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shealea's review
1.0
Read the complete review on That Bookshelf Bitch!
I received a digital Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of the book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I found the sequel significantly underwhelming compared to its predecessor. Typing that sentence alone makes me feel really, really sad. On that note, I’d like to keep this review concise and straight to the point as the thought of giving one of Berg’s works a less than exemplary review almost physically pains me.
The second book immediately picks up right where Forgetting August left. I won’t elaborate so as to avoid any major spoilers. For the first one-third of the story, I was eagerly reading, finding myself drawn to how things were shaping up now that August started regaining his memories. I found myself empathizing with both Everly and August as they faced their respective inner demons; Everly second-guessing her future with Ryan (unsure if it was just pre-wedding jitters or genuine regret over her decision) and August struggling with his identity.
However, above everything else, I fell more and more in love with Ryan. In my earlier review of Forgetting August, I mentioned (in detail) how much I admired the strength of his character and how effortlessly easy it was for me to emotionally connect with him. Honestly? That did not change. Although Ryan’s exposure in the sequel was quite limited, every scene Ryan was in easily became one of my favorites throughout my reading experience.
Here’s where this review takes a sharp left turn, fellow reader. I struggled to appreciate the latter two-thirds of the book. In fact, I could not. I had a great deal of issues with a little bit of everything, which came as a shock to me considering how emotionally swept away I was with Forgetting August. Let’s break them down, yes?
Personally, Problem #1 was how badly the storyline seemed to drag. The pacing was sluggish at best and frustratingly tedious at worst. For a significant bulk of the story, nothing relevant was happening and nothing was developing — nada. More than a handful of scenes were just mundane, filler-type content that collectively did not hold any bearing to the overall plot. It was the sort of thing you’d get from asking a random stranger, “Hey, how was your day?” as a sad attempt for small talk. Maybe s/he’d have something interesting to say, maybe not – either way, you can’t bring yourself to care.
Admittedly, Remembering Everly picked up at little in the last hundred pages or so, but it did extremely little to pique my interest.
Problem #2 was the dreadful monotony. What began as empathy for the complicated romance between August and Everly quickly morphed into a (seemingly endless) series of eye-rolls. There was a lot of back-and-forth drivel throughout the middle. I love August but he hates me now. I love Everly but she isn’t safe with me. I love August but I’m scared. I love Everly but I shouldn’t want her. Do I still want to be with August? Should I still fight for Everly knowing full well that Ryan is a faultless god compared to me? What do I do? What do I do? That sort of repetitive shebang with cheesy dialogue tossed into the salad. Needless to say, it was not my cup of tea.
In the end, the chemistry between the two fell flat probably because everyone got fed up with reading about how adamantly crazy they were for each other and how they kept trying to oppress their romantic feelings (keyword: trying). But that’s probably just me.
Trent’s character constitutes as Problem #3. As the self-appointed villain of the story, Trent appeared to be nothing more than the backside of a cereal’s cardboard box – the side that’s not graced by morning sunlight streaming through the kitchen’s open window. Instead of totally slaying this evil role ala Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (the sole redeeming grace in that horrendous film), Trent was one-dimensional and forgettable as a villain.
Let’s move on to Problem #4 otherwise known as Everly’s character development and its poor execution. Similar to its predecessor, Everly and August were physically apart for a huge chunk of the book. A part of me appreciated this as it paved way for Everly to find herself and to unearth her personal goals and ambitions as a capable woman. She finally addressed one of her flaws as a character: her overly dependent nature. Which was great. She finally decided to reclaim her life and to pursue her dreams. Which was equally great. She finally realized that she had to get her act together before trying to fix other people. Which was, again, great. She finally learned the necessity of independence and personal strength. Also pretty fucking great.
All right, so what exactly are you struggling with here, Shealea?
While all her self-actualizations and tiny epiphanies were commendable, her actual progress as a developing character was ephemeral. My point is simple. Everly was not given the fullest opportunity to grow as a heroine. She should have been given more time to actually work through her issues. Instead, what we were given was an underdeveloped heroine and a ridiculously rushed resolution, the latter being Problem #5.
Overall, the second installment to this series was completely predictable—which isn’t necessarily a negative thing. In fact, I find most contemporary romance novels to be greatly predictable but I’ve still managed to enjoy reading a decent number of them. However, with Problems 1 to 5 in the mix of things, predictability quickly evolves into Problem #6.
Now, onto the more pressing matter: Shealea, why should this book be read?
1. Ryan’s character.
2. J.L. Berg’s writing style. Despite the monotony, tedious pacing and half-baked plot, it’s apparent that the author has a lovely way of weaving sentences and crafting eloquent prose.
3. My main struggle with Forgetting August (as mentioned in my review) was forming a solid opinion of August’s character. I had a lot of mixed feelings, and I could not really fathom whether I liked him or not. After reading this novel, I have finally made up my mind.
4. Closure. Truth be told, Forgetting August left readers, including myself, numerous questions—not just ones that wondered what would happen but also those that tackled what happened (e.g. Why did August mistreat Everly in the first place? What scared August?). The answers to these queries are all revealed in the sequel.
Despite everything I disliked about Remembering Everly, I am still a fan of the author’s writing. I honestly don’t believe that the first installment of this series was merely a fluke because I greatly enjoyed Berg’s other novel, When You’re Ready, which I have yet to review.
Would I reread Remembering Everly? Probably not. Would I be interested in a spin-off novel that centers around Ryan’s life? Most likely yes. Am I looking forward to the author’s next novel? Absolutely.
I received a digital Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of the book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I found the sequel significantly underwhelming compared to its predecessor. Typing that sentence alone makes me feel really, really sad. On that note, I’d like to keep this review concise and straight to the point as the thought of giving one of Berg’s works a less than exemplary review almost physically pains me.
The second book immediately picks up right where Forgetting August left. I won’t elaborate so as to avoid any major spoilers. For the first one-third of the story, I was eagerly reading, finding myself drawn to how things were shaping up now that August started regaining his memories. I found myself empathizing with both Everly and August as they faced their respective inner demons; Everly second-guessing her future with Ryan (unsure if it was just pre-wedding jitters or genuine regret over her decision) and August struggling with his identity.
However, above everything else, I fell more and more in love with Ryan. In my earlier review of Forgetting August, I mentioned (in detail) how much I admired the strength of his character and how effortlessly easy it was for me to emotionally connect with him. Honestly? That did not change. Although Ryan’s exposure in the sequel was quite limited, every scene Ryan was in easily became one of my favorites throughout my reading experience.
Here’s where this review takes a sharp left turn, fellow reader. I struggled to appreciate the latter two-thirds of the book. In fact, I could not. I had a great deal of issues with a little bit of everything, which came as a shock to me considering how emotionally swept away I was with Forgetting August. Let’s break them down, yes?
Personally, Problem #1 was how badly the storyline seemed to drag. The pacing was sluggish at best and frustratingly tedious at worst. For a significant bulk of the story, nothing relevant was happening and nothing was developing — nada. More than a handful of scenes were just mundane, filler-type content that collectively did not hold any bearing to the overall plot. It was the sort of thing you’d get from asking a random stranger, “Hey, how was your day?” as a sad attempt for small talk. Maybe s/he’d have something interesting to say, maybe not – either way, you can’t bring yourself to care.
Admittedly, Remembering Everly picked up at little in the last hundred pages or so, but it did extremely little to pique my interest.
Problem #2 was the dreadful monotony. What began as empathy for the complicated romance between August and Everly quickly morphed into a (seemingly endless) series of eye-rolls. There was a lot of back-and-forth drivel throughout the middle. I love August but he hates me now. I love Everly but she isn’t safe with me. I love August but I’m scared. I love Everly but I shouldn’t want her. Do I still want to be with August? Should I still fight for Everly knowing full well that Ryan is a faultless god compared to me? What do I do? What do I do? That sort of repetitive shebang with cheesy dialogue tossed into the salad. Needless to say, it was not my cup of tea.
In the end, the chemistry between the two fell flat probably because everyone got fed up with reading about how adamantly crazy they were for each other and how they kept trying to oppress their romantic feelings (keyword: trying). But that’s probably just me.
Trent’s character constitutes as Problem #3. As the self-appointed villain of the story, Trent appeared to be nothing more than the backside of a cereal’s cardboard box – the side that’s not graced by morning sunlight streaming through the kitchen’s open window. Instead of totally slaying this evil role ala Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (the sole redeeming grace in that horrendous film), Trent was one-dimensional and forgettable as a villain.
Let’s move on to Problem #4 otherwise known as Everly’s character development and its poor execution. Similar to its predecessor, Everly and August were physically apart for a huge chunk of the book. A part of me appreciated this as it paved way for Everly to find herself and to unearth her personal goals and ambitions as a capable woman. She finally addressed one of her flaws as a character: her overly dependent nature. Which was great. She finally decided to reclaim her life and to pursue her dreams. Which was equally great. She finally realized that she had to get her act together before trying to fix other people. Which was, again, great. She finally learned the necessity of independence and personal strength. Also pretty fucking great.
All right, so what exactly are you struggling with here, Shealea?
While all her self-actualizations and tiny epiphanies were commendable, her actual progress as a developing character was ephemeral. My point is simple. Everly was not given the fullest opportunity to grow as a heroine. She should have been given more time to actually work through her issues. Instead, what we were given was an underdeveloped heroine and a ridiculously rushed resolution, the latter being Problem #5.
Overall, the second installment to this series was completely predictable—which isn’t necessarily a negative thing. In fact, I find most contemporary romance novels to be greatly predictable but I’ve still managed to enjoy reading a decent number of them. However, with Problems 1 to 5 in the mix of things, predictability quickly evolves into Problem #6.
Now, onto the more pressing matter: Shealea, why should this book be read?
1. Ryan’s character.
2. J.L. Berg’s writing style. Despite the monotony, tedious pacing and half-baked plot, it’s apparent that the author has a lovely way of weaving sentences and crafting eloquent prose.
3. My main struggle with Forgetting August (as mentioned in my review) was forming a solid opinion of August’s character. I had a lot of mixed feelings, and I could not really fathom whether I liked him or not. After reading this novel, I have finally made up my mind.
4. Closure. Truth be told, Forgetting August left readers, including myself, numerous questions—not just ones that wondered what would happen but also those that tackled what happened (e.g. Why did August mistreat Everly in the first place? What scared August?). The answers to these queries are all revealed in the sequel.
Despite everything I disliked about Remembering Everly, I am still a fan of the author’s writing. I honestly don’t believe that the first installment of this series was merely a fluke because I greatly enjoyed Berg’s other novel, When You’re Ready, which I have yet to review.
Would I reread Remembering Everly? Probably not. Would I be interested in a spin-off novel that centers around Ryan’s life? Most likely yes. Am I looking forward to the author’s next novel? Absolutely.
bookphenomena_micky's review
4.0
I have waited for the sequel to Forgetting August with baited breath. Book one made an almighty impression on me and I was excited to hold this book in my hands. The end to book one was gutting and so I braced for the journey through Everly.
Everly with Ryan seemed to me a shadow of herself, her personality lost, pleasing those around her. Ryan is a sweet man but the connection between these two just doesn't sizzle. August had me feeling equal measures of pity and frustration. I wanted to motivate him towards solutions but I had to keep reminding myself that August is a man recovering from huge physical and psychological trauma with little therapeutic assistance. He's also a man of integrity with a broken, aching heart.
The story was angst-ridden, I felt on the edge of my seat with hopes and desires for the outcome but no clue what would happen. There seems to be something irreparable when it comes to Everly and how she was treated by August prior to the accident. There were some good twists along the way. What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the story and journey with these two characters. JL Berg is a talented wordsmith and this is my favourite series of hers.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.
Everly with Ryan seemed to me a shadow of herself, her personality lost, pleasing those around her. Ryan is a sweet man but the connection between these two just doesn't sizzle. August had me feeling equal measures of pity and frustration. I wanted to motivate him towards solutions but I had to keep reminding myself that August is a man recovering from huge physical and psychological trauma with little therapeutic assistance. He's also a man of integrity with a broken, aching heart.
The story was angst-ridden, I felt on the edge of my seat with hopes and desires for the outcome but no clue what would happen. There seems to be something irreparable when it comes to Everly and how she was treated by August prior to the accident. There were some good twists along the way. What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the story and journey with these two characters. JL Berg is a talented wordsmith and this is my favourite series of hers.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.
kvenner's review
3.0
The last book left me wanting to know more as the story finally picked up. The beginning of this book had me slightly anxious and wanting to skip forward much like the last book. I really did get into the book eventually and it was enjoyable, but definitely not as heart-wrenching as the first book.
cheryls's review
5.0
The cliffhanger's resolved from book one. August and Everly continue on their rocky on again, off again road. While they are no longer together and Everly is preparing to marry another, August continues suffering through blackouts that lead to regaining his memories. As he remembers more and more, the reasons for his past behavior start to surface. The game he was playing with Trent before the coma was dangerous. The game he's playing now is deadly.
You must read this fantastic romance with healthy doses of mystery and suspense. "Never judge a book by its cover" certainly stands true for August Kincaid, even if he doesn't remember. Throughout this two book series, several times I thought I had it all figured out. I couldn't have been more wrong. If ever there were two people more destined to be together, these two are it. August Kincaid and Everly Adams have quite the story to tell. It's definitely worth your time to read it!
Received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was not compensated for my review.
I was not required to write a positive review.
The opinion expressed is my own.
You must read this fantastic romance with healthy doses of mystery and suspense. "Never judge a book by its cover" certainly stands true for August Kincaid, even if he doesn't remember. Throughout this two book series, several times I thought I had it all figured out. I couldn't have been more wrong. If ever there were two people more destined to be together, these two are it. August Kincaid and Everly Adams have quite the story to tell. It's definitely worth your time to read it!
Received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was not compensated for my review.
I was not required to write a positive review.
The opinion expressed is my own.
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