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fiwwa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i'm not even joking when i say movie producers call julie soto's agent RIGHT NOW for movie adaptation license. this is what i imagine when i think of books that feels like early 2000s romcom movies. it was hot, it was funny, it was the perfect portion of drama and comedy!! amalliot's bickering and banters got me cackling yet the second chance romance angst makes me ache sooo bad. i love it when the grump in grumpysunshine is the type of person who never loves anyone before her and can't love anyone else after her *screaming*
ps. the myth is right after all, amaryllis do fell in love with the man who loved flowers ;)
pps. i need to see elliot's tattoos.
ps. the myth is right after all, amaryllis do fell in love with the man who loved flowers ;)
pps. i need to see elliot's tattoos.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
kellsbelle's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
zias's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Grumpy/sunshine second chance romance? That’s my jam. I thought Ama and Elliott’s story was sweet and that they had good chemistry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content
corncake's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.75
This is for people who love romance books, and all their tropes.
It's something fun and easy-to-read, with decent pacing and a good dose of salacious content for booklovers who enjoy spice with their romance.
However, I did not love this book. I was entertained for the week I read it, and I didn't hate the writing...but the characters and their romance personally fell super flat for me.
To me, this was The Wedding Planner meets a fix-it fic of 500 Days of Summer.
It's sad because the beginning of the book had me hooked. I am a sucker for a character who knows how to do their job super well - and you could tell Ama knew her s***. I loved getting to know our heroine in those beginning chapters - how she operates her business, her relationships with her ex/current step-siblings, and her "I'm gonna make this happen" attitude.
Ama was a hardworking, empathetic girl boss with an ironic reason for becoming a wedding planner - and I loved the book for that. Sadly, as the story went on, I felt as if we lost a lot of that beginning Ama characterization to compensate for a romance that felt unbelievable (and not in the good way).
This was a second chance romance, but I have no idea why Ama and Elliot wanted to get back together. They clearly wanted different relationships(even ironically by the end of the book in what I imagine was supposed to be a "cute" and "funny" ending/new beginning for our couple) , had no chemistry together outside their sex scenes, and barely spoke with each other in the "current timeline" of the story to make me believe they were still in love.
Mutual pinning can only go so far. I need something more to sell me on their romance and why they even like each other. I believe they are great business partners, but they definitely need to see other people in the romance department.
I hope to read other books in the future by this author in hopes that I find one that lands for me. Unfortunately, the main couple and their boring relationship are what made me disinterested in this love story.
It's something fun and easy-to-read, with decent pacing and a good dose of salacious content for booklovers who enjoy spice with their romance.
However, I did not love this book. I was entertained for the week I read it, and I didn't hate the writing...but the characters and their romance personally fell super flat for me.
To me, this was The Wedding Planner meets a fix-it fic of 500 Days of Summer.
It's sad because the beginning of the book had me hooked. I am a sucker for a character who knows how to do their job super well - and you could tell Ama knew her s***. I loved getting to know our heroine in those beginning chapters - how she operates her business, her relationships with her ex/current step-siblings, and her "I'm gonna make this happen" attitude.
Ama was a hardworking, empathetic girl boss with an ironic reason for becoming a wedding planner - and I loved the book for that. Sadly, as the story went on, I felt as if we lost a lot of that beginning Ama characterization to compensate for a romance that felt unbelievable (and not in the good way).
This was a second chance romance, but I have no idea why Ama and Elliot wanted to get back together. They clearly wanted different relationships
Mutual pinning can only go so far. I need something more to sell me on their romance and why they even like each other. I believe they are great business partners, but they definitely need to see other people in the romance department.
I hope to read other books in the future by this author in hopes that I find one that lands for me. Unfortunately, the main couple and their boring relationship are what made me disinterested in this love story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content and Alcohol
-Second Chance Romance -Sunshine Girl Boss Meets Grumpy Tsundere Boy -Dislike to Lovers -No Slow Burn. -Immediate Attraction -"Toxic Relationship" content warning for Ama's ex boss.amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A second chance romance (?) between two people that don't belong together and should seek out therapy instead. It feels like it was written by one of those people who consider 500 Days of Summer a rom-com and wrote a fix-it fic for the main characters to end up together despite wanting different things. Ama clearly tells Elliot she doesn't do relationships. That should have been the end of it. She strings him along a bit, but he also lets himself be strung along because he doesn't believe her when she says "no relationships."
So much time was spent on the wedding planning plot and describing all the details and to-do lists that there was no time left for the romantic relationship or for character development in general. There were two chances to show them falling in love (past and present), but I never really felt they were in love. The past timeline mostly seemed about lust. They had sex a lot, but they didn't really have any conversations where they get to know each other in a way that makes their "love" believable. I couldn't tell you anything they like about each other besides he likes her ass and she likes his tattoos. They have maybe two conversations in the present timeline and neither show them falling for each other again.
Ama was pretty immature. I spent most of the book wondering why she never saw a therapist to deal with her feelings about her mother's many divorces and how that affects her views on relationships. You would think she would have sought out a therapist after her outlook on relationships ruined what she had with Elliot the first time but apparently not. Other than her relationship hang-ups and her career goals, she didn't have much of a personality.
Elliott was just kind of a jerk. Repeat after me: "grumpy" does not equal "being rude to everyone you're not currently banging." His first scene with Ama when she was trying to discuss a business opportunity and he was just negging her nonstop was not cute. It was also dumb as a business owner to be needlessly rude to a potential client. His inner thoughts were funny at times though, and I liked the general idea of him in theory.
A lot of reviews praise the steamy scenes but something about them felt off to me. There were some beautifully written lines in here about love but unfortunately, they felt out of character when the romance was so underdeveloped.
So much time was spent on the wedding planning plot and describing all the details and to-do lists that there was no time left for the romantic relationship or for character development in general. There were two chances to show them falling in love (past and present), but I never really felt they were in love. The past timeline mostly seemed about lust. They had sex a lot, but they didn't really have any conversations where they get to know each other in a way that makes their "love" believable. I couldn't tell you anything they like about each other besides he likes her ass and she likes his tattoos. They have maybe two conversations in the present timeline and neither show them falling for each other again.
Ama was pretty immature. I spent most of the book wondering why she never saw a therapist to deal with her feelings about her mother's many divorces and how that affects her views on relationships. You would think she would have sought out a therapist after her outlook on relationships ruined what she had with Elliot the first time but apparently not. Other than her relationship hang-ups and her career goals, she didn't have much of a personality.
Elliott was just kind of a jerk. Repeat after me: "grumpy" does not equal "being rude to everyone you're not currently banging." His first scene with Ama when she was trying to discuss a business opportunity and he was just negging her nonstop was not cute. It was also dumb as a business owner to be needlessly rude to a potential client. His inner thoughts were funny at times though, and I liked the general idea of him in theory.
A lot of reviews praise the steamy scenes but something about them felt off to me. There were some beautifully written lines in here about love but unfortunately, they felt out of character when the romance was so underdeveloped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cancer, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident and Classism
kfmcf's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book. Am I mad it's yet another Reylo, absolutely, but at least it was less obviously in the past timeline.
Speaking of the past timeline, that was the stronger aspects of the book to me. I loved the MMC's POV. He was so awkward and goony and it really showed their chemistry and what they both needed from each other. I missed that in the present timeline - I felt that we really didn't get any time with them together in the present and feel the draw of them coming back together. I did think having the timelines have one POV respective to each of them was a fun choice that was done well.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the cartoonishly evil villain. It was predictable and added a phony tension to the last act of the book.
This is so nitpicky - but I'm so picky about covers. Why do they both look so sickly. The color choices of purple and green, love, great, totally fine. But the characters are grey. why.
Overall, I still had a good time with this one and will keep an eye out for future Julie Soto's.
Speaking of the past timeline, that was the stronger aspects of the book to me. I loved the MMC's POV. He was so awkward and goony and it really showed their chemistry and what they both needed from each other. I missed that in the present timeline - I felt that we really didn't get any time with them together in the present and feel the draw of them coming back together. I did think having the timelines have one POV respective to each of them was a fun choice that was done well.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the cartoonishly evil villain. It was predictable and added a phony tension to the last act of the book.
This is so nitpicky - but I'm so picky about covers. Why do they both look so sickly. The color choices of purple and green, love, great, totally fine. But the characters are grey. why.
Overall, I still had a good time with this one and will keep an eye out for future Julie Soto's.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Medical content
rshearon's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was the best rom com I’ve read in a while and I don’t typically love second chance romance! The chemistry was just there for me this time! And the writing was very good (I might be biased as a ff aficionado who will read and love anything Julie Soto writes for trad publishing or for Ao3). My one gripe is that it took a little bit toooo long for the happy to start. I don’t like having to wait to 93% before we are all in love and happy. But the ending was super cute ! Stoked to read her next book 😩
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
emilykarinpeterson's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
lex_is_bookish's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse and Cancer
karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Forget Me Not is an angsty, deeply passionate, & captivating romance debut!!
“You may think everything ends one day, but you haven’t had ‘everything’ with me.”
Ama is a small scale wedding planner with a skewed outlook on long term relationships & marriage due to her mother getting married more times than I can remember (it’s literally upwards of 16x). Her passion and dedication to her job is prevalent as she transforms ordinary spaces into magical & utterly romantic wedding venues.
Elliot studied architecture in college but took over his family’s florist shop after his father's passing to keep the legacy going. Although he is reserved and closed off by nature, his brilliance shines through in his craft.
When Ama is asked to plan the wedding of a reality tv star and the hired florist just so happens to be her grumpy ex, can they work through their past heartbreak to make the brides’ to be dreams come true?
— ✨𝓶𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼✨—
I truly enjoyed this book! The romance was unique in how it featured dual timelines with Ama’s chapters in present tense, and Elliot's in the past (with exact time references that we learn the meaning of in the end).
One thing I absolutely love is when an author drops subtle hints throughout the entire book, with a reveal in the end that may not be grand in stature, but deep & meaningful all the same. I adored Elliot’s confession regarding the timeline and how it perfectly encapsulated his deep love for Ama.
The more I think on it, the more I fall in love with this story and these characters. I already see myself revisiting this book before long & I cannot wait to relive it all💓
what to expect—
angst
forced proximity
slow burn
grumpy x sunshine
second chance
he falls first
a secret tattoo
dual timelines
spicy good times
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent