Series: Lost & Found #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 1st 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
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 . . .
Could the heart remember what the mind couldn’t?
The second I read the blurb for Forgetting August, I knew I HAD to read it. It’s such a compelling, intriguing blurb, right!? I had so many questions going into Forgetting August, and while some of them are answered by the end, I’m still desperate to know the rest. I really enjoyed this book – while I didn’t quite love it like I wanted to, it’s a unique, intriguing read that I couldn’t put down. I had some problems with it, but overall, Forgetting August is suspenseful and gorgeously written, with a fascinating love story that I’m still not quite sure what to make of.
August Kincaid has woken up from a two-year coma with no recollection of who he is. He has no memories of his past… a past that Everly Adams can’t seem to escape from. She’s haunted by her memories of August – he was her first love, but over the years they were together, that love turned into something bitter and toxic. August went from sweet and loving to controlling and manipulative – and his coma was the one thing that gave Everly the freedom to get away from his emotional abuse.
Now, Everly is in love with and engaged to a kind-hearted man who is the total opposite of everything August was at the end of his and Everly’s relationship. But when she finds out that August is awake, her life is once again thrown into emotional turmoil. Can she reconcile the post-coma August who wants to make amends for the person he doesn’t remember being, with the past-August who very nearly ruined her life? And can she forgive a man who doesn’t remember what he did to her?
How my former self had neglected such a precious treasure, I’d never understand. But now that I had a second chance, I’d give everything to right my wrongs.
Even if I didn’t remember them.
I really felt for August and Everly. August is confused and utterly lost after he wakes from his coma, but the one thing he knows is that Everly was – and is – important to him. With Everly’s reluctant help, he navigates through his past, trying to piece together his missing past, and as they spend more time together, the love between them that never disappeared grows once again.
Love should be simple.
Life may be difficult, but loving someone…whether it’s right or wrong, that should be the easy part.
And loving August had always been as easy as breathing.
I was in as much emotional turmoil as Everly was as I read this book. Should Everly trust in August again, only for him to turn back into the controlling man she hated? Would she be able to survive it if he did? What would happen between her and her fiancé, Ryan? I completely understood Everly’s dilemma with August, but her back-and-forth with the two men got a little repetitive and I felt pretty bad for Ryan. I wouldn’t really consider this book one with a love triangle, since it’s pretty clear who Everly is meant to be with, so for those of you who don’t like love triangles, I’d still recommend this book.
I would’ve given Forgetting August 4 stars but… I guess it was a little less dramatic and angsty than I’d hoped. Other than the ‘OMG what’s going to happen next’ suspenseful feeling I had throughout the book, I didn’t really feel anything else. I liked Everly and August and sympathized with them, I didn’t really feel an emotional connection with them. Still, Forgetting August is an entertaining book with plenty of twists and turns that keep you hooked and wanting more. The writing is absolutely amazing – this is the first book I’ve read from J.L. Berg and I really need to read more! Right now, I’m so excited for the sequel, Remembering Everly, especially after that cliffhanger in Forgetting August. I desperately need all my questions answered and I NEED to know what happens with Everly, August, and Ryan!
Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.
Reading Order: Lost & Found series
#1 ~ Forgetting August: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Remembering Everly: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
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