Is it possible to forgive the person who betrayed you if that person doesn’t remember the betrayal? The premise to this story is very exciting. Chloe and Shay thought they were forever and still they have broken up, after Shay cheated on Chloe with one of her colleagues. After a car accident, Shay wakes up with no memory of the last year or so, including the break-up, the affair etc. Chloe still cares too much to let Shay’s horrible mother take care of her so for Shay’s sake, she pretends everything is fine between them, willing Shay to remember (or not remember) by herself while she tries to decide whether she can forgive her.
Both Shay and Chloe are flawed, not only in their relationship to each other but with « the other women » too. As self-centered and borderline mean as Erica is, she doesn’t deserve to be treated the way Chloe treats her. Neither does Lila, even though the circumstances are different. In another story, that would have annoyed me but with Shay’s memory loss and all it implies for both her and Chloe, I can understand them not being able to deal with everything at the same time and being insensitive to others.
For once, I rather enjoyed the back and forth between the MCs because in this case, there are real reasons for it. The angst is justified. It mostly worked for me, despite it being a little repetitive at times. These two have obvious miscommunication problems but they’re given a second chance to table it all and work through it. What makes the whole story believable is that the love between them is even more obvious. They are without a doubt each other’s The One.
One of the things I liked is that the story is set after the glorious days of falling in love, after the time when everything is exciting. It shows how sometimes, trying to make life better really makes it more complicated if you don’t adapt your everyday habits too. It’s also, and mainly, a reminder of how important communication is between partners, and that as solid as trust seems between two lovers, misunderstandings happen very easily. From what the author writes about their relationship, Shay and Chloe seemed to be the perfect couple, until they weren’t.
There are a few inconsistencies, like they’ve been together a few years but Chloe doesn’t know she was Shay’s first until she reads her journal (that’s actually one of the things that made me uncomfortable, reading someone’s journal without their consent…). Or maybe it’s not an inconsistency but another proof that these two had a real problem with communication!
Jude in the Stars 