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writingbydani's review
4.0
For some reason I have a weakness for amnesia-themed chick lit. I don't pretend to understand it, but there you go. So read this with a grain of salt, knowing I'm predisposed to like books like Blank Slate Kate from the outset.
This is the first book by Heather Wardell that I ever picked up, and it wasn't until I reached the end that I realized it was part of a series of linked books. I think it says something that I was motivated to go back and read all of the Toronto Series books based on this one.
The plot is pretty straightforward: woman wakes up in attractive strange man's apartment with no memory of the past fifteen years, they develop a mutual affection for each other, they find out she's actually married and was running away from her old life when she lost her memory.
On the surface it seems like just another predictable beach read. In fact, it manages to be surprising and interesting
I'd definitely recommend it for a quick and engaging read.
This is the first book by Heather Wardell that I ever picked up, and it wasn't until I reached the end that I realized it was part of a series of linked books. I think it says something that I was motivated to go back and read all of the Toronto Series books based on this one.
The plot is pretty straightforward: woman wakes up in attractive strange man's apartment with no memory of the past fifteen years, they develop a mutual affection for each other, they find out she's actually married and was running away from her old life when she lost her memory.
On the surface it seems like just another predictable beach read. In fact, it manages to be surprising and interesting
Spoiler
with a nice treatment of depression and the impact it can have, especially when before learning her condition Kate spends time having trouble getting out of bed, just staring at the walls. While her depression improves by the end of the book, it's only after therapy and medication, which is a nice change from "she decides to improve her life and just pulls out of her funk" which happens way too often in books like this.Spoiler
The only thing that really bothered me afterward is that Kate wakes up feeling like she's 17, without any of the emotional experience or maturity of a grown woman and then winds up in relationships with two adult men.I'd definitely recommend it for a quick and engaging read.
awbookgirl's review
4.0
The plot of Blank Slate Kate - a thirty-something woman wakes up naked in a strange bed and can’t remember the last fifteen years- could have been filled with predictability and cliches. Could have been. But wasn’t.
Of course there’s the husband that Kate doesn’t remember. But Heather Wardell gives “Kate” a number of options. She doesn’t send Kate immediately back into the arms of her husband, nor into the arms of a potential lover.
Instead, she lets Kate find herself naturally, revealing the stress that leads to Kate’s depression and memory loss in bits and pieces. And it is totally something I didn’t see coming, which you know I love.
Wardell’s trademark is to give us likeable heroines with whom we identify. They are women we either wouldn’t mind being, or would want to be friends with. With Kate, Heather strikes just the right balance of Kate wanting to discover the things that comprised her pre-amnesia life with the desire to be true to herself as Kate, whomever she might be.
I haven’t read a book from Heather Wardell yet that I didn’t like. Blank Slate Kate doesn’t disappoint. It kept me turning pages and reading, because I wanted to know what happened next.
If you’re a chick lit fan, and you haven’t checked out Heather Wardell yet, go do it. Now. I thoroughly enjoyed Blank Slate Kate and it is my selection for my February ChickLitPlus Challenge read.
Of course there’s the husband that Kate doesn’t remember. But Heather Wardell gives “Kate” a number of options. She doesn’t send Kate immediately back into the arms of her husband, nor into the arms of a potential lover.
Instead, she lets Kate find herself naturally, revealing the stress that leads to Kate’s depression and memory loss in bits and pieces. And it is totally something I didn’t see coming, which you know I love.
Wardell’s trademark is to give us likeable heroines with whom we identify. They are women we either wouldn’t mind being, or would want to be friends with. With Kate, Heather strikes just the right balance of Kate wanting to discover the things that comprised her pre-amnesia life with the desire to be true to herself as Kate, whomever she might be.
I haven’t read a book from Heather Wardell yet that I didn’t like. Blank Slate Kate doesn’t disappoint. It kept me turning pages and reading, because I wanted to know what happened next.
If you’re a chick lit fan, and you haven’t checked out Heather Wardell yet, go do it. Now. I thoroughly enjoyed Blank Slate Kate and it is my selection for my February ChickLitPlus Challenge read.
sunshine_mel's review
3.0
Interesting premise, but found some of the characters a little one-dimensional / the ending a bit 'happily ever after'. Good read nonetheless
purplesky02's review
2.0
This book was very all over the place. The plot kept switching gears to the point of annoyance.
Spoiler
She's way into Jake; she can't stand him. She doesn't trust Ryan, she's head over heels. I didn't get why Ryan pushed her away because she didn't have her memories back. What a great husband! Not! Then he magically decides he wants to be with her again after her secrets are revealed. I didn't get that whole shift and how fast it happened. I don't get why she suddenly threw Jake aside for no reason? Because of the allegation? It didn't make any sense. And then the ending? All wrapped up with a neat bow, but we never found out why Donna/Kate as sleeping around so much in high school. Did something cause that? I felt that was left unanswered and found that annoying. The whole book frustrated me. I never understood why they were talking about Donna/Kate as though they were separate people. It didn't make much sense to me at all.gothiclibrarian's review
Heather Wardell may be the master of book dealing with serious issues. I was hooked by first couple pages. It is so intense. I cannot imagine going through this. The scenes with Kate learning about technology and the internet very early on were quite humorous. But there were some very sad scenes as she caught herself up on the world tragedies that had happened during the time she had forgotten. Those were very hard scenes for me to get through.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I wish that I could gush about all my favorite parts of this novel. I can say that I hate Claire. HATE her.
I normally dislike love triangles, but I’m not sure this one counts. I wasn’t even sure who I wanted to root for. I could kind of see reasons to choose either of the men. Some of the scenes with both men were so heartbreaking.
I loved the journey that Kate took. There were twists and turns and some moments that you just couldn’t believe because they were so unexpected. This book equals amazing. I could not put it down.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I wish that I could gush about all my favorite parts of this novel. I can say that I hate Claire. HATE her.
I normally dislike love triangles, but I’m not sure this one counts. I wasn’t even sure who I wanted to root for. I could kind of see reasons to choose either of the men. Some of the scenes with both men were so heartbreaking.
I loved the journey that Kate took. There were twists and turns and some moments that you just couldn’t believe because they were so unexpected. This book equals amazing. I could not put it down.
kdurham2's review
4.0
Have you seen the movie 13 Going on 30, well this book starts quite close to the main theme - missing out on a few years and now trying to live in a whole 'nother world. The comedy of someone waking up and missing out on 15 years and going from a world with very little technology to our world of tweeting, iphones and internet was very fun to read. This is where the story begins, but it ends in a different spot - and I am all the more glad for it!
With twists and turns, this book ended up being much more than I thought it would be and I enjoyed the deeper story that was beyond her losing her memories. Kate, the main character, has two men who are trying to help her find her memories and make new ones. She is trying to unlock the past to find out why she has such a strained relationship with one of the men. This review may sound general, but there are some great aspects of this book that I just don't want to spoil, so I don't want to be too wordy in my review.
A perfect chick lit read for the new year to remind us to keep our memories close because they can be easily lost. I would definitely recommend this book to all my readers who love a great chick lit with a little love triangle action.
With twists and turns, this book ended up being much more than I thought it would be and I enjoyed the deeper story that was beyond her losing her memories. Kate, the main character, has two men who are trying to help her find her memories and make new ones. She is trying to unlock the past to find out why she has such a strained relationship with one of the men. This review may sound general, but there are some great aspects of this book that I just don't want to spoil, so I don't want to be too wordy in my review.
A perfect chick lit read for the new year to remind us to keep our memories close because they can be easily lost. I would definitely recommend this book to all my readers who love a great chick lit with a little love triangle action.
shelly_book_lover's review
2.0
I'm a big fan of this author, however this book just didn't work for me. It felt as if the author was trying to throw too many elements into a single book. As a result, there wasn't very much character development making it difficult to connect with any of them.
An even bigger flaw was that the main character's memory is gone back to the age of 17, making her that age emotionally as well. That said, the author moves her mentally into adulthood very quickly. This adjustment isn't even a main topic in the character's therapy sessions.
All in all this book lacked what this author typically stellar at...telling a charming love story. I recommend skipping this book and go on and enjoy one of her other great books.
An even bigger flaw was that the main character's memory is gone back to the age of 17, making her that age emotionally as well. That said, the author moves her mentally into adulthood very quickly. This adjustment isn't even a main topic in the character's therapy sessions.
All in all this book lacked what this author typically stellar at...telling a charming love story. I recommend skipping this book and go on and enjoy one of her other great books.
donnah's review
5.0
To start on the Nook this novel has 240 pages. I started reading Heather Wardell's work with her free eBook Life Love and a Polar Bear Tattoo. Since then I have read all of her novels. I loved that this book starts taking you in one direction then takes you on a turn that keeps you reading until the end.
Waking up with a strange man is scary. Realizing you lost fifteen years of your life overnight? That's terrifying. With her memories from seventeen to thirty-two gone, Kate has no idea who she is and where she belongs. As she begins to fall for the man who found her, she wonders if she forgot those years for a reason. Should she keep trying to retrieve her original self, or start a new life?
Waking up with a strange man is scary. Realizing you lost fifteen years of your life overnight? That's terrifying. With her memories from seventeen to thirty-two gone, Kate has no idea who she is and where she belongs. As she begins to fall for the man who found her, she wonders if she forgot those years for a reason. Should she keep trying to retrieve her original self, or start a new life?