Bookish Randomz: Forget Me Not: Allison Whitmore | Review

Forget Me Not by Allison Whitmore
Publication date: September 14th 2015

Genres: Historical, Romance, Young Adult

Theodora "Teddi" Donovan and Calvin Wynne have always hated each other. They didn't have a choice after Teddi's bootlegger father killed Calvin's and left them both orphaned. The scandal has fueled gossip in quiet, quaint Brookhurst, New York, for over a decade. When a friendship develops between them as teenagers, they are ridiculed and shunned by the strict society that dictates life in their town. As they grow older, friendship turns into love, and Teddi and Calvin have to choose between their future and the scepter of their past. Spanning continents and decades, Forget Me Not is a coming-of-age story about truth, self-reliance, and the freeing power of love.

- Goodreads Synopsis

This book was sent to me for review. (Xpresso Book Tours)

This review will be SPOILER-FREE

I feel like I have been getting a lot of luck with romance novels lately. For me it was a little bit difficult to wrap my head around the fact that this was debut novel. There were so many things about this book that I found to be very fascinating and well done. The story was absolutely captivating and from the first few chapters, it would pull you into the story.

Let's go into this by talking about the structure of this novel. Obviously in reality no book is perfect but in this case without reality in mind, I would like to think that this book is very close to being perfect. I just feel like everything about this book was built very well. The writing was very good, and the character's voices each had their own voice and it was super easy to read and understand their character. Not to mention that the story was so interesting to read about because it combined a lot of elements that I personally really enjoyed.

With my experiences with romance novels, I feel like it can be difficult to make things interesting when you are not focusing on the romance between the characters. I found that with Forget Me Not, that was not the case. As I read through this book I noticed that I got a lot of "old timey" feelings which is obviously understandable, yet I also got an Age of Adeline feeling which is a film if you didn't know. For me, I feel like the reasoning behind this is because we really get so much story about everything. The journey that we get to read about is honestly so heartwarming.

Another great thing about this book is that it really captures the era that it is in. It's so amazing because you really feel like you are there with the characters even though you have never experienced what time was like before what we know now. I don't know about you, but I almost feel like that is some sort of talent or skill.

If you're not a fan of romance and are hesitant to pick this book up, I would say that you shouldn't be afraid. Forget Me Not is not just another romance. It is an incredible journey of not only love but heartbreak and history. It really does play with your emotions, and it really digs deep in my opinion. You will take so much from this book because of the richness of the story. I am not joking when I say that this book is very enchanting. The writing is unlike anything I have seen before, it is so simple but it is unique in it's own way. It's just so elegant and light, I really loved it.

Overall, this was probably one of my favourite reads of the year. It was so lovely and enjoyable to read and I was completely satisfied. If you love history and a classic love story that is still refreshing and new, I would highly recommend that you go and check out Forget Me Not! I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Allison Whitmore:

Allison Whitmore started her first novel, Forget Me Not, one icy morning in her dorm room in Southampton, NY. After many years of teaching high school English, she came back to the novel to rewrite it. Allison comes from a family who loves history and enjoyed immersing herself in the research that brought Teddi and Calvin’s world to life. She lives in her hometown, Los Angeles, California.