More Than Memories (More Than #2)by N.E. Henderson
Published: July 27, 2017
Genre: Standalone, Adult Contemporary Romance
Memories are never forgotten.
Or so it’s said, but she did. She forgot herself, me, and us. She forgot everything. One day I woke up and there was only pain. This pain is so fierce that I can’t overcome it alone. My heart was ripped from my chest and I’m surviving, but barely. Not even the physical outlet I seek to purge the torment of remembering the one I can’t let go helps anymore.
In all of his agony what if the worst of his pain has yet to be expelled; a secret that could have changed everything had he known.
Every day that I wake up I’m in a fog.
Before ten years ago I feel like I didn’t exist. Everything I ever knew had been erased. Some days I wish I had bad memories because even those are better than none at all. Instead, I feel like I’m a character in a storybook, merely acting a role. I don’t know why, but none of it feels real. That’s crazy, right? Still, I can’t shake the feeling that everyone is hiding something from me. Even the man that lies next to me at night sometimes feels like a stranger. I just want to feel like I belong in my own life.
Everything in her life feels borrowed, but that’s a secret better left unspoken.
More Than Memories is a standalone, but book two in the More Than series. MORE THAN LIES is now available.
Review
4 Stars
There is just something about a book that features characters with amnesia that I am drawn to. I like not knowing what may be coming next, that there is huge risk the character will take when they face it. More Than Memories is my second read from N.E. Henderson, with More Than Lies being the first, and I feel like Henderson's writing and character development has changed in such a positive way. I connected to the characters and to the story, despite never experiencing similar events myself. It was descriptive, emotional, and though there was a lot going on it, flowed just right. The main characters are going through the motions of life, but neither is happy, they're missing something, and only one of them knows what it is. When a chance encounter, a decade after a terrible accident, draws them back together there is no denying that they are soulmates.
"He's mine. He's always been mine. And he always will be mine."
It is hard to imagine such terrible parents exist, but N.E. Henderson makes you believe they do. Whitney and Shane, once inseparable, haven't seen each other in ten years after Whitney's parents made a decision that changed the course of her life. Once rebellious and artistic, Whitney is now an unhappy stay-at-home mom to a husband that rules her life. Her every move is watched and criticized, but she believes this is what she wanted before she lost her memory so she stays for the children. Shane has followed his dreams, only deviating from his plans when the painful memories become too much. The good guy covered in tattoos in honor of his former love can barely take it anymore, but they're drawn to one another and even ten years can't change the connection they have. I really liked Shane, he's so well developed, an all-around good guy, and more than the cliche male heroes that grace the pages of books lately. His POV was by far my favorite, because his love is the all-consuming kind that I just adore. He sees who Whitney is despite the way her mind, and circumstances, have imprisoned her true self. Whitney though, she's stubborn, but sweet and her POV reads just like you might expect from someone who knows very little about her former self. She looks at life from a mother's perspective and it's unique to have a contemporary romance that features that style of thought. It makes the book move slower, with the romance moving in reverse, starting with family and its drama rather than friendship and dating.
Of course, the two lost soulmates aren't being kept away by fate, but rather by intervening parents and a man who hides his obsession a little too well. It's a story about wealth and expectations and neither has room for true love. Whitney and Shane have an unlikely opportunity to be together every day, but it's driven by Whitney's obsessive husband and the need to protect Whitney and her children rather than by romance. The reader can feel the connection between the two, but we're gifted with a view of the dark and suspenseful reality thanks to Henderson's writing. We get to see that things aren't just happy, as Whitney's husband's texts increase and as one of her daughters begins to fear her visits. Henderson makes the story feel real, like you too are constantly on the look out for when someone will burst in and take the dream away.
I really enjoyed More Than Memories, it's great as a standalone and an excellent release in the More Than series. Readers will love the characters and the realistic storytelling. If you're a fan of contemporary romance with a bit of suspense and a dash of angst, this one is for you.
More Than Lies (More Than #1)Happy ever after seems so easy for some people. But not for us. We’re locked somewhere between love and hate.
TARALYNN EVANS
I've loved Shawn nearly all my life. But college is almost over, and it kills me that he's been with every girl in town except me. It's time I let go of old dreams, and of this pain. I'm just not sure I'm strong enough. He's like a tattoo . . . permanently inked on my heart.
But when the foundation of my life crumbles, who will be there for me?
SHAWN BRADEN
Ink, sex, and lies—that's me. I'm the guy who screws a girl against the wall and then walks. I've been pushing Tara away for years, knowing she’s too good for me, even though it burns to see her with other guys. Now she’s the one walking and I’m not sure I can handle losing her.
Then tragedy rips our lives apart, and I realize too late that I wasted my chance.
Love is stronger than lies . . . or is it?
Goodreads - Amazon
Posts
Post a Comment