to California at the end of summer. But tragedy strikes and Stevie has a horrible accident that has left her with no memories of the last 2 years. That means Nora is a complete stranger to her and therefore she has no idea they were dating. Will Stevie regain her memory?

With the two leads being teenage girls, it allowed the author to branch out in a few different directions with the storyline. That's what really sets it apart form other amnesia plots. It was fascinating and heartbreaking to watch Stevie take in the fact she has no clue what has happened over these last few years. Nora having to deal with the aftermath of Stevie's accident was equally interesting.

This is a story that really pulled on my heartstrings. Highly recommend if you are in the mood for a book about love.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an advance copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

Profile Image for Amy Marsden.
Author 4 books59 followers
April 19, 2023
This was my first ever amnesia book, and I enjoyed it!

Stevie was great. I really felt for her whole journey; before her accident her need to get out of Wyatt was palpable, and after I was so annoyed at everyone lying to her. I just wanted to keep her safe from it all.

Her 'friends' were downright awful, and I'm so happy she distanced herself from them pre- and post-accident.

Her parents were shitty too. Her dad read as a lost cause, and I sensed something was up with the mum and was glad to be proven right. Tbh, the ending with them didn't make much sense to me. If my parents had those views I'd be cutting them out of my life.

I didn't agree with Nora keeping their relationship from her. I understand her reasoning, but it read like a plot device more than something the character would do. In the same vein, I wish we spent more time with them, showing Stevie fall in love all over again. Too much time was spent with Ryan, and while he turned out to be a nice ally, I don't enjoy reading straight dates in my sapphic romances haha. The middle felt bogged down because of this. It picked up towards the end, and ended on a good note.

I felt sad that Stevie lost 2 years of her life that she's never getting back, and felt like maybe that wasn't explored enough, but this is YA so that was fine.

Also worth noting that the word lesbian never appears anywhere in the book, despite both the MC and LI being lesbians.

Overall, this was well written, and I enjoyed the romance between Stevie and Nora.
Profile Image for JulesGP.
506 reviews164 followers
April 24, 2023
Just a wonder of a book. Stevie and Nora are getting ready to ditch the small minds and the tiny aspirations of their small town. They’ve kept their love a secret but now it’s time to start the rest of their lives together. Unfortunately, an accident causes Stevie to lose memory of the last two years which means Nora is a stranger to her now.

The amnesia trope is one of my favorites in fiction and up until recently, kind of a unicorn in sapphic stories. There’s a lot going on in this book which could have set up a mess of a narrative but the author does a good job of keeping it all together. The big moment of truth is great but it’s the little clues that make or break an amnesia story. Stevie has to rebuild her sense of self from the bits told to her by others. Lies, prejudices, hidden agendas, nobody is a reliable narrator she is learning. Meanwhile, Nora has to eat her own heart, watching and hoping that somehow she and Stevie can still be together.

I loved the author’s first book, written with her wife, She Gets the Girl, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. One of the most fascinating things about amnesia stories is that it presents a divergent path. The MC is almost a different person who is given an opportunity to change some things or everything about their life. I appreciate how the author shows Stevie’s painful discoveries and her decisions based on what she learns. But this Stevie is also a different woman from the one in the past so the question is how will she choose this time. I did have one qualm. I wish Nora and Stevie had more on-screen time together. Other things could have been cut because nothing should be more important than Nora and Stevie together on the page. We have to see them fall in love again. Otherwise, we can chuck the book. Finally, the narration by Natalie Naudus is fantastic (thanks to my friend, Gaby, for recommending the audiobook).

4.5 stars rounded up.
Profile Image for Creya Casale | cc.shelflove.
431 reviews360 followers
June 19, 2023
This was a good one! I definitely need to read Derrick’s debut that she coauthored with Rachael Lippincott. I was a little nervous here because let’s be real—an amnesia romance could be really, really cheesy. 🧀 However she did a great job and I didn’t even roll my eyes once! After Stevie has an accident, she cannot remember the last two years of her life, including graduating high school, realizing she might not be straight, and even planning to move across the country with her girlfriend. The entire book is about Stevie trying to find the missing pieces and Nora hoping Stevie will make her way back to her. The LGBTQ+ representation was well done and my heart was sad at Stevie’s fearfulness towards coming out. I would definitely recommend this to high school librarians and their readers. 🧡🤍🩷
Profile Image for L ⚢.
134 reviews77 followers
June 2, 2023
first read of pride month and it’s sapphic 🫶🏼

the amnesia trope isn’t my thing but this was so so cute :’)
Profile Image for Star.
401 reviews185 followers
April 19, 2023
Content warnings: homophobia, racism + racist micro-aggressions, amnesia, hospital stay/treatment for amnesia, underage drinking, child abuse (side character, on-page), child being kicked out of home for being lesbian, manipulation.

Rep: Stevie (MC) is Korean-American and lesbian, Nora (LI) is lesbian, Nick (SC) is Korean-American. It is important to note that lesbian is not said on page at all. Stevie can barely say she's gay let alone lesbian. But she's lesbian.


I got this advanced copy and I jumped on it faster than you could say ‘send to kindle’.

Having read, and loved, She Gets The Girl – Alyson’s first book with her wife, Rachael, I was excited when I heard about her solo debut.

As a long-time fanfic lover of the ‘amnesia trope’, I knew this one was going to be right up my alley. And it was.

Stevie and Nora are all set to escape their small town – for its small size and its small-mindedness. They’re young, they’re in love, and with high school done and dusted, they just need to wait a few more weeks before they can set off across the country to California so they can be their authentic selves. They’re both desperate to get out from under the thumb of both of their families – for similar (and also wildly different) reasons.

Then Stevie has an accident and she loses the last 2 years of her life. She wakes up not remembering anything, but worse still – not remembering that she has a wonderful girlfriend, and an escape plan.

*

Stevie’s journey was one I love a lot. She rediscovers herself because she has to. She’s forced into compulsive heterosexuality by her horrible ‘best friends’ who didn’t know that Nora existed, but also because they’re cruel, uncaring, and racist people. I hated the way her friends just manipulated Stevie because she couldn’t remember. And they were so racist to her face and they didn’t care. That made my heart hurt for her.

Stevie learns that she’s not as close with her mum as she used to be, and since she can’t remember why, she’s determined to get that love back. She tries with her dad, but he’s growing homophobic, intolerant and conservative in his old age, which she struggles with.

Then there’s Nora. This girl who saved her. Stevie gets to fall in love with her all over again and it was truly beautiful to read about.

I love that their love transcends Stevie’s amnesia. That she’s drawn to Nora for unexplained reasons.

I felt the way this was written, and handled, was done with such care and grace. It was truly an honour to read.

I did bawl my eyes out at the abuse scene, so heads up for that one, friends.

This book is full of hope and love, and it just makes my heart go !!!


First read: 04-05/10/2022
Second read: 13-13/04/2023


I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Profile Image for Mariana ✨.
268 reviews377 followers
April 30, 2023
Stevie really said:


This book was nice! I really liked the writing and the characters were really easy to understand and love.

However, it has not become a new favourite. Honestly, I just don’t think this book could ever be one of my favourites, because the premise itself stops it from being that. I personally prefer to read about characters falling in love, and this story is about a couple who was already together, but 1 person forgot about it. Don’t get me wrong: the book accomplished that really well! But it just isn’t my favourite type of romance to read about. I do think I would’ve enjoyed this much more if we’d seen some flashbacks of them falling in love and their relationship developing, though.

With that said, I still really enjoyed reading this, especially the 2nd half. I was scared that . I also really liked the ending!! It was so sweet! I actually shed a tear. 🥺


(review written on 08/04/2023)

---------

(11/05/2022)

"an LGBTQ+ romance about Stevie and Nora, 2 girls who plan to abandon their small town for California so they can be together, until an accident steals every trace of Stevie's relationship with Nora from her memory."

oh this is gonna hurt, huh?

i'm ready

Profile Image for Jude in the Stars.
923 reviews584 followers
January 28, 2024


I’m at a moment in my life where I’m not into coming out stories, I don’t want to read about homophobia or any queerphobia, not just for the sake of escapism but because I don’t need to be reminded. It never leaves my mind. I’ve also been reading a lot less YA and NA. For all these reasons, I didn’t really have this audiobook on my radar until fellow reviewer Marie Sotiriou convinced me to give it a chance. About a third in, I messaged her that it was killing me. In the best way, obviously.

When Stevie wakes up after an accident, she doesn’t remember the last two years of her life. She doesn’t remember finishing high school, she doesn’t remember why her best friends don’t really feel like friends at all, she doesn’t remember the boy they told her she was crushing on… She doesn’t remember, either, the girl she was in love with, nor the plans they had made to leave their close-minded town behind and move to California.

The story is told in first person from Stevie’s point of view and while I felt for her all along, my heart really broke for Nora. Being forgotten by the person you love most, with whom you planned to spend your life… I can’t even imagine nor do I want to. It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Natalie Naudus does a wonderful job. There are so many feelings, so many nuances in her narration. I’m sure I would have loved Forget Me Not even if I had read it but I’m grateful I listened.

There’s so much in this story. So much that enraged me—the racism Stevie and Ryan experience as the only Asian people in their town, Stevie’s callous friends, the way Ryan is used and hurt, through no fault of Stevie’s but with no thought towards his feelings (or hers) from her friends, the weight of mandatory heterosexuality, Nora’s mom’s treatment of her daughter—and so much that made my heart swell. I loved witnessing Stevie fall in love with Nora again, choose her again. I enjoyed every one of their scenes together, the heartbreaking ones as well as the joyful ones. I love Nora’s teasing side, her sensitivity, her strength. And I love Stevie’s determination, her sense of fairness, her will to fight.

Alyson Derrick, who drew inspiration from her own life and experience as a Korean American teen growing up Catholic in a small town, added another second chance love story to the obvious one, that of Stevie and her parents. I don’t want to spoil anything about it, but I appreciate the thoughtfulness and sensibility with which the author wrote this arc. This entire book is just beautiful on top of beautiful and I strongly recommend you follow Marie’s advice and listen to it ASAP.

Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
Profile Image for Danika at The Lesbrary.
578 reviews1,457 followers
May 9, 2023
This is an amnesia romance, but while that can sound like a soap opera premise—girl meets girl, girls fall in love, girl gets amnesia and forgets girl, girl tries to win her back—there’s an undercurrent of sadness here that keeps it feeling more grounded than that suggests.

I meant to just read the first few chapters of this and found myself instead reading it in one day. Even though we know the answers, it was compelling to watch Stevie try to piece together what happened in the time she lost and consider whether she really needs to recover it or whether she should embrace the opportunity to start fresh. After all, in this missing time she apparently became more distant from her friends and family and also applied to the local community college when she’s been waiting her whole life to go somewhere new. Does she really want to be that person?

This is a very readable, engaging novel, and though their relationship was almost too perfect, that’s helped by Nora’s characterization. She’s not on the page that much, considering this is mostly a romance, but what we do see of her is charming without being one-dimensional. You can see why Stevie falls for her (twice).

Full review at the Lesbrary.
Profile Image for Melissa (mel.muses).
219 reviews54 followers
April 23, 2023
"Good things happen when I follow my heart, even when it's hard, even when it feels impossible."


Thank you SO much to Simon Teen for sending me this beautiful ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Forget Me Not is in the running to be my favorite book of 2023 — and it's one of my favorite books I've ever read. This book was beautiful, heart-wrenching, vivid, and so, so absorbing. I refuse to shut up about this book until everyone has read it. (go on. read it!)

Forget Me Not follows Stevie after she has a horrible fall and head injury, causing her to lose the memories of the past two years of her life. Two years that shaped her into who she is, two years in which she met Nora, the love of her life, and came to terms with her sexuality. Two years full of secrets and hurt and distance but most of all, love.

I rooted for Stevie and Nora the entire way. Their love is one of the most authentic and personal depictions I've ever read. The little details Nora shared with Stevie, the rediscoveries Stevie made about Nora, and the new memories they forged together made their relationship breathe off the page. The love that Stevie and Nora have is indestructible, and it truly transcends all.

There wasn't a piece of this book that didn't have intention, that wasn't handled with love and care and understanding — from the explorations of racism and racist microaggressions, to coming out in an ultra-conservative town, to the contrast between conditional and unconditional love.

Forget Me Not is not a story about fixing the past, it's a story of rediscovery. It's about rediscovering what it means to love someone, and how to have dreams and the will to pursue them. I know this is a book I will hold closer to my heart with each day that passes. I hope you let it enter yours.

Content Warnings: homophobia, racism and racist microaggressions, amnesia/head injury, hospital stay, on-page child abuse of a side character, side character kicked out of the house, manipulation
Profile Image for Dr. Andy.
2,529 reviews237 followers
April 13, 2023
Thank you to Colored Pages Tours & Simon Teen for the physical ARC in exchange for promotion and an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Forget Me Not is a story about love, finding true friendship and embracing your own identity. I enjoyed She gets the Girl a lot and this story, while much more heartbreaking, was just as well written and full of relatable characters.

In this we follow Stevie and Nora. The two have been secretly dating for two years and are working on a plan to escape their suffocating small town and homophobic families. They carved out a space for themselves but everything comes tumbling down when Stevie takes a terrible fall. When she wakes up all her memories from the past two years are gone. Nora is devastated, but when Stevie inevitably finds her again, she’s determined to make her girlfriend fall for her all over again.

My best advice for reading this book is to pack tissues. There are many tender moments and some that are completely heart wrenching. Especially Stevie first waking up after her fall 😭. I had all the emotions reading this book and it was only heightened by @NatalieNaudus’s stellar narration.

This love story is one I won’t forget soon. In fact, I’m going to replay my playlist and cry all the tears for the next week!

Rep: biracial Korean-American cis female lesbian MC with retrograde amnesia, white lesbian cis female MC, various white side characters, Asian-American cishet male side character.

CWs:Lesbophobia/lesbomisia, general queerphobia/bigotry, racism, racial microaggressions, toxic friendship (SCs to MC), amnesia, medical content, underage drinking, alcohol consumption, child abuse(on-page), disowning of child bc they are queer, manipulation, injury/injury detail.
Profile Image for ୨୧ Mar ୨୧.
257 reviews283 followers
September 19, 2023
cómo se para de llorar?

୨୧ 4.5

Este libro te toca el corazón, especialmente si has vivido o vives en un lugar homofóbico y has tenido que enfrentarte a padres, amigos o personas en general que comprenden o respetan. La forma en que están expresados los sentimientos, los miedos y las confusiones me hizo sentir una conexión profunda con la historia y, sobre todo, con los personajes, a los que amo completamente.

A pesar de que no soy fan del cliché de la pérdida de memoria, tenía una confianza absoluta en que Alyson no me decepcionaría. ¡Y no lo hizo! No sé qué magia poseen los libros sáficos, pero logran darle un giro incluso a esos clichés gastados que no me suelen gustar, haciéndome disfrutar de la historia.

El romance y la trama son simplemente increíbles. No tengo palabras para describir lo mucho que me gustaron. AMO AMO AMO AMO AMO AMO ESTE LIBRO. Experimenté una montaña rusa de emociones en menos de 24 horas que devoré este libro. Pasé de estar furiosa con la madre de Stevie a llorar por lo que escribía Nora en su diario.

La única pequeña crítica que puedo hacer es que quizás habría deseado más capítulos al final, ya que sentí que el desenlace fue un poco apresurado. Sin embargo, esto no cambia en absoluto lo profundamente que amo este libro.

+La frase “But would my mom really choose the Church over me?" (Pero, ¿realmente elegiría mi madre a la Iglesia antes que a mí?) ME HIZO MIERDA😭😭

Léanlo y preparen sus pañuelos porque este libro las hará llorar como si no hubiera un mañana

💌 Nota: Se me hace muy lindo que las autoras sigan haciendo a sus personajes como ellas dos, es super romántico y hace que los ame más. METAS.
Profile Image for Charles.
182 reviews8 followers
May 26, 2023
What if you found “the one” and dated them for 2 years, only to have an accident that causes you to develop amnesia and you forget everything that happened in the past two years, including that person. That is the premise for this, at times, heart breaking book. Told from both Stevie’s first person point of view and Nora’s journal this book explores the question are some people just meant to be together irregardless of the obstacles put in their path.

Edit #1 24 hours later.....Some books you move right on from, and some leave you thinking about for days after. I had thoughts about this book all last night. I want to emphasize that I really liked this book. I liked the heart in this book. Forget Me Not had so many wonderful scenes like (I listed some scenes, then removed them and put them under Spoilers at the end of the review....If you plan to read the book it is better that you discover them for yourself). Forget Me Not is also one of the most romantic books I have read.

******Spoilers? maybe **********
My deleted great/heart felt scenes in the book referenced above:
Stevie to Nora, "Tell me about Us";
At The Airport;
Stevie reads Nora's journal;
How They Met
I'm sure there are more, and if you have read the book comment with your own below.
Profile Image for akacya ❦.
1,221 reviews257 followers
July 23, 2023
2023 reads: 229/350

stevie and nora had a plan to leave their town and families behind in exchange for a place and people that would better accept them. but then stevie gets in an accident and loses the last two years of her life—including all memories of nora as well as her discovery of her sexuality. now, stevie must navigate her life with no idea why everyone around her is so distanced from her. however, she finds herself getting closer to nora, the girl who helped her when she got into her accident.

i feel like amnesia is a somewhat-common fanfiction trope, but i actually can’t think of any published books with a main character who has amnesia. this made me excited and nervous to read this. excited because going into this book, i knew this aspect would make the book heartbreaking (and i was right). nervous because i was worried maybe it would seem too cliché? however, these worries were easily put at ease as i read this book. i quickly fell in love with stevie and nora and couldn’t help but root for them. i felt frustrated right along with stevie as she navigated her world as a seventeen-year-old with the memory of her fifteen-year-old self. additionally, i loved how things wrapped up at the end, and though things weren’t perfect, i felt satisfied.

i loved she gets the girl, which alyson derrick co-authored, so i was excited when i found out about her solo debut. i’m really glad that i picked this up because i loved it so much! i can’t wait for more books from derrick.
Profile Image for Clara Addicted to sapphic books.
185 reviews100 followers
April 14, 2023
Human's pillar is their personality. Then experience and memories shape us into a who we are. What happens if we loose a part of these memories?Does it change who we are? This book tries to that question through Stevie's journey.
It's a human defense mechanism to act based on people's reaction toward us, and for someone lost like Stevie, it's the only way at first. But true nature always comes out. It was beautiful to see Stevie struggle to find the path back to her true self despite losing two years of her life, and people trying to take advantage of the situation to change their previous relationship with her. With Nora and Stevie's chemistry, Stevie's body remembers what her mind can't and it was so warming and heartbreaking at the same time. I loved Nora's patience and protectiveness towards Stevie.This book was a quick and way more easy read than I expect. The masochist in me thinks that the beauty of a love story increases with the level of pain characters have to go through to find each other . Of course their story is painful but I think Derrick could have gone even further in the pain to make this book unforgettable. Adding a real Nora's POV (we get it through letters) could have add the extra pain I was looking for.
The upside is that pain level is totally manageable for most readers out there who are afraid to suffer while reading. It's a beautiful love story with a satisfying ending
Profile Image for Sofia.
509 reviews47 followers
January 15, 2023
Sometimes you start a book and you just know from the start that it will be a shining 5/5 and that it will stay with you for a long time. This was one of those books. I loved every second of it! Such a beautiful book about losing someone and finding your way back. I really felt their connection and love throughout the entire book.

From the beginning of the book its clear why Stevie and Nora need to leave the small town and its beautifully shown through the way they keep their relationship hidden. When Stevie gets in the accident and forgets the past two years her ”friends” acts horrible and tries to get Stevie to become someone else that she wasn’t, and her mother tries to re-establish a close relationship since they’ve grown apart. Stevie has also hidden her relationship with Nora so well that she forgets it completely herself.

I love that we dont only see Steve’s pov in here as she finds her way back to herself and who she is, but also get to read letters that Nora writes to Stevie (but doesn’t send).

I would honestly recommend this book to everyone - its so beautiful, raw, emotional and full of love! Alyson Derrick really did the damn thing with this, I cant wait to see what she writes next! I love both this book and She gets the girl (which she co-wrote with her wife Rachel <3)


Big thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!!
Profile Image for LGBT Representation in Books.
347 reviews65 followers
April 7, 2023
Trigger Warnings: church, cursing, toxic beliefs, politics, accident, injury, hospital, coma, amnesia, homophobia, racism, racist micro-aggressions, underage drinking, internalized homophobia, disowning, child abuse, violence, unaccepting parents

Representation: Korean-American, Lesbian, vegan

Forget Me Not is a queer romantic contemporary about Stevie and Nora. While their love is a secret, Stevie and Nora have 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.

When Stevie has a terrible fall and she finally comes to, she has forgotten the last two years, including California, coming to terms with her sexuality, and 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. Can the two beat the odds a second time and find their way back together when “together” itself is just a lost memory?

This ARC was provided by the publisher as part of the Colored Pages blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely unlike most of the other romance books I’ve read recently. Not only is the amnesia trope not common, the ending is happy but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a happily ever after. Overall, I really enjoyed this story, the characters, and the romance. The vibe just hits different and is hard to articulate an exact reason.

This book is beautifully written and I loved the author’s writing style. Her characterization is very thorough and provides excellent growth and introspective for the main girls. I loved the journal that Nora writes throughout the beginning of the book. The feelings and emotions are raw and lovely.
Profile Image for Menestrella.
278 reviews12 followers
November 11, 2023
"If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets"

Haruki Murakami

First amnesia book I read, and I won't forget it for a while. It made me think a lot.

You can't erase how you feel and what makes you happy, no matter how hard you try to bury your feelings and live a new life according to what others think it's best for you.

If you belong to someone, love will find a way to bring you back to them.
Profile Image for sara.
73 reviews13 followers
June 16, 2023
what a beautifully heartbreaking story. i was not expecting to feel so many feelings with this one and so by the last chapter i was full SOBBING. the narrator did such a great job here and i think it made me enjoy it even more. loved it so much 🥺
Profile Image for Eloise.
646 reviews337 followers
April 20, 2023
I'm not usually a fan of the amnesia 'trope', but in this instance it worked much better than I was expecting. Things don't magically come back to Stevie. She gets to relearn what she forgot, maybe decide to take new directions as she is a new Stevie. She gets to fall back in love with Nora even though she doesn't remember the last two years together. And i really appreciated that.

I was also a little disappointed that Nora's POV was only seen once in a while, through a sort of letter or two she writes to Stevie, telling her how she feels... There is so much that needed to be unpacked in Nora, who only really had Stevie in her life, only for her to forget her... I would have liked her own POV, experiencing her life through her own eyes and not just being told what she feels every few chapters.
Their getting back together again may have been a little more emotional, I think, had we experienced both POVs.

Other than that though, I really enjoyed this book. There's a little bit of sad but a lot of love, of choosing your own way and making decisions that will set you on a brighter path.

Rep: both MCs read as lesbians although term isn't specifically used in the book (Stevie struggles to come to terms with that part of herself, let alone use the word "lesbian"), Stevie is also Korean-American.


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Profile Image for Vee.
1,544 reviews463 followers
Want to read
April 2, 2023
the uk and the us are competing to see who can come up with the ugliest cover
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