Somehow Julie Soto managed to rom-com up the second chance trope and capture the heartache of two exes forced to work together again while also writing a truly funny story about a wedding planner with dozens of ex-step-siblings who doesn't believe in marriage but has a career literally devoted to it. It didn't even need to have the second chance element to be an enjoyable book (not that I'd ever complain about that). How is Elliot so skilled and suave with sex when it's said he's only asked four people out (and who knows if he's even slept with them)??? If I misunderstood this about his character, please let me know. For the most part, Ama’s POV was in the present and Elliot’s POV was in the past leading up to their breakup. And while the breakup in the past was exactly as you thought it would be, I still had a good time getting there. I loved the tension between the two when they were forced to work on the same wedding. I also loved Elliot at the end like yes work that earpiece king. A scorching hot debut rom-com you won’t want to miss in 2023. For fans of The Love Hypothesis and The Unhoneymooners

i didn't even care that the villain in this book is also named whitney. tbh i'd let ama put me out of business too The soil and flower chanting during ~that~ sex scene stressed me out and was a bit too meta, but overall I did have a grand ol time with the sex! The scenes were juicy and frenzied and steamed up all the windows. They maybe felt a touch out of character for the two, but I’m a simple gal and all for them getting railed. The pacing???? INSANE!!! Some scenes had SO MUCH going on, it felt like watching a movie where everything is happening at the same time and you’re just gobbling it up. Kind of like an old school Jenny Crusie book! (It might be that I was just devouring the book and reading it as fast as humanly possible because I couldn’t put it down, but, you know.) When Elliot cried after she broke up with him—my heart ached so badly—ugh, I'm so sad; he's too precious, wth 😭💔 And I can't believe all those years he thought that IT WAS HIS FAULT THAT SHE LEFT HIM, BECAUSE HE COULDN'T STAY CONTENTED WITH WHAT SHE WAS GIVING HIM. I love a good proposal story, but my favorite one I’ve heard? Well, I’ll let you know when he says yes.❞Okay, a few things here. One, the book alternates between the past and the present, so you can see Ama and Elliot’s relationship progress in both timelines. The past is only told in Elliot’s POV, and the present is only told in Ama’s POV, which is SUCH AN EXPECTED BUT AMAZING CHOICE!!!!! 10/10.

Ama is a wedding planner—she’s sweet (in every sense esp since shes obsessed with donuts), she’s hardworking, she’s funny and a literal ray of sunshine everywhere she goes and always makes herself welcome even where she’s not wanted with unquestionable commitment issues that I found myself slightly annoyed by that at times but otherwise I adored her A moment of silence please for this absolute stunner of a cover. Going into this book, I knew that Julie Soto is a fanfic darling, but I hadn’t experienced her writing for myself. Pleased to report that this was a wonderful traditionally published debut! I did notice that Elliot could be excessively reserved, often hesitant to voice his needs even though he wanted to, fearing that it might upset Ama and lead to her leaving him. His love for her seemed boundless, which at times led him to make numerous sacrifices. It's a complex situation, but there are moments when it felt like he bore the weight of the relationship and perhaps didn't deserve some of the challenges Ama put him through. Spicy scenes (hey my girl takes the initiative and it's in HIS POV... which was so different and fun!)I almost hope there was someone after me, someone who broke him differently. Because I’m not worth three years of someone’s life." as the story followed its wake we witness the context in which that conversation happened or why that innocent comment was made in the first place. There were two different timelines from both the character's point of view. I loved that Elliot's chapter recounted the past timeline and how they met and how their relationship developed and Ama's chapter narrated the present timeline and how they are going to work together after 2 years of not seeing each other. Both the timelines added nuance and clarity to the story. I enjoyed the past timeline the most and mostly because that's where I got to know more about Elliot and his feelings. The present timeline felt like it was only about wedding planning and Ama stressing over wedding planning. I needed more of Elliot in the present chapters. I wish there was less wedding planning and more attention towards Elliot and Ama's relationship in the present timeline. I felt like was taking a crash course in wedding planning. I had a really great and the best time reading this book with you and obsessing over Elliot—his grumpiness and his tattoos. Thankyou so much for listening to my rants and everything. I can't wait to read more books with you in future 🫶🏼💘

Overall, this was a solid book and was different than anything I’ve read before. It was truly memorable, just maybe not a consistent reread for me. I wasn’t the most emotionally connected I’ve ever been, but maybe it’s because I could only picture Adam Driver and he simply doesn’t do it for me. I think this will make a great audiobook, and it’s definitely gonna make a splash.Elliot Bloom is a character who truly left a profound impact. Despite his outwardly closed-off and grumpy demeanor, which he seems to reserve for most of humanity, there's an exception—Ama. The depth of his affection for her is truly remarkable, and the lengths to which he goes for her are both heartwarming and genuinely touching. He's a character who evokes genuine admiration and sympathy, deserving nothing less than the entire world. FORGET ME NOT is a second chance romance between Ama, a wedding planner that doesn't believe in marriage and florist Elliot. Ama is running her own wedding planning business after leaving a job with a more established wedding planning company. She's hired for a high profile wedding that takes a life of its own. Her clients already hired Elliot, not knowing their romantic past. I loved that the past was told through Elliot's POV because we get to understand the complicated feelings he has about taking over his family's flower shop. It also softens him a little because he is generally outwardly rude. And it gives us so much context as to why there's so much tension between them. In their first go around, their romance went from zero to sixty despite Ama's insistence to keep things casual. In the present, while its apparent they both still care for each other, it takes longer for them to confront their feelings and readers are the real winners of their journey. This books gives you all the drama of wedding day stress and joy while delivering a sexy story about two people who, deep down, are real romantics. Writing in dual POV and dual timelines was a good move. I loved seeing how they fell in love the first time from Elliot's POV and their second chance from Ama's POV. This really let the reader understand the characters - their reservations, fears, hopes, and dreams.