Book Synopsis:
Forgiveness can be hard to come by… An unputdownable new novel from bestseller Samantha Tonge
How far would you go to make amends?
When Emma fled her home at Foxglove Farm, she’d let down and hurt those who cared for her most. But now, two years later, she’s ready to face up to her past; she’s ready to go back.
But Emma’s unannounced return causes more problems than she could have foreseen. The people she knew and loved aren’t ready to forget, let alone forgive. And the one person she wants to reconnect with the most, her mother, can’t remember who she is.
Just as Emma starts to rebuild trust, an uncovered family secret and a shocking past crime threaten her newly forged future…
Sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough.
My Review:
Forget Me Not is a beautifully written book that covers some thought provoking subjects. They say never to judge a book by it’s cover and I sorry to say that I did and was therefore very surprised by this book. I thought I was in for a gentle book about a woman coming back to her home town but I was wrong, boy was I wrong!
Firstly I loved the descriptions of Forget Me Not Farm, which was like something from a children’s book. I loved the idyllic setting and the wonderful old fashioned farm house. The fact they had a farm shop where they sold produce they made from the farm was a lovely touch and I enjoyed the descriptions of them making the stuff to sell.
The story is told in two parts; one followed Emma as she returned to her childhood home the other details her life in the months leading up to her return and what her life had been like. Despite everything that happens in this book I found I really like Emma. I felt sorry for her with all the rubbish she’d been through and the reaction to her return home. I didn’t feel at the beginning that the reaction she received was warranted and felt her confusion that people reacted to her that way as I didn’t think she’d done anything too bad. Of course as we go through the book we realise that there is a lot more to it then that but I did still want to shout at her sister that she was family and should be given a chance.
The book covers a few interesting and thought provoking subjects regarding homeless people and dealing with people with memory loss. It was quite harrowing to read about Emma’s experience on the streets and how people reacted to her. I’ll definitely make sure I act differently the next time I meet someone living on the street. The fact that towns clear out all their homeless people to ‘tidy’ up their town for a big event was surprising to read about as it takes away their safety net of hostels and food kitchens. I’m not sure if towns actually do this but if it is true the practice should be stopped.
I did find this book gripping as the reaction Emma gets when returning home piqued my interest. I wanted to keep reading to find out what she’d done and how things would work out for her. However it wasn’t particularly fast paced which I found frustrating at times. I found myself skipping through pages desperate to find out what was going to happen. This is probably more to do with my impatience or indeed the author’s skill in weaving a story then a fault but I just thought I’d mention it.
This is the first book I have read by this author and I will definitely read more from her in the future.
Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Canelo publishers for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Biography
Over The Rainbow Blog 