The Choices I've Made by J.L. Berg (#1 in the By The Bay series)

The official blurb:

Death has a way of changing you...

After my mom passed, I couldn't seem to stand still. I couldn't be me anymore. So, with nothing more than a few boxes and a beat up truck, I left behind my old life at the tender age of eighteen.

And I never looked back.

Twelve years later, I find myself traveling back to the sandy shores of that North Carolina town where my late father has left me his medical practice. Coming here means facing my past... My memories... And her--Molly McIntyre.

Growing up, Molly had been my entire world, first as a childhood friend and then so much more. We'd made promises to each other back then. Promises I broke when I walked away. And now that I'm back? Well, let's just say she's not exactly the head of my welcoming committee. But even she can't deny the undeniable spark that still burns so brightly between us and soon, we're tumbling fast and hard into the past.

But I need to keep my eyes set to the future, because mine isn't here in this dead end town. Not anymore.

All Molly has ever known is here, on this small island. Could I really ask her to give it all up? For me? If I walk away again, will she follow?

My Review:

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Twelve years ago, Jake left the small town where he grew up, leaving Molly behind. So much has changed in those twelve years and his father's funeral makes it a necessary trip back 'home'. When he runs into his old friend Dean, he certainly doesn't imagine his coming back home is going to happen anything like it did. But funny how even though so much has changed, the most important thing hasn't changed at all.

I LOVED this book - I devoured it in one day. It had a surprising twist right out of the gate which sent the story on a path that you wouldn't have imagined just from reading the blurb. So much emotion as Jake realizes that his feelings for Molly never went away, despite of the path that her life has taken in those twelve years.

The Choices I've Made is the first book in J.L. Berg's By the Bay series, but there's no cliffhanger, which is always my favorite way to end a book. But I do plan on continuing on with the series!!!

Friday, January 8, 2021

I'm so excited that I'm just a week into 2021 and I found my first 5-Star book of the year!!!

Remembering Us by Stacey Lynn (Published 1/12/2014)

The official blurb:

My life was perfectly mapped out for me since before the day I was born. I followed it, begrudgingly, because it’s what was expected. And then one day, everything changed. I woke up. Different. Independent. Free from all the rules that had surrounded me. Only I have no idea how I got to where I am. I have no memory of graduating college. No memory of Adam, the boyfriend I live with. He loves me. And I love him. At least that’s what everyone says. Except when my memories return to me as dreams, I see a different man than the one everyone claims is perfect for me. He terrifies me. He makes my heart race and he makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. I have no idea if I want to welcome the emotional roller-coaster that his piercing brown eyes and messy black hair puts me on every time I get a glimpse of him, or if I want to run back to the safe shelter of the scripted life-plan that used to be mine.

My Review:

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Amy has woken up for a coma with the last 2 years of her life gone from her memory. She remembers her best friend Kelsey but she has no recollection of her relationship with her boyfriend Adam. Not only is she trying to remember the past 2 years, but she's also struggling with her feelings towards Adam. Can she trust that her dreams are what happened in real life? Is she trying so hard to remember how she feels about Adam, that some of her flashbacks are manufactured and not what really happened?

I loved this book!!! Adam was trying so hard to be patient with Amy as she struggled with her memories but he loves her so much and was so afraid that she was never going to remember what they shared. He had to walk a fine line in not pushing her to remember and letting her work it out for herself, while not knowing if they were going to get a second chance in their relationship.

The emotions, the confusion, all of the secrets.. I loved watching this story play out even though I had no idea if Amy and Adam were going to get their happily ever after. I don't want to give out any spoilers, but I will say that the author did an amazing job with their characters and their situation and that even knowing how the book ended, I would go back and read it all over again!!! (Best part - it is a standalone book... no pesky sequels to wait for to see how their lives were going to change!)