Member Reviews

If this was a physical book I'd be saying I couldn't put it down, but as it was an audio book I suppose I could say that my headphones were glued to my ears! It was great having two narrators as the story is told from the points of view of both main characters Gem and Will. Rose Riley and Will Kirk were excellent narrators, ably conveying all the confusion and emotions of the characters.

I loved the concept of the book which was that Will had been involved in a serious car accident and had lost three year's worth of memories. Not only did he not recognise the woman who claomed to be his fiancee, he didn't recognise the person he seemed to have become over those three years. In his mind, he was still the man who loved Gem and he couldn't understand what he had done that had caused them to split. Obviously what has happened is revealed very slowly to the reader (or listener in my case) and I was gripped by the story. I loved the way it went back and forward between Will and Gem in the past and the present. Will in recent years was so different from the Will he had been when he was with Gem. I could completely understand why she was so wary of him particularly when she had been so badly hurt by him in the past and had moved on in a steadier and what seemed safer relationship.

I was really hoping that the Will who loved Gem was the real version of Will and that the two could overcome their recent past and reconnect. Whether they would or not made me keep listening eagerly right to the end. A great book from Eve Ainsworth: engaging, emotional and compelling.

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This was a sweet love story.

I enjoyed the brain injury aspect and the fact that two people could come back together. The ending was ok, I felt like I was expecting something else but it fell flat. The characters were all good and no one was horribly unlikable except Nikola.

I enjoyed the narrators, I listened at 1.75x.

All in all, it was a sweet love story.

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This story will stay with me for a long time, it is just amazing. I had already read the ebook but when i saw it was coming to audio book I knew i had to give it a listen and i'm so glad that i did because the narrators really brought the characters to life. Great book and so so emaotional to read.

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What a crazy story but also it tugs on the heart strings. I felt so bad for Gem and what she went through but also how scary would it be if you were in Will’s shoes?Also to have so much of the past weighing down on you and letting it affect your future happiness? I think so many of us can relate to that and is why I really enjoyed this book.

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3.75

When I first started this one, I was hooked and enjoying the storyline. Then somewhere along the way it lost me. It all became a little ridiculous and the ending just left me feeling kinda, eh.
The narrators are great, so it was an enjoyable read. I just think the story went off the rails a bit too much.

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Somebody I Used to Love by Eve Ainsworth is one of my favorite romance tropes: love triangle! Yes, there is cheating, even if it's just emotional, but it's not a trigger for me. However, what is a trigger is DV being used as a plot twist. For this, I deducted a star. The second deduction is for a mixture of things: the outlandish explanation that "naturally" "fixed" Will, the secrecy of what he did (it soon became clear that this is the only logical possibility), and how, once he started having flashback of the accident, it was obvious what happened.

I like that the timeframe from when Will and Gem started dating to their initial breakup is intertwined with their current lives. I also sympathized with Gem's dislike of her mother and empathized with how her mom's preference for Will over her got under Gem's skin as that is something I experienced in my own marriage with my mom. I love that the secondary character Vee has her own life that we hear about, but I believe she's the only one as all the other characters seen to be there solely to push the story along.

I like the ending and hope it stays as something that we never know for certain. However, I hope it isn't laying the path for a sequel. I will give Eve's future books a chance as I did overall like this one.

Rose Riley as Gem and Will Kirk as Will are pretty good. Rose did a great job with Nicola's voice!

Thank you to Bolinda Audio for providing me with an ALC.

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ARC Review
3.5
I liked but didn't absolutely love this book. For one, there was a specific trope in it that made me not like the main characters as much, but also, I felt like we didn't really get to see them in love. The story felt more like the problem (of him losing his memory) instead of the romance. It made it hard to cheer for them, despite the history we saw glimpses of. It just didn't feel like enough. I did however appreciate that they didn't just fall madly in love happily ever after amen. Although some plot points seemed far fetched, that was one of the ones I actually got behind.

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This story follows Will and Gem. From there childhood to early years of dating to current time line. Its 2022 Gem is existing in her current life and Will has just gotten into a car accident and when he wakes up he has no memory of the last 3 years and he's still with Gem.

As Will starts trying to remember what happen and how his current life is his current life. He's trying to prove to Gem he's still the same boy of 3 years ago and somehow they can start over. The only problem is she's in a relationship and he wrecked her whole life when they broke up.

This had a lot of back and forth from all the timelines to get a clear picture. I was rooting for Gem to get what she needed and not settle for anyone. I was back in forth on Will. I ended up docking it a star because the ending was rushed and felt unsatisfying for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this Audio-Arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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This is an emotional story full of trauma, secrets and second chances. I really enjoyed this one but did find it a p bit slow paced and you don't get alot of answers until about 70 percent in. The story is told in different pov's mainly the two main characters Gem & Will. The time line goes between past and present and is very well written. I do wish an epilogue was written as I wanted to know more but can't say much else without giving anything away. The narrator did a really good job also & I would recommend this for the romance lovers.

Thanks to netgalley & the publisher for the audio arc.

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This book was very sweet and heartbreaking. Will and Gem have were together since childhood and then they split up. Gem starts to move on and then Will gets in an accident. He has amnesia and thinks that they are still together. There are a lot of sweet moments of them being together and some interesting mystery surrounding Wills accident. My issue is the ending felt rushed and did not feel like enough closure. I also enjoyed the narration and thought that it was well done.

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What I really liked about this was that it was a contemporary romance with some mystery and family drama thrown in.

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This story masterfully weaves the amnesia trope into a gripping narrative that hooks you from the very beginning. The protagonist, who has lost several years of their memory, is plunged into a world where they must piece together the fragments of their forgotten past. This setup creates an immediate sense of intrigue, as the reader is pulled into the mystery alongside the main character.

What makes this story particularly compelling is the emotional depth tied to the character’s lingering feelings for their ex. Even without memories of the past years, the protagonist’s unresolved emotions create a powerful tension that adds layers to the mystery. As the story progresses, each new piece of the puzzle raises the stakes, keeping you eager to discover what happened and what will happen next.

The narrative pacing is excellent, with just the right balance between uncovering past events and dealing with the present. The suspense is maintained throughout, making you question every character’s motives and every detail of the protagonist’s life. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a blend of mystery, romance, and psychological drama.

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When will wakes up from a years-long coma to find a woman he doesn't know wearing his mother's engagement ring, he's confused. The last thing he remembers is being with his childhood sweetheart, Gem, and holding that ring for her and he has no idea when they broke up or why. Gem, on the other hand, knows exactly why they broke up years ago and she'll never forget it. Now with someone new, Gem tries to balance being kind and giving closure to someone she used to love and keeping him at arm's length to protect her own heart.

I really enjoyed this one! Amnesia is not a favorite trope of mine, but I love a good second chance romance, so I had to give this one a go and I'm so glad I did! This story has such an interesting plot for a romance. By setting up the situation where Will does not remember what happened to his relationship with Gem, the plot sets up almost like a mystery. This author took the sweet, endearing main characters of a romance novel and added the missing memories/deception/plot twists of a mystery and it worked brilliantly. I never wanted to put it down!

I liked the narrators for the most part but this particular version of British English is definitely my least favorite and if I listened to the sample on Audible or something I might have passed when I heard it. It would have been my loss because this is a great story but the accent is definitely one that turns people off.

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Gem and Will’s love story started when they were children. Their friendship helped them through tough times and their love seemed to be for forever. But something changed and Will destroyed Gem’s heart. Three years after their breakup, Will wakes from a come after a nasty car accident still in love with Gem and having forgotten the las three years of his life. While unraveling all that broke them apart, Will and Gem need to trust their heart and possibly have a second chance again. The audiobook with Rose Riley and Will Kirk makes a great story to an even better one.

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A touching story about a man who awakes from a coma, in a hospital. The world that he remembers is no longer there. His longtime love lives with someone else. Another woman claims to be engaged to him, but he doesn't remember her at all.

As Will re-enters the world, it's a confusing place. His memory comes in bits and he finds that he really screwed up his life before the accident that put him into a coma.

The only woman he's ever loved doesn't want anything to do with him, nor does his brother.

This book details his struggle to find his way to reality and find love again.

I listened to the audio book. The narrators speak with English accents, but they did a fine job.

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This was a new type for me, so I instantly was intrigued. This is Will and Gem's love story. It is beautiful and messy. And, you just know that with all they go through, they deserve happiness in the end.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bolinda Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I think this is the kind of story that really benefits from being an audiobook, because it really feels like this people are telling you the story of their lives.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but it pleasantly surprised me. I’m not the biggest fan of lost memory in stories, but I really liked the way it leads this story.

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This is a fun, entertaining, wild ride of a read. Will and Gem are intriguing, wounded, complex, strong, interesting, relatable, captivating, entertaining characters. Their love story is all the more touching for everything they go through. These two are so much fun to spend time with. I loved their development through the course of the story. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. There are points that are very emotional and others that are very sweet. I wish that we had gotten more from the ending of the story – that’s me wanting the HEA for this couple who so richly deserve it.

I enjoyed the audio version of this story and the narrators.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Lost memories. Lost loves. Can they find their way back to each other?
Will and Gemma were once a great couple. The suspense of not knowing what happened that meda the split apart was well-written.
I enjoyed Gem's dilemma between her new life she built after getting over Will and going back to him. She questioned wether she was really happy or just comfortable.
Will's journey figuring out what happened sucked me in from the beggining. I was actually invested in his investigation and couldn't wait to find out.
I really liked the different points of view we got, not only the two main characters. I wish we got a little more of that, it could have given a better perspective on things. I also liked the slight ambiguity of the ending. It's kind of open for the readers to imagine for themselves.

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This was not the book I was expecting to listen to. It was more. No one in this book has had an easy life. They’ve all experienced so much tragedy. Gem and Will bonded as children and later became each other's everything. Seemingly out of nowhere and almost overnight, Will becomes someone else completely in the worst ways possible. This forces Gem to save herself emotionally and say goodbye to Will as did their mutual friends. Some stayed and dealt with the mess he left in his wake and others scattered far away. When an accident causes a brain injury, Will starts to question everything. His journey of discovery and resolution is a lot heavier and more emotional than I thought it would be. Definitely not a light romance, but a well narrated thoughtful story.

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