Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Man She Couldn’t Forget by Kathryn Shay
Contemporary series romance released by Harlequin SuperRomance 1 Jan 09
I’m indifferent about amnesia story lines. I can take them or leave them. But love triangles? For the record I hate love triangles with the passion of a thousand burning suns. Yeah, that much. So why exactly did I pick up a book that not only features amnesia, but a big honking love triangle? Because it’s Kathryn Shay. She’s my very favorite SuperRomance author, and I have several of her books housed in my keeper stash. For her, I was willing to wade into love triangle territory. I wish I could say this book changed my mind about love triangle plots, but sadly no. While it wasn’t a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination, I found myself wishing for a different outcome.
Clare Boneli was in a car accident and when she woke up in the hospital her memory was gone. Her doctor feels that once she goes home to her condo in the funky old Victorian house her memory will start to return to her in time. Which it does, slowly and in drips and drabs. But with her returned memories comes a lot of confusion.
There’s Jonathan Harris, the man she was seeing pretty seriously for about a year. He owns the local TV station where Clare has her own cooking show. Then there is Brady Langston, her next door neighbor and her best friend. However, even with amnesia Clare knows something feels “off.” She’s instinctively drawn to “best friend” Brady, but she was “in love” with Jonathan? And why do her other neighbors treat her like a pariah? And what kind of person was she pre-accident if she’s estranged from her own sister? As the memories come rushing back, Clare unravels all of these mysteries, and realizes which man is truly her future.
Shay handles the amnesia angle really well, and you can tell she did her homework on the subject. Clare’s loss of memory, and how it slowly becomes restored to her all ring true, as does her communications with her therapist. What doesn’t work so well is the love triangle, mostly because by the end of the story I wanted Clare to leave both of these guys in the dust and ride off into the sunset…by herself! Almost every secondary character in this story struck me as supremely selfish, most notably Jonathan, Brady, and the two other tenants in the Victorian.
Clare is naturally confused, and unsure of herself. It’s frightening and scary to look in a mirror, and not recognize the stranger looking back at you. But do any of these people get that? Not really. Oh sure, there’s plenty of lip service, but throughout this story they’re pushing Clare back and forth and not allowing her to feel her way around at her own pace. It’s especially unnerving at the end, when Brady practically storms off to have a self-imposed pity party. Neither of these guys seems to “get it,” and frankly I didn’t think either of them deserved Clare.
That’s ultimately the sticking point for me. I didn’t want Clare to have a romance. I wanted her to move on with her life. Which isn’t really a good thing, given that this is a romance novel. That being said, I can see this story working a lot better for readers who like love triangle plots, and if you’re a sucker for amnesia stories, I thought the angle was well explored here. As for me? I’m slinking back to my self-imposed No Love Triangle Zone, and I still love me some Kathryn Shay.
Grade: C
Summary:
Clare Boneli has felt like a stranger to herself ever since the night an accident took her memory. The night she made a choice between two very different men.
Both Brady Langston and Jonathan Harris are good men. But their versions of her are so opposite, it’s as if she’s two different people. One man holds her career future and one man seems to hold her heart. Because when she’s with Brady everything feels so true, so right. As she moves closer to the truth about that fateful night, Clare has to choose again. To stick with the life she’s made for herself. Or listen to what her heart’s been trying to tell her…
Before I read the book, I thought your review was a bit harsh. After all, how could both heroes be that bad. Well, I’ve now finished the book and I have to say that Brady and Jonathan never stopped whining about what they wanted. They are so self-involved that they never think about Claire’s feelings. This is not to say that Claire was admirable. I had real problems with her character. I think the author needed to explain in more detail how Claire went from being the perfect friend to such a selfish woman. Ambition just doesn’t begin to explain the two divergent personalities. Last, I have to agree with you about Claire’s friends. I think we are suppose to be sympathetic with them, but they came across as harsh and judgmental. The only character I really liked was Claire’s sister.
Kim:
For me, I really liked Claire’s sister and her therapist. LOL – that was about it. I was just so annoyed by every other character in this book. Brady and Jonathan playing tug o’ war with Claire’s life – and the two other friends/neighbors in Claire’s building, seriously how “needy” were they? I could understand that The Old Claire left them hung out to dry, but honestly – did they expect her to spend every waking moment of her whole life with them?
I really liked the amnesia angle in this story though, and thought Shay did a very good job with it. It’s normally a plot device I can take or leave, but I found it compelling here. I just wish the characters had worked better for me 🙁
I just thought of one more thing. By the end of the book, I felt that Jonathan was made the scapegoat for Claire’s accident. Don’t get me wrong, he was just as bad as Brady in his constant need for reassurance. However, it was Claire who made a poor decision and should take responsibility for the accident. Jonathan is painted as the villain for not allowing her to use the phone. I’m in spoiler territory here, so suffice it to say that if Claire was too upset to drive, pull off the road. Don’t tell your secret to Jonathan, then want to call Brady. It seems as if everyone in this story had the maturity level of a 12 year old.