Review: The Memories of Us by Vanessa Carnevale

The Memories of Us by Vanessa Carnevale

Release Date: 12th July 2018
Publisher: Avon

Genres:  Contemporary Fiction / Romnce

One moment can change your life....

When Gracie Ashcroft wakes after a crash with severe amnesia, she must choose whether to live a life through other people’s memories or to start a new life all her own.

Discovering her late mother left her an old flower farm, Gracie leaves her fiancé, best friend and the home full of forgotten memories behind, hoping to learn who she is now.

Torn between wishing she could remember and afraid of losing what she now has, Gracie starts to wonder: if you had your time over, would you live the same life twice?

Right from the very beginning this book totally grabbed me and kept me hooked straight from page one. When Grace is involved in a car crash, her fiance Blake walks away with barely a scratch. Gracie on the other hand has lost her memory. She has no recollection of Blake or her feelings for him. She doesn't even remember her best friend. Terrified of finding herself through the memories of others and not finding the real her, Gracie refuses to see Blake or even speak to him. But he doesn't give up and writes her letters. But Gracie needs to find herself her own way and in her own time so she runs away to the place she grew up. Returning to the flower farm her mother owned, Gracie meets her new gorgeous neighbour Flynn and the process of healing begins. She's not keen to share her circumstances with him just yet. But, Flynn has his own secrets too. Throughout it all Blake continues to write to her, giving her snippets of information about herself and their relationship, hoping she will remember the love they had.

This is such a beautifully brilliantly written book. Can you imagine waking up in hospital with no memory of who you are, who the people in your life are or even knowing what foods you like and don't like. I can't imagine anything more terrifying! Vanessa Carnevale has written about retrograde amnesia in a sympathetic way and obviously its a subject she's well researched. The symbolism of the flowers throughout was beautiful and made me want to rush out and buy armfuls of flowers and scatter them around the house!

At the core of this book is that love will find a way and that second chances come in a variety of opportunities that we would never have imagined for ourselves. While Gracie is terrified by what is happening to her, the possibilities are endless when it comes to reinventing yourself and starting a new life. Or, will the real Gracie come through in the end? Do all roads lead a person right back to where they're supposed to be? Gracie's journey explores these issues in this thought provoking read that at times I found heart-wrenchingly sad with just the right balance of hope thrown in. A wonderful read and one that I'd highly recommend. But, have a box of tissues ready!