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A review by heydarianpaige
Forget Me Not by Julie Soto
5.0
I absolutely adore Julie Soto. Yes, I'm aware that this is her debut novel, but I've been a fan and keeping up to date with her writing in fandom spaces for years now. I was super excited when it was announced she was releasing her first traditionally published work. I'm even more ecstatic that it not only lived up to my high expectations but surpassed them. The best way I can summarize my thoughts and feelings is, this book is a fucking delight (yes the expletive is essential in getting my full sentiment and excitement across).
I was in a pretty solid reading slump when I picked this up but that was quickly squashed in favor of devouring this as quickly as I could. I haven't been this excited and over the moon with a book in a long time. This would've easily been a one-sitting read for me had I not been so busy (incredibly rude of my real-world responsibilities to postpone my reading but I can at least thank them for letting me savor and enjoy this a little bit longer).
This is a witty, fun, spicy, and well-paced second chance romance (a trope that's not at the top of my ranking but is executed so well here) that's dual POV. <s>It's also definitely Reylo coded for those of you that are into that and if you aren't, fret not, a non-Reylos will also thoroughly enjoy this and probably wouldn't have even picked up on it had I not said anything.</s> Throughout the book we follow Ama, a commitment-phobic (relatable) wedding planner, and Elliot, her grumpy (but not so grumpy you wonder why we're even supposed to like him) architect school dropout turned florist ex, as they're forced to work together for the first time after their breakup. Oh, and the wedding they're working together on happens to be the biggest wedding of Ama's career yet that could catapult her to a whole new level. As we follow Ama through her less-than-ideal work collaboration with her ex, we simultaneously follow Elliot through their now dismantled relationship three years prior. While parallel narratives are something that can easily become convoluted or distracting within a story, Soto did an excellent job of using this narrative style to allow readers to fully understand the characters and ground their relationship and story.
This is an absolutely spectacular debut for Julie Soto and I will continue to rant and rave about it to anyone that will listen while I very impatiently wait for her next work set for a 2024 release date.
Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was in a pretty solid reading slump when I picked this up but that was quickly squashed in favor of devouring this as quickly as I could. I haven't been this excited and over the moon with a book in a long time. This would've easily been a one-sitting read for me had I not been so busy (incredibly rude of my real-world responsibilities to postpone my reading but I can at least thank them for letting me savor and enjoy this a little bit longer).
This is a witty, fun, spicy, and well-paced second chance romance (a trope that's not at the top of my ranking but is executed so well here) that's dual POV. <s>It's also definitely Reylo coded for those of you that are into that and if you aren't, fret not, a non-Reylos will also thoroughly enjoy this and probably wouldn't have even picked up on it had I not said anything.</s> Throughout the book we follow Ama, a commitment-phobic (relatable) wedding planner, and Elliot, her grumpy (but not so grumpy you wonder why we're even supposed to like him) architect school dropout turned florist ex, as they're forced to work together for the first time after their breakup. Oh, and the wedding they're working together on happens to be the biggest wedding of Ama's career yet that could catapult her to a whole new level. As we follow Ama through her less-than-ideal work collaboration with her ex, we simultaneously follow Elliot through their now dismantled relationship three years prior. While parallel narratives are something that can easily become convoluted or distracting within a story, Soto did an excellent job of using this narrative style to allow readers to fully understand the characters and ground their relationship and story.
This is an absolutely spectacular debut for Julie Soto and I will continue to rant and rave about it to anyone that will listen while I very impatiently wait for her next work set for a 2024 release date.
Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.