Book Review: Forget You (Jennifer Echols)

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.

But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

I have pined for this book since I first read the blurb. I wanted it so much I visited Jennifer's website for teasers and/or extracts twice a day, every day. So you can only imagine the excitement and the height of expectations I hold for Forget You!

My judgment in five words: Jennifer has done it again!

Forget You is a delicious and a bewitching romance, with a bucketful of sexual chemistry between an endearing heroine searching for answers and a seductively sexy hero who holds the key to it all.  Complex, hugely addictive and ultimately mersmerising, Forget You is an unmissable treat! I found Forget you to be more emotionally-charged, whereas Going Too Far is more psychologically defined. I love love love them both!

Zoey and Doug are both charming characters, brought to life with their respective fears and insecurities. The complexity of their personalities and the demons that shape them - Zoey's family problems and Doug's past - opens the ground for a richly developed set of protagonists. Between Zoey's problems and partial amnesia - forgetting such a consequential night - and Doug's own concerns, they evoke sympathy from readers without forgoing their relatability. I love how Doug is immediately introduced and is prominent in the narrative - I'd like to think that as Zoey's subconscious being extremely aware of him. Around them, secondary characters are equally loveable, with flaws that reflect the imperfections of humanity. Between them, a disarming connection with each other that shatters their defenses.

And I have to add that Doug is unbearably sexy. And sweet. And cute. With or without crutches. Oh heck.

Undeniably, Zoey and Doug are sultry in their own right and are scalding together - the sexual tension between them have reverberated throughout my entire reading experience! Their romance I found was built on an attraction that has long been denied; each attempt at turning away from each other only leads to taking a step towards each other. The contrast between their relationship and Zoey and Brandon's are glaringly obvious, but with a different feel.

Sexy and full of surprises, Zoey and Doug's relationship takes root from a shared past and blossoms to an enchanting tale of of searching and finding. Each of their shared moments are addictive and special, and oh-my-God, so searingly sexy, unmasking qualities of they would not have otherwise discovered in each other. Emphasis here on searingly sexy.

The also setting is adds to the dreamy pair - the lull of the sultry beach in inescapable and welcoming. The unravelling of the twists in the plot is heart-stopping and delivered in short, surprising bursts of revelations. Not to mention that structure of the narrative mirrors accurately Zoey's thoughts and the extent of the the effect her partial amnesia has on her life, especially on her relationship with Brandon and with Doug. And the ending - I wish it was longer! I know I might sound terribly selfish - because even though Forget You is not yet released, I am ready for a sequel!

Five stars, of course!

Forget You will be out 20th July. Don't you forget! :)

*Thank you to Jennifer for my copy. I totally heart you!