What do you think?
Rate this book
Love Water Memory
If you could do it all over again, would you still choose him?
At age thirty-nine, Lucie Walker has no choice but to start her life over when she comes to, up to her knees in the chilly San Francisco Bay, with no idea how she got there or who she is. Her memory loss is caused by an emotional trauma she knows nothing about, and only when handsome, quiet Grady Goodall arrives at the hospital does she learn she has a home, a career, and a wedding just two months away. What went wrong? Grady seems to care for her, but Lucie is no more sure of him than she is of anything. As she collects the clues of her past self, she unlocks the mystery of what happened to her. The painful secrets she uncovers could hold the key to her future—if she trusts her heart enough to guide her.
At age thirty-nine, Lucie Walker has no choice but to start her life over when she comes to, up to her knees in the chilly San Francisco Bay, with no idea how she got there or who she is. Her memory loss is caused by an emotional trauma she knows nothing about, and only when handsome, quiet Grady Goodall arrives at the hospital does she learn she has a home, a career, and a wedding just two months away. What went wrong? Grady seems to care for her, but Lucie is no more sure of him than she is of anything. As she collects the clues of her past self, she unlocks the mystery of what happened to her. The painful secrets she uncovers could hold the key to her future—if she trusts her heart enough to guide her.
326 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
72 people are currently reading
5959 people want to read
About the author
Jennie Shortridge
6 books163 followersJennie Shortridge is the author of five bestselling novels: Love Water Memory, When She Flew, Love & Biology at the Center of the Universe, Eating Heaven, and Riding With the Queen.
She is an avid volunteer and mentor, and is co-founder of Seattle7Writers.org, a nonprofit collective of authors that raises money and awareness for literacy.
Jennie is currently working on a memoir.
She is an avid volunteer and mentor, and is co-founder of Seattle7Writers.org, a nonprofit collective of authors that raises money and awareness for literacy.
Jennie is currently working on a memoir.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 571 reviews
August 12, 2013
I just read Love, Water, Memory by Jenni Shortridge and I am perplexed by all of the very high ratings this book received. I expected the unraveling of a great mystery, as the main character, Lucie, was found standing in the San Francisco Bay suffering from amnesia; that never materialized. The relationship between Lucie and Grady didn't seem realistic; Lucie's reactions didn't always ring true, and the motivation for Lucie's recent memory lapse didn't seem so horrific or overwhelming to trigger a psychological break.
The author provided reasons for Lucie's fugue state, but they didn't resonate with me. I wish the author had developed the characters more. Although the "Old Lucie" was presented with issues, I didn't dislike her enough to connect with the new and improved "Lucie." "Old Lucie" wasn't the friendliest; she was selfish and demanding, but Grady, portrayed as weak in many ways, loved her, and perhaps needed someone like her. Even long-lost Aunt Helen deserved more sympathy and empathy than this reader was able to offer.
Additionally, the author missed an opportunity to expand and develop the blossoming relationships between Lucie and her neighbors, in particular, Susan, and more peripherally, Don. I also would have enjoyed reading more about Grady's large boisterous family. The best parts of the novel for me amounted to a few pages.
It was a quick read, and I enjoyed the alternating perspectives. The book simply made no real impression on me. It would not be a book that I would recommend, although it may provide for a good discussion for book clubs.
The author provided reasons for Lucie's fugue state, but they didn't resonate with me. I wish the author had developed the characters more. Although the "Old Lucie" was presented with issues, I didn't dislike her enough to connect with the new and improved "Lucie." "Old Lucie" wasn't the friendliest; she was selfish and demanding, but Grady, portrayed as weak in many ways, loved her, and perhaps needed someone like her. Even long-lost Aunt Helen deserved more sympathy and empathy than this reader was able to offer.
Additionally, the author missed an opportunity to expand and develop the blossoming relationships between Lucie and her neighbors, in particular, Susan, and more peripherally, Don. I also would have enjoyed reading more about Grady's large boisterous family. The best parts of the novel for me amounted to a few pages.
It was a quick read, and I enjoyed the alternating perspectives. The book simply made no real impression on me. It would not be a book that I would recommend, although it may provide for a good discussion for book clubs.
August 10, 2017
4 Unexpected, pleasant too close to home Stars
I went into this book barely knowing anything, and it was the best decision ever. I think if you go with too much information the story may be ruined a little bit for you. This been said I will try to abstain myself from discussing in depth or read it at your own risk.
I think the weakness for which I fell over, was completely the plot, I surprisingly related so much the main story. Not exactly for the events or the characters, but due to the emotion they were living and going through. The story follows a couple in their 40's meaning almost a 20-year gap with me, but I could connect so vividly and I am blaming all on Jennie's writing. It was so exquisite and detailed and made my heart beat raw, remembering moments and emotions from the past I hadn't felt since I forgot them. So, yes I can testify, this book was a complete package in terms of writing and intriguing promise.
The fact the author focused on how Lucie dealt with Amnesia after the incident, and the repercussions it had on her life, instead of only the mystery of what had she forgotten, was awesome. From experience, one of the hardest things is dealing with the fact you have a life to continue with, even though your brain has stopped registering, is not the same as the other, and somehow they are expecting you to keep responding to them as always, and let me tell you at the start it feel like hell, all you want is to crawl out of your own-unknown skin. The awkwardness that she had to face with Grady, was so real, the fact that you need to face that things never go to what they use to, the author did not sugar coat it the story, she did not make a fairy tale.
Now some things I have trouble with, mainly the lack of medical and psychological help, like the doctors didn't do much to help her, and let her go just like that. Grady, it was so great that he was partly Native American and how dedicated he was to Lucie but he became annoying. He became so concentrated on what he had lost aka past Lucie that he stopped helping Lucie altogether! Also, all the drama with his father was in my opinion rather unnecessary or overly brought up. The lack of communication, had me wanting to take my hair out, but if I start analyzing my friend's relationships this problem is quite accurate ( shh, don't tell them I told you that).
I went into this book barely knowing anything, and it was the best decision ever. I think if you go with too much information the story may be ruined a little bit for you. This been said I will try to abstain myself from discussing in depth or read it at your own risk.
I think the weakness for which I fell over, was completely the plot, I surprisingly related so much the main story. Not exactly for the events or the characters, but due to the emotion they were living and going through. The story follows a couple in their 40's meaning almost a 20-year gap with me, but I could connect so vividly and I am blaming all on Jennie's writing. It was so exquisite and detailed and made my heart beat raw, remembering moments and emotions from the past I hadn't felt since I forgot them. So, yes I can testify, this book was a complete package in terms of writing and intriguing promise.
The fact the author focused on how Lucie dealt with Amnesia after the incident, and the repercussions it had on her life, instead of only the mystery of what had she forgotten, was awesome. From experience, one of the hardest things is dealing with the fact you have a life to continue with, even though your brain has stopped registering, is not the same as the other, and somehow they are expecting you to keep responding to them as always, and let me tell you at the start it feel like hell, all you want is to crawl out of your own-unknown skin. The awkwardness that she had to face with Grady, was so real, the fact that you need to face that things never go to what they use to, the author did not sugar coat it the story, she did not make a fairy tale.
Now some things I have trouble with, mainly the lack of medical and psychological help, like the doctors didn't do much to help her, and let her go just like that. Grady, it was so great that he was partly Native American and how dedicated he was to Lucie but he became annoying. He became so concentrated on what he had lost aka past Lucie that he stopped helping Lucie altogether! Also, all the drama with his father was in my opinion rather unnecessary or overly brought up. The lack of communication, had me wanting to take my hair out, but if I start analyzing my friend's relationships this problem is quite accurate ( shh, don't tell them I told you that).
May 10, 2013
A story of a woman who loses her memory after she fights with her fiancé. Through time, she finally finds out that she had a traumatic childhood which caused her disassociation. Also, she discovers she was a woman that she really doesn't like. She's engaged to a man and the two of them have to work out their relationship "new" her. She wants to be a better person than she was. He's still on pins and needles with her new "personality". It all works out in the end……….
August 6, 2015
Lucie Walker becomes aware that she is standing in the San Francisco Bay but has no memory of how she arrived there,even of her name or personal history. She is quickly identified by her fiance,Grady, and he takes her back to their home in Seattle with the hope that Luice will remember. Luice isn't the same person as when she left,things she discovers motivated and interested her seem foreign and puzzling. And Grady has a few things he hopes she doesn't fully recall. But can Lucie heal if she doesn't know the truth? On the surface of this book,this seems like the typical amnesia/reinvention story. Yet the author did a great job of delving deeper,and this story is a poignant examination of the effects of the past,subtle variations of the truth and what it means to love another person.Nicely done. And thanks to my daughter for sending it to me to "try something I read" :)
April 16, 2013
You know, I finished this book at least, hanging on for the big reveal, so I guess 1 1/2 stars would be more accurate, but I'm not willing to go up to the full 2.
The premise, a woman is found in San Francisco with no memory; her fiance comes to get her; what follow is supposed to be poignant, raising questions about identity and love.
But the premise is spoiled by clunky writing and implausible plot points and the big reveal wasn't even that big a reveal.
Writing: on the day that Lucy and Grady (fiance) have a big fight, she has gone running without saying goodbye - so "Grady grew angrier by the second. He slinked into his partially rebuilt 1969 Volvo before she had the chance to reach him and shun him first, then sputtered away from the curb". It's not just a car, it's a partially rebuilt 1969 Volvo! Someone told this woman that details add....something, and she has obediently added them in.
Then Lucy is supposedly a hot-shot headhunter and since leaving her work and forgetting who she is, NOT ONE headhuntee has gotten in touch with her to say, WTF, where's my job??
She wonders who her friends are, but there are BOXES OF WEDDING INVITATIONS already addressed, and she NEVER looks at the addresses to see who these people might be?
I was very irritated at this book and feel that you should spare yourselves the same, and go read something else.
The premise, a woman is found in San Francisco with no memory; her fiance comes to get her; what follow is supposed to be poignant, raising questions about identity and love.
But the premise is spoiled by clunky writing and implausible plot points and the big reveal wasn't even that big a reveal.
Writing: on the day that Lucy and Grady (fiance) have a big fight, she has gone running without saying goodbye - so "Grady grew angrier by the second. He slinked into his partially rebuilt 1969 Volvo before she had the chance to reach him and shun him first, then sputtered away from the curb". It's not just a car, it's a partially rebuilt 1969 Volvo! Someone told this woman that details add....something, and she has obediently added them in.
Then Lucy is supposedly a hot-shot headhunter and since leaving her work and forgetting who she is, NOT ONE headhuntee has gotten in touch with her to say, WTF, where's my job??
She wonders who her friends are, but there are BOXES OF WEDDING INVITATIONS already addressed, and she NEVER looks at the addresses to see who these people might be?
I was very irritated at this book and feel that you should spare yourselves the same, and go read something else.
January 19, 2014
My Grady and Lucie:
3.5 STARS
Lucie has amnesia. She has no recollection of her past, of who she is. She doesn't remember her fiancé Grady and she has no idea why she was found miles away from her hometown. What had happened? What events led to losing her memories?
It is very difficult to cathegorize this novel. It bears signs of mystery, romance and thriller. Yet it is nothing from above mentioned genres. And I really liked that. It made this book quite unique.
Love Water Memory is written in multiple point of view. It was very interesting to see things from Lucie's perspective. But I have to admit that with POV of other characters, story lost mysterious feel.
Love Water Memory is engaging story full of interesting life stories. Yet it never touched my heart. Moreover, some of story developements weren't realistic and it bothered me a little bit.
This was my first reading experience with Mrs. Shortridge's writing and I did like it. I will be definitely chekcing out her other books!
*ARC provided by publisher as an exchange for honest review*
MORE REVIEWS ON MY BLOG Reading Is My Breathing
3.5 STARS
Lucie has amnesia. She has no recollection of her past, of who she is. She doesn't remember her fiancé Grady and she has no idea why she was found miles away from her hometown. What had happened? What events led to losing her memories?
It is very difficult to cathegorize this novel. It bears signs of mystery, romance and thriller. Yet it is nothing from above mentioned genres. And I really liked that. It made this book quite unique.
Love Water Memory is written in multiple point of view. It was very interesting to see things from Lucie's perspective. But I have to admit that with POV of other characters, story lost mysterious feel.
Love Water Memory is engaging story full of interesting life stories. Yet it never touched my heart. Moreover, some of story developements weren't realistic and it bothered me a little bit.
This was my first reading experience with Mrs. Shortridge's writing and I did like it. I will be definitely chekcing out her other books!
*ARC provided by publisher as an exchange for honest review*
MORE REVIEWS ON MY BLOG Reading Is My Breathing
September 19, 2014
I've been thinking about good storytelling a lot lately. On Friday evening, I sat at the Rittenhouse Square Barnes & Noble with a friend and I read aloud to her a passage from another novel that I found amusing. She commented: "I've heard or seen something like that before. Maybe on a sitcom." This same friend recently read a book based on my recommendation and had similar feedback. "It wasn't novel. It felt derivative" She said she only likes books that are different. I've been considering whether it is actually possible to create something truly different and new.
I remember a creative writing professor in college talking about three main stories: love, death and war. In trying to find what he was quoting, I have found many other quotes about fiction and literature.
Paulo Coello: "Borges said there are only four stories to tell: a love story between two people, a love story between three people, the struggle for power and the voyage. All of us writers rewrite these same stories ad infinitum.”
Willa Cather: "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercly as if they had never happened before."
Others assert that there are seven basic plots.
So what truly makes a novel story?
Potentially, I am just not a discerning reader, but I enjoy reading different takes on the same idea. I love reading about interesting family dynamics, I love reading about change over time, I am a sucker for a good romance or coming of age story, and I like thought-provoking contemporary fiction.
The idea of reading about someone who has woken up from a dissociative fugue didn't feel completely new to me. And yet there were so many aspects of Love Water Memory that felt unique. I disappeared inside the book for most of the afternoon and evening yesterday. I was captivated by the experiences of 39 year old Lucie Walker who was suddenly cast in the role of anthropologist and detective of her own life.
The novel starts with Lucie standing knee deep in the San Francisco Bay. Asked if she is okay she replies "I don't know." She can't feel her legs, she does not know her name. She can discern that the decor of a hospital room is straight out of the early 90's and yet she has no autobiographical memory. Shortridge does such a good job of allowing the reader to share in Lucie's confusion and her dawning sense of discovery, fear and revelation.
Since the story is told from both the perspective of Lucie and that of her fiancee Grady, the reader is able to understand how maddening and disorienting amnesia can be for both the individual suffering through it and their family members. How do you bring someone home who doesn't remember you at all? How do you respect their privacy and try to get them to love you again? This sort of story has been told in a Nicholas Spark's novel/movie and it came across as treachly and unrealistic. Shortridge does an excellent job making Lucie and Grady's story ring true. There is an element of representing them as being destined to be together in some ways, but it doesn't come across as too much.
It was fascinating to watch Lucie view her former life through new eyes, and to eventually understand why the two wildly different Lucie's came to be. I walked away with questions about how realistic Lucie's experience with dissociative fugue was, and yet I found Shortridge's telling of Lucie's story incredibly real. In learning more about the former Lucie, I questioned why Grady was with her, or why she was in some ways cold and disconnected from others, but eventually that part of her character is explained.
I also really enjoyed the imagery in the story. Water plays as central a role in the characters lives as love and memory. Lucie wakes up, reborn, a new version of herself (or an old one I suppose) with her feet in water. Grady breaks his foot, and this immobilization is key to a great deal of character development. Because of this injury he is for the first time a fish out of water and this immobilizes his development in some ways, but also forces him to greater understanding.
I found myself particularly taken with this late "coming of age" story. Lucie is on the verge of forty and still discovering herself. Grady is beyond forty and still coming to terms with his own past, still looking to be a better person. It makes someone like me (who is on the verge of 30) feel a little bit better about what I often view as my own late development.
Love Water Memory was a very thought-provoking and engaging read. I'm interested to hear what others thought of the book.
I remember a creative writing professor in college talking about three main stories: love, death and war. In trying to find what he was quoting, I have found many other quotes about fiction and literature.
Paulo Coello: "Borges said there are only four stories to tell: a love story between two people, a love story between three people, the struggle for power and the voyage. All of us writers rewrite these same stories ad infinitum.”
Willa Cather: "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercly as if they had never happened before."
Others assert that there are seven basic plots.
So what truly makes a novel story?
Potentially, I am just not a discerning reader, but I enjoy reading different takes on the same idea. I love reading about interesting family dynamics, I love reading about change over time, I am a sucker for a good romance or coming of age story, and I like thought-provoking contemporary fiction.
The idea of reading about someone who has woken up from a dissociative fugue didn't feel completely new to me. And yet there were so many aspects of Love Water Memory that felt unique. I disappeared inside the book for most of the afternoon and evening yesterday. I was captivated by the experiences of 39 year old Lucie Walker who was suddenly cast in the role of anthropologist and detective of her own life.
The novel starts with Lucie standing knee deep in the San Francisco Bay. Asked if she is okay she replies "I don't know." She can't feel her legs, she does not know her name. She can discern that the decor of a hospital room is straight out of the early 90's and yet she has no autobiographical memory. Shortridge does such a good job of allowing the reader to share in Lucie's confusion and her dawning sense of discovery, fear and revelation.
Since the story is told from both the perspective of Lucie and that of her fiancee Grady, the reader is able to understand how maddening and disorienting amnesia can be for both the individual suffering through it and their family members. How do you bring someone home who doesn't remember you at all? How do you respect their privacy and try to get them to love you again? This sort of story has been told in a Nicholas Spark's novel/movie and it came across as treachly and unrealistic. Shortridge does an excellent job making Lucie and Grady's story ring true. There is an element of representing them as being destined to be together in some ways, but it doesn't come across as too much.
It was fascinating to watch Lucie view her former life through new eyes, and to eventually understand why the two wildly different Lucie's came to be. I walked away with questions about how realistic Lucie's experience with dissociative fugue was, and yet I found Shortridge's telling of Lucie's story incredibly real. In learning more about the former Lucie, I questioned why Grady was with her, or why she was in some ways cold and disconnected from others, but eventually that part of her character is explained.
I also really enjoyed the imagery in the story. Water plays as central a role in the characters lives as love and memory. Lucie wakes up, reborn, a new version of herself (or an old one I suppose) with her feet in water. Grady breaks his foot, and this immobilization is key to a great deal of character development. Because of this injury he is for the first time a fish out of water and this immobilizes his development in some ways, but also forces him to greater understanding.
I found myself particularly taken with this late "coming of age" story. Lucie is on the verge of forty and still discovering herself. Grady is beyond forty and still coming to terms with his own past, still looking to be a better person. It makes someone like me (who is on the verge of 30) feel a little bit better about what I often view as my own late development.
Love Water Memory was a very thought-provoking and engaging read. I'm interested to hear what others thought of the book.
March 30, 2013
I am a fan of Lisa Genova. While Genova writes a moving story around neurology that is captivating and heart wrenching and warming, filling the reader with hope yet not false promises, Jennie Shortridge is Genova's psychological counterpart.
The story is about Lucie, who begins the story standing in the San Francisco Bay, on the verge of hypothermia but only up to her knees in water. Problem is that Lucie has all the street and living knowledge of 39 years but her personal slate has been wiped clean. She has muscle memory to drive, play the piano and her daily tasks but remembers absolutely nothing of herself or the man claiming to be her fiance and takes her home to a house she doesn't know.
The beauty of the novel is that there is no purposeful subterfuge. Lucie truly suffers from a condition in the DSM-IV under Disassociative Disorders called the Fugue. Lucie disassociated when her mind could not cope with a traumatic event.
I supposed the book would be like "Samantha Who" and was pleasantly surprised that it was not exactly. Lucie was different but that mystery is unraveled as her history is pieced together. Lucie devotes herself into understanding what happened the night she disappeared and what caused her to react that way.
The story does not feel contrived because the author stays true to both Grady and Lucie. Both suffered losses at tender ages and both dealt with the losses the best they knew how but then became stuck in their M.O. Even though Lucie's condition forces her to examine herself more closely, Grady finds himself doing the same in a more subtle manner.
It would have been easy to write a book with shallow characters who find the error of their ways and suddenly find complete clarity. Instead the author journeys through the process of healing, regressing, taking steps forward, etc. The journey is the story and the relationship is the glue. None of the characters are or were good or bad, wrong or right. They are humans dealing with the unknowns of life and, in particular, while carrying the burdens of their childhoods.
The story is about Lucie, who begins the story standing in the San Francisco Bay, on the verge of hypothermia but only up to her knees in water. Problem is that Lucie has all the street and living knowledge of 39 years but her personal slate has been wiped clean. She has muscle memory to drive, play the piano and her daily tasks but remembers absolutely nothing of herself or the man claiming to be her fiance and takes her home to a house she doesn't know.
The beauty of the novel is that there is no purposeful subterfuge. Lucie truly suffers from a condition in the DSM-IV under Disassociative Disorders called the Fugue. Lucie disassociated when her mind could not cope with a traumatic event.
I supposed the book would be like "Samantha Who" and was pleasantly surprised that it was not exactly. Lucie was different but that mystery is unraveled as her history is pieced together. Lucie devotes herself into understanding what happened the night she disappeared and what caused her to react that way.
The story does not feel contrived because the author stays true to both Grady and Lucie. Both suffered losses at tender ages and both dealt with the losses the best they knew how but then became stuck in their M.O. Even though Lucie's condition forces her to examine herself more closely, Grady finds himself doing the same in a more subtle manner.
It would have been easy to write a book with shallow characters who find the error of their ways and suddenly find complete clarity. Instead the author journeys through the process of healing, regressing, taking steps forward, etc. The journey is the story and the relationship is the glue. None of the characters are or were good or bad, wrong or right. They are humans dealing with the unknowns of life and, in particular, while carrying the burdens of their childhoods.
January 6, 2015
Read 7/15/14 - 7/17/14
3 Stars - Recommended to fans of "memory loss and love" stories, because lord knows this stuff's been done before
Pages: 326
Publisher: Gallery Books
Released: (in paperback) January 2014
I'm going to come clean and state that Love Water Memory is not my usual fare. But you know this already. You're scratching your head as you look at this and you're probably wondering what prompted me to pick this up. I know. I know. And you're right. You are absolutely right. It's much too mainstream and the plot is just way too common to have caught my attention on its own.
So a disclaimer: the publicist for this book had reached out to me back in February and after discussing the premise, I felt it had a lot of promise as a group read for TNBBC. For that monthly Author/Reader Discussion series I host. I know juicy, conversation-sparking content when I hear it. So I planned to have the book and its author featured in the group in September. Can you believe September is only two months away? Where the hell has this year gone?! And so, based on my freak-out about the year passing by in a blink of an eye, and because I like to read what TNBBC will be discussing during these author events, I felt that now would probably be a good time to get my read on. And what a read it was.
So many things went through my head as I read it.
First. That title. Love Water Memory. It's got to go. I don't know why, but it really irks me. Maybe it's too much like Eat Pray Love? It just doesn't seem to fit the book well. And it feels waaaay too oversimplified. As if everyone who worked on the book decided "Fuck it. What three words will communicate to the audience exactly what this book is about?" Over on Twitter, I mentioned two alternative titles - "What Water Makes Us Forget" and "The Weight of Water" (that second one is pulled directly from text found within the book, and is actual my favorite of the two). Either of those are preferable to me over its current title.
Second. That cover. What is it with floating, wispy, watery lady images lately? Is this a new thing? Is it something that's got staying power? It's been done. A lot. And ok, so I think I get what they're trying to do - see, the book opens with Lucie, our leading lady, suddenly becoming aware that she is standing knee-deep in the ocean, with no memory of who she is, how she got there, or why she is there. So if you want the cover to play off of that moment, play off of it. But don't have this wispy white dress floating off of a girl half submerged, who appears to be walking deeper into the water. It's just too, I don't know, YA-looking? Maybe that's what's bothering me?
So I call the cover "been-there-done-that". And now I have to call out the plot for the same exact thing. Please keep in mind, I don't read these kind of books on the norm so if I'm saying I know it's been done, isn't that kind of telling?
Not that I'm knocking the story. Listen, I admit to sitting down and reading the entire book in two days. It's engaging and kept me turning the pages. Not because I HAD to turn them, but because I wanted to. I enjoyed being taking on Lucie's journey of self-re-discovery, uncovering who she was and how she had changed after coming out of the disassociative fugue state that day she "awoke" alone and confused standing in the San Francisco Bay. It was interesting, the way we were led along by Lucie as she began to piece together what triggered her mental collapse, learning the secrets her aunt, fiancee, and even she herself had been harboring.
I thought the strangeness, the tension-filled awkwardness between Lucie and her fiancee Grady, who came to collect her from the hospital once she was "found" and of whom she had no recollection, was well written and also quite frustrating. All of the internal talk - the concern and worry they both had but failed to put into words, the tip-toeing around each other for fear of pushing too hard or being rejected - seemed so unnecessary and yet, it was that very tension that Jennie Shortridge built her entire novel around. There were moments where you thought... ok, here we go, finally, some conflict, some "get it all out of your system and feel better for it later" head-on conversation, but every single time, Lucie and Grady, or Lucy and Helen backed off... waaaay off, and defaulted back to their internalization, rationalizing that the timing was not good, or just flat out chickening out. Now, the sadist in me was upset to see all of those opportunities go passing by, but the emotional me could see why Shortridge took that approach. It forced her to flesh the characters out more. It helped you connect with them as their individual stories slowly came to light.
Looking back on it all, Love Water Memory was a pleasant, kick-back-and-just-get-lost-in-the-story read. It required little more than just simply letting go and going with the flow.
Does the story eventually come to a nice, happy, satisfying close? Does Lucie get her memories back? Does she find out what triggered her disassociative fugue and get the closure she so desperately needs and longs for? Do things work out between the new her and her fiancee? Well, you're just going to have to pick up a copy and find out!
And oh the fun we are going to have discussing the ins and outs of it all when we host the book and its author in September! You'll come join us, won't you? Watch out for the giveaway, which will run during the first week of August. Land yourself a free copy so you can read it for yourself and then hit us up come discussion time! I wanna know what you think!
3 Stars - Recommended to fans of "memory loss and love" stories, because lord knows this stuff's been done before
Pages: 326
Publisher: Gallery Books
Released: (in paperback) January 2014
I'm going to come clean and state that Love Water Memory is not my usual fare. But you know this already. You're scratching your head as you look at this and you're probably wondering what prompted me to pick this up. I know. I know. And you're right. You are absolutely right. It's much too mainstream and the plot is just way too common to have caught my attention on its own.
So a disclaimer: the publicist for this book had reached out to me back in February and after discussing the premise, I felt it had a lot of promise as a group read for TNBBC. For that monthly Author/Reader Discussion series I host. I know juicy, conversation-sparking content when I hear it. So I planned to have the book and its author featured in the group in September. Can you believe September is only two months away? Where the hell has this year gone?! And so, based on my freak-out about the year passing by in a blink of an eye, and because I like to read what TNBBC will be discussing during these author events, I felt that now would probably be a good time to get my read on. And what a read it was.
So many things went through my head as I read it.
First. That title. Love Water Memory. It's got to go. I don't know why, but it really irks me. Maybe it's too much like Eat Pray Love? It just doesn't seem to fit the book well. And it feels waaaay too oversimplified. As if everyone who worked on the book decided "Fuck it. What three words will communicate to the audience exactly what this book is about?" Over on Twitter, I mentioned two alternative titles - "What Water Makes Us Forget" and "The Weight of Water" (that second one is pulled directly from text found within the book, and is actual my favorite of the two). Either of those are preferable to me over its current title.
Second. That cover. What is it with floating, wispy, watery lady images lately? Is this a new thing? Is it something that's got staying power? It's been done. A lot. And ok, so I think I get what they're trying to do - see, the book opens with Lucie, our leading lady, suddenly becoming aware that she is standing knee-deep in the ocean, with no memory of who she is, how she got there, or why she is there. So if you want the cover to play off of that moment, play off of it. But don't have this wispy white dress floating off of a girl half submerged, who appears to be walking deeper into the water. It's just too, I don't know, YA-looking? Maybe that's what's bothering me?
So I call the cover "been-there-done-that". And now I have to call out the plot for the same exact thing. Please keep in mind, I don't read these kind of books on the norm so if I'm saying I know it's been done, isn't that kind of telling?
Not that I'm knocking the story. Listen, I admit to sitting down and reading the entire book in two days. It's engaging and kept me turning the pages. Not because I HAD to turn them, but because I wanted to. I enjoyed being taking on Lucie's journey of self-re-discovery, uncovering who she was and how she had changed after coming out of the disassociative fugue state that day she "awoke" alone and confused standing in the San Francisco Bay. It was interesting, the way we were led along by Lucie as she began to piece together what triggered her mental collapse, learning the secrets her aunt, fiancee, and even she herself had been harboring.
I thought the strangeness, the tension-filled awkwardness between Lucie and her fiancee Grady, who came to collect her from the hospital once she was "found" and of whom she had no recollection, was well written and also quite frustrating. All of the internal talk - the concern and worry they both had but failed to put into words, the tip-toeing around each other for fear of pushing too hard or being rejected - seemed so unnecessary and yet, it was that very tension that Jennie Shortridge built her entire novel around. There were moments where you thought... ok, here we go, finally, some conflict, some "get it all out of your system and feel better for it later" head-on conversation, but every single time, Lucie and Grady, or Lucy and Helen backed off... waaaay off, and defaulted back to their internalization, rationalizing that the timing was not good, or just flat out chickening out. Now, the sadist in me was upset to see all of those opportunities go passing by, but the emotional me could see why Shortridge took that approach. It forced her to flesh the characters out more. It helped you connect with them as their individual stories slowly came to light.
Looking back on it all, Love Water Memory was a pleasant, kick-back-and-just-get-lost-in-the-story read. It required little more than just simply letting go and going with the flow.
Does the story eventually come to a nice, happy, satisfying close? Does Lucie get her memories back? Does she find out what triggered her disassociative fugue and get the closure she so desperately needs and longs for? Do things work out between the new her and her fiancee? Well, you're just going to have to pick up a copy and find out!
And oh the fun we are going to have discussing the ins and outs of it all when we host the book and its author in September! You'll come join us, won't you? Watch out for the giveaway, which will run during the first week of August. Land yourself a free copy so you can read it for yourself and then hit us up come discussion time! I wanna know what you think!
December 9, 2012
The first page pulls you into the deep end. Lucie is found, standing knee-deep in the San Francisco Bay, dressed in her Armani suit. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. News coverage in hopes of finding her identity bring her fiance, Grady to her side, all the way from Seattle. Going 'home' does not jog her memory, Grady is a stranger to her, but she sees what a good person he is.
What we learn through Grady's thoughts and seeing post-amnesia Lucie is that the old Lucie wasn't all that likable, being demanding, precise, rigid and a loner who refused to open up about herself or her past. New Lucie is friendly, outgoing, sweet, but still has that headstrong attitude. Which is the real Lucie? Why has she blocked out her past? What does it take to 'fix' her?
It's obvious that Grady cares for the new Lucie, possibly more than the old Lucie, whom he used to help hide himself from his own feelings of inadequacy and weakness, after all, his life was always run by overbearing, strong, over-protective women.
Then, there is Lucie's long estranged aunt, who reconnects with her after almost two decades.
I fell in love with this story, written so vibrantly, yet so delicately, like watching a red rose unfold as Lucie, Grady and Helen heal from their past wounds.
This ARC copy of Love Water Memory was given to me by NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. Pub Date Apr 2 2013
What we learn through Grady's thoughts and seeing post-amnesia Lucie is that the old Lucie wasn't all that likable, being demanding, precise, rigid and a loner who refused to open up about herself or her past. New Lucie is friendly, outgoing, sweet, but still has that headstrong attitude. Which is the real Lucie? Why has she blocked out her past? What does it take to 'fix' her?
It's obvious that Grady cares for the new Lucie, possibly more than the old Lucie, whom he used to help hide himself from his own feelings of inadequacy and weakness, after all, his life was always run by overbearing, strong, over-protective women.
Then, there is Lucie's long estranged aunt, who reconnects with her after almost two decades.
I fell in love with this story, written so vibrantly, yet so delicately, like watching a red rose unfold as Lucie, Grady and Helen heal from their past wounds.
This ARC copy of Love Water Memory was given to me by NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. Pub Date Apr 2 2013
January 16, 2014
"What is love, she wondered, and what is memory? Where did the two intercect, and when would it no longer matter what came first..?"
This wasn't a thriller or the type of book that you may consider as an adventure. This is a heartfelt, deep story filled with raw emotions that makes you think about your own actions.
When Lucie Walker found herself at San Francisco Bay not remembering who she was, she knew that something terrible had happened. She had no memory of who she was but the things around her made her feel real. As in she could find out who this Lucie really was. But then she finds out that she has fiance and they are supposed to get married in just few months.
Lucie finds herself trying to remember the person she's supposed to love while Grady finds himself trying to love a person who is the same but completely different. With slow pace but honestly, Love Water Memory is the kind of book that wants you to look at the person next to you and think about what would happen if that happened to you. It's not a fun little read that you can breeze through, it is a story of a mental battle of woman who has a second chance to find herself and start from blank slate.
December 24, 2012
The book begins when Lucie finds herself standing in the waters of San Francisco Bay with no memory of who she is and how she got there. She is reunited with her fiancé Grady, and for the rest of the book, she tries to put the pieces back together and rebuild her life with Grady. As memories start coming back, Lucie learns that she wasn’t such a nice person to others and tries to make amends. Her fiancé, Grady, has his own struggles which are played out in alternating chapters of the book. A few chapters are also told from the perspective of Lucie’s aunt, Helen, who had taken Lucie into her home when Lucie was 15.
While the premise is a good one, how well do we really know ourselves, the people we love and can we change, I found something was missing for me. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and found myself skipping entire paragraphs. I wasn’t drawn in and found the story to be a bit muddled at times. However, some of Lucie’s ‘new’ experiences like ‘butter on bread, hot showers, the silence of sleep’ made me stop and think about all the small things that I appreciate in my own life.
While the premise is a good one, how well do we really know ourselves, the people we love and can we change, I found something was missing for me. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and found myself skipping entire paragraphs. I wasn’t drawn in and found the story to be a bit muddled at times. However, some of Lucie’s ‘new’ experiences like ‘butter on bread, hot showers, the silence of sleep’ made me stop and think about all the small things that I appreciate in my own life.
dnf
November 1, 20232023 tbr: 75/100
dnf @ page 69
dnf @ page 69
June 16, 2019
To wzruszajaca historia o poszukiwaniu wlasnej tozsamosci, milosci i zrozumieniu.
Lucie to dziewczyna, ktora zostaje odnaleziona daleko od domu. W skutek traumatycznych przezyc traci pamiec, jej wspomnienia i przeszle zycie zostaje calkowicie wymazane z jej umyslu.
Odnajduje ja narzeczony, Grady, ktory mimo, ze sam w sobie nosi ogromny smutek nie poddaje sie, by dotrzec do dziewczyny, z ktora los go zwiazal i ktora poprostu kocha.
Niezwykle emocjonujaca historia o poszukiwaniu siebie, potrzebie akceptacji i milosci. Warto.
Lucie to dziewczyna, ktora zostaje odnaleziona daleko od domu. W skutek traumatycznych przezyc traci pamiec, jej wspomnienia i przeszle zycie zostaje calkowicie wymazane z jej umyslu.
Odnajduje ja narzeczony, Grady, ktory mimo, ze sam w sobie nosi ogromny smutek nie poddaje sie, by dotrzec do dziewczyny, z ktora los go zwiazal i ktora poprostu kocha.
Niezwykle emocjonujaca historia o poszukiwaniu siebie, potrzebie akceptacji i milosci. Warto.
August 12, 2015
Why I picked it: I had read Jennie's book Eating Heaven which I just loved. When I saw that this book was available as an advance read on NetGalley.com I jumped at the chance to read her newest novel.
Synopsis: Waking up knee-deep in the San Francisco Bay with no understanding of how she got there, thirty-nine-year-old Lucie Walker discovers she has no memories of her past or her loving fiancé, Grady. After being diagnosed with a rare form of amnesia, Lucie returns to her previous life with Grady in Seattle only to find evidence of the "old" Lucie—an insecure and shallow personality she no longer recognizes, or wants to. Like a detective, the new Lucie attempts to find the path from past to present, only to remember shocking pieces of a dark childhood that tempt her to run away from everything all over again.
Type: Fiction
Quick Take: Wow. I am always nervous I am not going to like a second book I read from an author, but I had no need to worry about this book. It was wonderful. Jennie has a great way of drawing you in and keeping you engaged. It's one of those books I couldn't wait to get to the end to see what happens, and yet I didn't want it to end.
This story takes place from several people's points of view. For me this worked really well as when one starts a new book it is as though you have amnesia. You have no memory of what happened before and you try to glean the past from bits of information from those around you. So we are right there learning about her past as she is. When we get Grady's point of view we see the type of person she had been, and it helps us pull for them as a couple.
I liked Lucie from the moment I met her. I would not have liked her had the story started before she lost her memory. To me that would have been a predictable "Chick Lit" story... Hard-nosed robot woman with wonderful boyfriend/fiancée is about to lose the only good thing in her life... until she loses her memory.
Just when I thought the story began to lag and began to get a bit impatient with both Lucie and Grady for making assumptions about each other and the situation the story moved on.
I loved the use of colors to set the mood and describe people. It reminded me of an old Woody Allen movie "Interiors” where he used colors to describe two different women; the first wife who recently died (as well as her daughters) all wore beige, white cream etc. The new wife and step mother wore loud bright colors and was full of life. The movie was about how the family coped with these two totally different women. Lucie was both of those women. Her monochrome wardrobe before her amnesia and then her desire to wear more colorful clothes immediately reminded me of this movie.
This is a book that I am definitely going to re-read, and I NEVER do that. I look forward to seeing these characters now, knowing the history and what lead to this point.
I do hope we may see these characters again. I would love to know what happens to them going forward, and what struggles they have as they all begin a new life.
Rating: 4/5 - would highly recommend
Source: Free copy NetGalley.com and the publisher Gallery Books
Synopsis: Waking up knee-deep in the San Francisco Bay with no understanding of how she got there, thirty-nine-year-old Lucie Walker discovers she has no memories of her past or her loving fiancé, Grady. After being diagnosed with a rare form of amnesia, Lucie returns to her previous life with Grady in Seattle only to find evidence of the "old" Lucie—an insecure and shallow personality she no longer recognizes, or wants to. Like a detective, the new Lucie attempts to find the path from past to present, only to remember shocking pieces of a dark childhood that tempt her to run away from everything all over again.
Type: Fiction
Quick Take: Wow. I am always nervous I am not going to like a second book I read from an author, but I had no need to worry about this book. It was wonderful. Jennie has a great way of drawing you in and keeping you engaged. It's one of those books I couldn't wait to get to the end to see what happens, and yet I didn't want it to end.
This story takes place from several people's points of view. For me this worked really well as when one starts a new book it is as though you have amnesia. You have no memory of what happened before and you try to glean the past from bits of information from those around you. So we are right there learning about her past as she is. When we get Grady's point of view we see the type of person she had been, and it helps us pull for them as a couple.
I liked Lucie from the moment I met her. I would not have liked her had the story started before she lost her memory. To me that would have been a predictable "Chick Lit" story... Hard-nosed robot woman with wonderful boyfriend/fiancée is about to lose the only good thing in her life... until she loses her memory.
Just when I thought the story began to lag and began to get a bit impatient with both Lucie and Grady for making assumptions about each other and the situation the story moved on.
I loved the use of colors to set the mood and describe people. It reminded me of an old Woody Allen movie "Interiors” where he used colors to describe two different women; the first wife who recently died (as well as her daughters) all wore beige, white cream etc. The new wife and step mother wore loud bright colors and was full of life. The movie was about how the family coped with these two totally different women. Lucie was both of those women. Her monochrome wardrobe before her amnesia and then her desire to wear more colorful clothes immediately reminded me of this movie.
This is a book that I am definitely going to re-read, and I NEVER do that. I look forward to seeing these characters now, knowing the history and what lead to this point.
I do hope we may see these characters again. I would love to know what happens to them going forward, and what struggles they have as they all begin a new life.
Rating: 4/5 - would highly recommend
Source: Free copy NetGalley.com and the publisher Gallery Books
April 10, 2013
When there is memory loss involved in a story, you tend to think: thriller! Because you can tell a person with memory loss anything, and they have to believe you on your word. “You” being the baddie in the book.
Not in this case. This is a book about getting to know each other again, after a woman has suffered memory loss and is home with her fiancé after a short spell in hospital. Not only Lucie has to get to know her fiancé again, he, Grady, has to get used to this new Lucie, too. She’s is friendlier, talks to her neighbors, isn’t as driven and workaholic as she used to be.
The way they are constantly attracted to each other and then push away again because they are not sure what the other’s feelings are, is very well described. Grayd and Luce don’t talk to each other enough, that is the main problem, and that’s very frustrating for the reader. But since they don’t know each other as they used to, they don’t dare to be completely honest, as they don’t know what the reaction will be.
New-Lucie seemed a lot nicer than the old Lucie, as she is portrayed by the people that knew her before. Grady, however, was a rather spineless person and I didn’t like him all that much. He kept things from Lucie not only to make her life easier, but also his own!
The secrets-from-the-past come to the surface bit by bit and they help Lucie get back her memory. That was an interesting part of the story, too.
I very much enjoyed reading this book!
Not in this case. This is a book about getting to know each other again, after a woman has suffered memory loss and is home with her fiancé after a short spell in hospital. Not only Lucie has to get to know her fiancé again, he, Grady, has to get used to this new Lucie, too. She’s is friendlier, talks to her neighbors, isn’t as driven and workaholic as she used to be.
The way they are constantly attracted to each other and then push away again because they are not sure what the other’s feelings are, is very well described. Grayd and Luce don’t talk to each other enough, that is the main problem, and that’s very frustrating for the reader. But since they don’t know each other as they used to, they don’t dare to be completely honest, as they don’t know what the reaction will be.
New-Lucie seemed a lot nicer than the old Lucie, as she is portrayed by the people that knew her before. Grady, however, was a rather spineless person and I didn’t like him all that much. He kept things from Lucie not only to make her life easier, but also his own!
The secrets-from-the-past come to the surface bit by bit and they help Lucie get back her memory. That was an interesting part of the story, too.
I very much enjoyed reading this book!
January 13, 2014
What if one day you forgot who you were? What would happen, if one day your brain decided to erase all your memories, habits, personality.. everything that makes you you? What would you learn about yourself from bits and pieces of information offered by people in your life? What would you discover about yourself by looking at what you've accomplished so far? The things you've collected and cherished, but can no longer understand why or what for? Would you be happy with who you were? Who you used to be? Or would you try and start over, choose a different path and make some big changes in your life?
Would you fall in love with the same person again? And would they know how to love the new you?
Lucie Walker, a 39-year old recruiter for tech companies, is forced to start all over when she comes to miles away from home, knee-deep in cold waters of San Francisco Bay. She doesn't know how she got there or even who she is. She's been missing for 8 days. Her mind is blank, memories wiped out. Doctors call it dissociative fugue, a condition that causes people to temporarily lose their sense of identity and impulsively wander or travel away from their homes. But what happened to Lucie that was so traumatizing to result in a mental break down? And will she ever recover from it, or is her past - her entire life filled with memories - lost for good?
Jennie Shortridge wrote a beautiful, meaningful and very powerful story that I won't be able to forget easily (if ever!). Through her thought-provoking and emotionally affecting prose, she examines themes such as memory, identity, the role of family and how it shapes who we are, the loss of a parent and how it affects our lives, and - ultimately - the cause and aftermath of mental illness. Lucie's story was completely absorbing and riveting. It tugged at my heart strings and made me reflect on my own life, identity and the relationships I've built over the years. It made me take a step back and try to see myself through other people's eyes, and that was a priceless and eye-opening experience.
Love, Water, Memory is filled with symbolism (water, music) and flavorful, carefully shaped and realistically flawed characters. Told from the perspectives of three people whose lives intertwine with one another, it's a novel that resonates deeply and leaves a permanent footprint in your heart. I savored each page of this book and couldn't put it down. This book is fantastically readable and absorbing. Shortridge's writing style is delectably honest, her words flow effortlessly and capture the full spectrum of the characters' emotions. It's simple, yet very evocative and reflective. A perfect read for anyone who enjoys a compelling and meaningful story they can relate to - whether they were ever faced with a similar situation or not.
Lucy is a fascinating character - one that changes a lot throughout the story. She's a prisoner of her own traumatic past and I found it extremely interesting that, in order to regain balance in her life and finally start living, she had to first lose herself completely. After she's brought back home by her fiance, Grady, she's trying desperately to put the pieces of her life back together, but she soon discovers that she doesn't really like the emerging picture. She learns things that unsettle her and make her question what kind of person she was before. Her need to fill the void in her life by purchasing things - expensive things, that usually weren't even taken out of their boxes when they arrived. Her obsession with fashion and the need to control every single part of her and her fiance's life together. Her determination to keep everyone at arm's length. And, ultimately, the things she learns about her past, things she worked so hard to keep buried and forgotten...
Love, Water, Memory is a book that grabs you with its incredibly captivating prose, disquieting energy, gut-wrenching reveals, and unforgettable cast of characters. I can't tell you how much I loved it, but then again, you should definitely read it and experience it for yourself.
Would you fall in love with the same person again? And would they know how to love the new you?
Lucie Walker, a 39-year old recruiter for tech companies, is forced to start all over when she comes to miles away from home, knee-deep in cold waters of San Francisco Bay. She doesn't know how she got there or even who she is. She's been missing for 8 days. Her mind is blank, memories wiped out. Doctors call it dissociative fugue, a condition that causes people to temporarily lose their sense of identity and impulsively wander or travel away from their homes. But what happened to Lucie that was so traumatizing to result in a mental break down? And will she ever recover from it, or is her past - her entire life filled with memories - lost for good?
Jennie Shortridge wrote a beautiful, meaningful and very powerful story that I won't be able to forget easily (if ever!). Through her thought-provoking and emotionally affecting prose, she examines themes such as memory, identity, the role of family and how it shapes who we are, the loss of a parent and how it affects our lives, and - ultimately - the cause and aftermath of mental illness. Lucie's story was completely absorbing and riveting. It tugged at my heart strings and made me reflect on my own life, identity and the relationships I've built over the years. It made me take a step back and try to see myself through other people's eyes, and that was a priceless and eye-opening experience.
Love, Water, Memory is filled with symbolism (water, music) and flavorful, carefully shaped and realistically flawed characters. Told from the perspectives of three people whose lives intertwine with one another, it's a novel that resonates deeply and leaves a permanent footprint in your heart. I savored each page of this book and couldn't put it down. This book is fantastically readable and absorbing. Shortridge's writing style is delectably honest, her words flow effortlessly and capture the full spectrum of the characters' emotions. It's simple, yet very evocative and reflective. A perfect read for anyone who enjoys a compelling and meaningful story they can relate to - whether they were ever faced with a similar situation or not.
Lucy is a fascinating character - one that changes a lot throughout the story. She's a prisoner of her own traumatic past and I found it extremely interesting that, in order to regain balance in her life and finally start living, she had to first lose herself completely. After she's brought back home by her fiance, Grady, she's trying desperately to put the pieces of her life back together, but she soon discovers that she doesn't really like the emerging picture. She learns things that unsettle her and make her question what kind of person she was before. Her need to fill the void in her life by purchasing things - expensive things, that usually weren't even taken out of their boxes when they arrived. Her obsession with fashion and the need to control every single part of her and her fiance's life together. Her determination to keep everyone at arm's length. And, ultimately, the things she learns about her past, things she worked so hard to keep buried and forgotten...
Love, Water, Memory is a book that grabs you with its incredibly captivating prose, disquieting energy, gut-wrenching reveals, and unforgettable cast of characters. I can't tell you how much I loved it, but then again, you should definitely read it and experience it for yourself.
February 26, 2015
This seemed like an interesting mystery. I wanted to know what caused the amnesia so I read the whole book through. There are a great many tidbits in the book that seem to be leading somewhere but are never really developed. Lucie's budding relationships with relatives and neighbors could have developed into something heartwarming but you never get more than a glimpse of the possibilities. I think I might have preferred a story about Grady's six sisters. I was ready to join their barbeque!
I felt the author threw info into the story without ever knowing much about it.
"..coaching and mentoring him through the rigorous process of landing a job with the product development team at Boeing. Sure, it wasn't the design job he'd hoped for--his engineering bachelor's precluded that, she said.." The people I know on the product development team at Boeing are definitely designing an airplane and usually have BS in some type of engineering.
Grady has a broken foot and a bruised heel and is up walking around in his boot and driving after a couple of weeks. I doubt if the author has ever broken a foot. Most people that fracture their heel bone aren't allowed to put weight on it for 6 weeks. They usually zoom around with a knee scooter.
The story is just so fragmented and so many things are just left hanging. They have an expensive wedding planned in only 6 weeks when Lucie goes missing. I kept worrying about the deposits. Why wasn't anyone cancelling the arrangements?
Even though it isn't really a romance novel we do read a lot about Grady's erections. I thought it was totally unnecessary. The old Lucie seemed like a very controlling person and Grady lacked backbone so it was hard to imagine their relationship as a wonderful love story. The new Lucie seemed like a fun person who didn't really need Grady especially since she couldn't remember anything about him. She was on a quest to discover what she had forgotten about her life and most the time he just withheld information. It was confusing why she could remember somethings and not others.
I felt the author threw info into the story without ever knowing much about it.
"..coaching and mentoring him through the rigorous process of landing a job with the product development team at Boeing. Sure, it wasn't the design job he'd hoped for--his engineering bachelor's precluded that, she said.." The people I know on the product development team at Boeing are definitely designing an airplane and usually have BS in some type of engineering.
Grady has a broken foot and a bruised heel and is up walking around in his boot and driving after a couple of weeks. I doubt if the author has ever broken a foot. Most people that fracture their heel bone aren't allowed to put weight on it for 6 weeks. They usually zoom around with a knee scooter.
The story is just so fragmented and so many things are just left hanging. They have an expensive wedding planned in only 6 weeks when Lucie goes missing. I kept worrying about the deposits. Why wasn't anyone cancelling the arrangements?
Even though it isn't really a romance novel we do read a lot about Grady's erections. I thought it was totally unnecessary. The old Lucie seemed like a very controlling person and Grady lacked backbone so it was hard to imagine their relationship as a wonderful love story. The new Lucie seemed like a fun person who didn't really need Grady especially since she couldn't remember anything about him. She was on a quest to discover what she had forgotten about her life and most the time he just withheld information. It was confusing why she could remember somethings and not others.
January 22, 2014
I really enjoyed this story, it was different from my usual style, but I'm glad I signed up to read this one.
The story starts with Lucy "coming to" knee deep in water. She has no idea how she got there and no idea of who she is. Luckily there are people near and help her out of the near freezing water. She is hospitalized and has no recollection of how she ended up in the water, or where she came from. Her story is covered on the news, and soon a fiancé comes to take her home. But, how does she know he really is her fiancé?
Grady doesn't know how to act, he was glad when he saw her face on the news, but so upset that she doesn't know him.
He feels bad because of the day she disappeared, they had fought. And once he realizes that she doesn't remember, he feels like it's a good thing she doesn't remember the fight.
Once they get home, Grady realizes how much this Lucy is different from "his" Lucy. He loves her and tries to do right by her but he keeps doing the opposite of what she needs.
Things from Lucy's past reappear and you finally get a glimpse of why she was the type of person who was "unfriendly". Will Grady be able to love this new version of Lucy?
This story was beautifully written with twists and turns I didn't expect. It wasn't super angsty, and had a beautiful love story in the end. Well worth the read!
The story starts with Lucy "coming to" knee deep in water. She has no idea how she got there and no idea of who she is. Luckily there are people near and help her out of the near freezing water. She is hospitalized and has no recollection of how she ended up in the water, or where she came from. Her story is covered on the news, and soon a fiancé comes to take her home. But, how does she know he really is her fiancé?
Grady doesn't know how to act, he was glad when he saw her face on the news, but so upset that she doesn't know him.
He feels bad because of the day she disappeared, they had fought. And once he realizes that she doesn't remember, he feels like it's a good thing she doesn't remember the fight.
Once they get home, Grady realizes how much this Lucy is different from "his" Lucy. He loves her and tries to do right by her but he keeps doing the opposite of what she needs.
Things from Lucy's past reappear and you finally get a glimpse of why she was the type of person who was "unfriendly". Will Grady be able to love this new version of Lucy?
This story was beautifully written with twists and turns I didn't expect. It wasn't super angsty, and had a beautiful love story in the end. Well worth the read!
May 21, 2013
This was a touching story of a woman who finds herself suddenly in ankle deep water, not knowing who she is or anything about herself. The main characters, Lucie and Grady, were very sympathetic and likeable, and I wanted the story to play out well for both of them. The storyline caught and held my attention, and kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking for the author's backlist.
Lucie suffers what the doctors tell her is a dissociative fugue, and remembers nothing about herself or her life. Her fiancé, Grady, comes to the hospital and takes her home, where she tries to learn about herself. This is difficult when most of her decided preferences now, are completely contrary to her past nature. She soon learns that all was not well between herself and Grady, and she realizes that she has to come to terms with whatever was in her past and build a new life, with or without Grady.
I loved this book. The characters really resonated with me, and I found their story alternately warming and heartbreaking. In the beginning, I was afraid I wouldn't like Lucie, but she quickly captured my heart. I enjoyed the flow of the story, and it kept me captivated. I received this ARC through Netgalley.
Lucie suffers what the doctors tell her is a dissociative fugue, and remembers nothing about herself or her life. Her fiancé, Grady, comes to the hospital and takes her home, where she tries to learn about herself. This is difficult when most of her decided preferences now, are completely contrary to her past nature. She soon learns that all was not well between herself and Grady, and she realizes that she has to come to terms with whatever was in her past and build a new life, with or without Grady.
I loved this book. The characters really resonated with me, and I found their story alternately warming and heartbreaking. In the beginning, I was afraid I wouldn't like Lucie, but she quickly captured my heart. I enjoyed the flow of the story, and it kept me captivated. I received this ARC through Netgalley.
March 11, 2013
A tender, poignant novel about Lucie, who wakes to a state of awareness and finds herself standing knee-deep in the 60 degree water of the San Francisco Bay. Concerned strangers help her to shore, and she realizes she has no idea who she is or why she's there. A dissociative fugue state, the doctors say. Retrieved later by Grady, her fiancee, who has been searching for her for a week, Lucie gradually comes to realize at their Seattle home that she doesn't resonate with the driven, secretive, and image conscious woman it seems she used to be. As she searches for her memories, she and Grady reconnect with each other and they both start to come to terms with the losses they've suffered in their lives at an early age. But the dark secrets in Lucie's past may overcome the healing she's been able to accomplish and the fragile relationship Lucie and Grady have developed. Recommend this one to fans of domestic fiction authors like Elizabeth Berg or Cathy Lamb.
I read an eARC of this Washington author's novel, provided courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. The book is due out in April 2013.
I read an eARC of this Washington author's novel, provided courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. The book is due out in April 2013.
March 10, 2013
I loved this book. Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the chance to read it before publication. Where to start. I can't pinpoint exactly what I liked best, but I really didn't want to put this book down. Something about the story resonated in me and I liked everything about it. One of the ideas that I found intriguing about the book was the concept that a person can truly change. I think we would all at times like to change who we are and become someone better. Lucie did just that as she emerged from her amnesia. How realist it is medically, I don't really care, since it's fiction anyway. Although there were parts of the book that did seem a bit like chick-lit (mostly the main story line), there was a strong underlying story about the power of love to heal and overcome even the worst of life's experiences. Grady and aunt Helen emerge as catalysts eventually in helping Lucie overcome her past, but she is really the shining star of the book. It is a powerful and moving story. I recommend Love Water Memory for anyone who enjoys modern drama with a fragile kind of loveliness similar to that of author, Jodi Picoult. Don't miss this one!
June 22, 2013
*3.5 Stars*I was lucky to receive an ARC of this novel, provided courtesy of Gallery Books. Similar to Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson (although without that book’s menacing edge) about a woman suffering with amnesia. Lucie, the main narrator, wakes up one day in San Francisco with no memory of her past. She is finally rescued and returned to Seattle by her current boyfriend/fiancé. The book follows her search for long-repressed memories (mostly of a damaged childhood) as she rebuilds her relationship with Grady, her fiancé. I enjoyed this novel. It was entertaining as well as quite plausible…not as necessary to suspend belief as it was with the S. J. Watson book. The novel was engaging until the end as layers from Lucie’s past begin to peel away and long buried secrets are revealed.
November 13, 2015
Amnesia. The power of memory. Love. Family. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a while. I really enjoyed it.
Lucie loses her memories. All of them. I can't even imagine. This book explores what might happen to your life if you had the slate wiped clean. Would you have the same interests? Mannerisms? Values? Would you love who you loved before? Such an interesting concept. Great book--I definitely recommend.
Lucie loses her memories. All of them. I can't even imagine. This book explores what might happen to your life if you had the slate wiped clean. Would you have the same interests? Mannerisms? Values? Would you love who you loved before? Such an interesting concept. Great book--I definitely recommend.
January 20, 2014
"I'm not unhappy. I'm... I don't know what I am. I don't even know that." [Lucie] lowered the napkin. This was all coming out wrong. "Who am I, Grady? What makes me me? Why am I here with you?"
Lucie Walker used to be the kind of Type-A woman who meticulously planned everything: what she did at her day job, what she ate for breakfast, what she would wear to her wedding. Losing her memory two months before her 40th birthday was not on the agenda. After she is found knees-deep in the water hundreds of miles from home, she is sent to the hospital, where she is greeted by a handsome man who pulls her into a painfully unfamiliar lover's embrace. She finally realizes she is Lucie Walker, the Lucie Walker who planned everything and has a caring fiancé; the Lucie Walker whom she does not remember. Now, in the world her previous self left behind, Lucie is alone, without even her own memory to keep her company... and in this world, she needs to trust someone since she can no longer trust herself.
The entire process of Grady and Lucie reacquainting—finding love and companionship in each other all over again—was clever, well-paced, and inevitably romantic. Grady's pain of missing the old Lucie—his meticulous, aloof Lucie—but struggle over falling for the new one—the warm, sweet Lucie—is relatable and raw, while Lucie's inability to remember everything about the man she's supposed to love, equally difficult. Shortridge accurately portrays the helplessness that the couple fall into during this tragedy, which, as Lucie discovers as she slowly recovers her memory through various environmental triggers, occurred in the wake of different kind of tragedy that Grady is reluctant to bring up.
Grady is plagued by the guilt of what happened at home that caused Lucie to flee in the first place, but he can't bring it up with the new Lucie—not when he's feeling first-time butterflies all over again, not when, this time around, he actually may have a shot to make her happy. Grady is a flawed, but in essence, perfect hero; he is a man to fall in love with. I love how he is sensitive and thoughtful, and sometimes recedes into his own thoughts. He is a beta hero who, although shy and rather fragile, listens to his gut, thinks too deeply, and always acts with passion.
We get both new Lucie's and Grady's perspectives in the third person, so it was difficult to really sympathize with either character intimately. I felt bad for the characters because of the frustration and impossibility of renewing their original relationship, but I couldn't really side with either of them, especially Lucie. Because she pretty much doesn't have an identity throughout the novel (although it does slowly build up as she learns more and more about her repressed past), her perspective is like that of an infant's; she continuously discovers people, places, and things around her, but not very deeply. However, this curiosity leads her to reconnecting with a part of her family that she strictly kept silent about before her amnesic episode. Old Lucie was the kind of woman who was so damaged by childhood that she couldn't even speak of it, but now that she's not only willing to talk to Grady about whatever "it" is, but also actively trying to find out why she might have entered dissociative fugue, the hideous, inconceivable demons of her past begin to surface.
This is the part I really couldn't get into. The loss in Lucie's teenage years is terrible, yes, and the trigger that caused her to completely blank out, even more traumatic, but there is no twist or no heart-pounding discovery. Small snippets of old Lucie's life flicker in her now empty mind alluding some sort of ghastly experience, but when readers are finally enlightened, it's a bit of a letdown. The climax is predictable, and I'll admit it's not like it's no big deal, but it was just poorly executed. Afterwards, the closing action just drooped... nothing is really resolved, and the ending doesn't offer much either.
While the book is wholly about Lucie's dissociative fugue, it does very little to entertain the subject of mental illness. It's an obvious fact that trauma and repression can lead to memory loss; Shortridge does not elaborate upon this. In fact, Lucie does not even visit a psychiatrist, so if you're thinking about trying this one solely because you like stories about mental disorders, this isn't really the best book to pick up.
I was also not a huge fan of the writing. Shortridge can tell a damn good story with a fresh voice—very readable, very modern—but her style just isn't eloquent. The subject matter is fascinating, and the story illuminates upon how obstacles can be overcome by the power of love, but the writing just seemed very clumsy to me. There is nothing poetic or expressive in Shortridge's hand; I was anticipating it to be gorgeous, sentimental, and detailed, but instead found it to be rather mediocre.
Pros
Characters are vividly formed; seem so human // Gradual mystery // Complex family dynamics portrayed // Very easy to read; kept me on edge and wanting to read more // Complicated emotions regarding identity // Strong message on the power of love
Cons
Writing isn't that substantial // While the subject matter is grave, Lucie's path to discovery is nothing profound // Difficult to sympathize with situation and characters // Mental illness is not deeply portrayed
Love
[Grady] reached for her hands, held them inside his. "I want to know," he said. These were the details he'd yearned for when they first met, the ones he'd pressed too hard to get. And now that she was going to tell him, finally—now that she could tell him—he felt something inside crumbling. He held her hands to keep her as close as possible as she revealed what she'd learned... the ugly, the poignant, the mundane... He could handle these truths, he realized, because the sum of them was Lucie.
Verdict
Thoroughly moving and provocative, Love Water Memory examines the effects of trauma, the principles and necessity of family, and the miraculous gift of second chances. Although I was not impressed by the unembellished writing style and the fact that mental health isn't significantly addressed, I did enjoy this luminescent novel of the certain magic of love—the magic that, for Lucie and Grady, separates a brand new start from the misfortune of reliving the same pain. The emotions are heavy, while the carefully hidden, agonizingly uncovered secrets, extremely grave in Jennie Shortridge's newest; this is a tender, serious story about being stronger than the sum of your weaknesses, and the opportunity to reconcile after inevitably hurting the ones you love.
Rating: 7 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): Not perfect, but overall enjoyable; borrow, don't buy!
Source
Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Gallery Books and Literati Author Services!).
Lucie Walker used to be the kind of Type-A woman who meticulously planned everything: what she did at her day job, what she ate for breakfast, what she would wear to her wedding. Losing her memory two months before her 40th birthday was not on the agenda. After she is found knees-deep in the water hundreds of miles from home, she is sent to the hospital, where she is greeted by a handsome man who pulls her into a painfully unfamiliar lover's embrace. She finally realizes she is Lucie Walker, the Lucie Walker who planned everything and has a caring fiancé; the Lucie Walker whom she does not remember. Now, in the world her previous self left behind, Lucie is alone, without even her own memory to keep her company... and in this world, she needs to trust someone since she can no longer trust herself.
The entire process of Grady and Lucie reacquainting—finding love and companionship in each other all over again—was clever, well-paced, and inevitably romantic. Grady's pain of missing the old Lucie—his meticulous, aloof Lucie—but struggle over falling for the new one—the warm, sweet Lucie—is relatable and raw, while Lucie's inability to remember everything about the man she's supposed to love, equally difficult. Shortridge accurately portrays the helplessness that the couple fall into during this tragedy, which, as Lucie discovers as she slowly recovers her memory through various environmental triggers, occurred in the wake of different kind of tragedy that Grady is reluctant to bring up.
Grady is plagued by the guilt of what happened at home that caused Lucie to flee in the first place, but he can't bring it up with the new Lucie—not when he's feeling first-time butterflies all over again, not when, this time around, he actually may have a shot to make her happy. Grady is a flawed, but in essence, perfect hero; he is a man to fall in love with. I love how he is sensitive and thoughtful, and sometimes recedes into his own thoughts. He is a beta hero who, although shy and rather fragile, listens to his gut, thinks too deeply, and always acts with passion.
We get both new Lucie's and Grady's perspectives in the third person, so it was difficult to really sympathize with either character intimately. I felt bad for the characters because of the frustration and impossibility of renewing their original relationship, but I couldn't really side with either of them, especially Lucie. Because she pretty much doesn't have an identity throughout the novel (although it does slowly build up as she learns more and more about her repressed past), her perspective is like that of an infant's; she continuously discovers people, places, and things around her, but not very deeply. However, this curiosity leads her to reconnecting with a part of her family that she strictly kept silent about before her amnesic episode. Old Lucie was the kind of woman who was so damaged by childhood that she couldn't even speak of it, but now that she's not only willing to talk to Grady about whatever "it" is, but also actively trying to find out why she might have entered dissociative fugue, the hideous, inconceivable demons of her past begin to surface.
This is the part I really couldn't get into. The loss in Lucie's teenage years is terrible, yes, and the trigger that caused her to completely blank out, even more traumatic, but there is no twist or no heart-pounding discovery. Small snippets of old Lucie's life flicker in her now empty mind alluding some sort of ghastly experience, but when readers are finally enlightened, it's a bit of a letdown. The climax is predictable, and I'll admit it's not like it's no big deal, but it was just poorly executed. Afterwards, the closing action just drooped... nothing is really resolved, and the ending doesn't offer much either.
While the book is wholly about Lucie's dissociative fugue, it does very little to entertain the subject of mental illness. It's an obvious fact that trauma and repression can lead to memory loss; Shortridge does not elaborate upon this. In fact, Lucie does not even visit a psychiatrist, so if you're thinking about trying this one solely because you like stories about mental disorders, this isn't really the best book to pick up.
I was also not a huge fan of the writing. Shortridge can tell a damn good story with a fresh voice—very readable, very modern—but her style just isn't eloquent. The subject matter is fascinating, and the story illuminates upon how obstacles can be overcome by the power of love, but the writing just seemed very clumsy to me. There is nothing poetic or expressive in Shortridge's hand; I was anticipating it to be gorgeous, sentimental, and detailed, but instead found it to be rather mediocre.
Pros
Characters are vividly formed; seem so human // Gradual mystery // Complex family dynamics portrayed // Very easy to read; kept me on edge and wanting to read more // Complicated emotions regarding identity // Strong message on the power of love
Cons
Writing isn't that substantial // While the subject matter is grave, Lucie's path to discovery is nothing profound // Difficult to sympathize with situation and characters // Mental illness is not deeply portrayed
Love
[Grady] reached for her hands, held them inside his. "I want to know," he said. These were the details he'd yearned for when they first met, the ones he'd pressed too hard to get. And now that she was going to tell him, finally—now that she could tell him—he felt something inside crumbling. He held her hands to keep her as close as possible as she revealed what she'd learned... the ugly, the poignant, the mundane... He could handle these truths, he realized, because the sum of them was Lucie.
Verdict
Thoroughly moving and provocative, Love Water Memory examines the effects of trauma, the principles and necessity of family, and the miraculous gift of second chances. Although I was not impressed by the unembellished writing style and the fact that mental health isn't significantly addressed, I did enjoy this luminescent novel of the certain magic of love—the magic that, for Lucie and Grady, separates a brand new start from the misfortune of reliving the same pain. The emotions are heavy, while the carefully hidden, agonizingly uncovered secrets, extremely grave in Jennie Shortridge's newest; this is a tender, serious story about being stronger than the sum of your weaknesses, and the opportunity to reconcile after inevitably hurting the ones you love.
Rating: 7 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): Not perfect, but overall enjoyable; borrow, don't buy!
Source
Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Gallery Books and Literati Author Services!).
June 9, 2018
When I saw the title I cringed. It reminded me of "Eat, Pray, Love" which I hated! But I read it and am so glad I did. It was a wonderful story that told about Lucie Walker, an IT recruiter living in Seattle who ran away from her fiance after a horrid fight. Lucie was found standing knee-deep in San Francisco Bay. If that wasn't enough, she had no idea who she was. Grady Goodall, her fiance, goes down to SF to collect her from the hospital. He finds a woman he does not know and who does not know him. He brings her to their home. And the story continues. It's about what the mind forgets and the heart remembers. A beautiful, interesting and captivating read all the way through.
February 2, 2019
Jennie Shortridge's novel LOVE WATER MEMORY is a page-turner about identity. Well-developed characters, fantastic plot. Though I'm well into my next book, I'm still thinking about this one. Looking forward to reading her other novels.
September 13, 2021
I never heard of this but the cover and premise drew me in. The more I was reading the more I was curious about the mystery surrounding the main character. And the other characters too. Love the setting. This was a sad, kind of sweet, emotional kind of read.
October 9, 2016
Lucie finds herself standing knee deep in freezing cold water in San Francisco bay unable to remember who she is or how she got there. She is taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a dissociative fugue state and has been missing for 8 days. When her fiancé Grady comes to pick her up and take her back home to Seattle she doesn't recognize him or remember anything about their life together. When she's home she also doesn't remember the house or anything personal in her life. Lucie struggles to remember who she is and as she gets details from the people around her she isn't sure she likes the person she's learning about.
The new Lucie is easy to like but the old Lucie is a colder, controlling, buttoned up executive type and Grady struggles with the change in the woman he loves. Both Lucie and Grady have tumultuous pasts and Lucie is determined to figure out what caused her to lose herself.
I have read several stories about amnesia and I tend to gravitate to them because I love the psychological aspect of the mystery. Much of the time there's a bad guy who manipulates the main character's memory of their past but this time we don't have a real manipulation even though Grady does tend to hold details back from Lucie ostensibly to protect her but also to protect himself. In "Love Water Memory" the main story centers around Lucie's quest to find out who she used to be and deal with the fallout of losing herself.
I found myself both enjoying the psychological plot line and also being frustrated by it. I wanted there to be more communication between Lucie and Grady instead of this self protective push-pull that the reader experiences between the characters. If I were Lucie, all I'd want was the truth and for everyone around me to help me find that. I also found it frustrating that no one seemed worried that there was an actual wedding planned that was only 8 weeks away! No one cancels anything and Lucie doesn't even go through the invites to see who she knows that might be able to help her understand her past.
I really resonated with some of the new experiences that Lucie had, it made me think about how I'd feel in that situation. The whole book made me think about the people around me and how we would deal with a situation like this. This is the part I found the most enjoying, how the author made me think about things, feel the feelings of Lucie as she struggled to reshape her life.
I found this book to be an easy read and although I found Grady's behavior and excessively passive nature a little annoying, I did enjoy the journey through Lucie's life as I learned more and more about her and why she was the way she was. I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 but since I can't use half numbers I'll bump it up to a 4 because of the excellent way the author made the reader feel Lucie's struggles.
The new Lucie is easy to like but the old Lucie is a colder, controlling, buttoned up executive type and Grady struggles with the change in the woman he loves. Both Lucie and Grady have tumultuous pasts and Lucie is determined to figure out what caused her to lose herself.
I have read several stories about amnesia and I tend to gravitate to them because I love the psychological aspect of the mystery. Much of the time there's a bad guy who manipulates the main character's memory of their past but this time we don't have a real manipulation even though Grady does tend to hold details back from Lucie ostensibly to protect her but also to protect himself. In "Love Water Memory" the main story centers around Lucie's quest to find out who she used to be and deal with the fallout of losing herself.
I found myself both enjoying the psychological plot line and also being frustrated by it. I wanted there to be more communication between Lucie and Grady instead of this self protective push-pull that the reader experiences between the characters. If I were Lucie, all I'd want was the truth and for everyone around me to help me find that. I also found it frustrating that no one seemed worried that there was an actual wedding planned that was only 8 weeks away! No one cancels anything and Lucie doesn't even go through the invites to see who she knows that might be able to help her understand her past.
I really resonated with some of the new experiences that Lucie had, it made me think about how I'd feel in that situation. The whole book made me think about the people around me and how we would deal with a situation like this. This is the part I found the most enjoying, how the author made me think about things, feel the feelings of Lucie as she struggled to reshape her life.
I found this book to be an easy read and although I found Grady's behavior and excessively passive nature a little annoying, I did enjoy the journey through Lucie's life as I learned more and more about her and why she was the way she was. I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 but since I can't use half numbers I'll bump it up to a 4 because of the excellent way the author made the reader feel Lucie's struggles.
July 26, 2016
**BETH'S REVIEW**
*3.5 Stars*
Water Love Memory is a sweet romantic story with some intriguing mystery thrown in. It is the story of Lucie, just two months before her wedding, shows up in a San Francisco lake standing in knee deep water. But she has now clue how she has gotten there, who she is and what she has done the last 10 days since she took off and left her fiancé. Grady is so grateful that they have finally found her and that she is okay, that is other than the amnesia and that fact that she is now a completely different person, a complete 180 of the Lucie he fell in love with and was to marry in just 8 weeks. Can these two people fall in love again?
I really loved Lucie’s character; she had a tough past, slowly as the book progresses you learn more about it as she learns more about herself and her past. She was a very career driven and somewhat cold unfriendly person before this all happened and she has now taken a complete 180 but she is determined to find out who she was and remember, and does it on her own. She is such a strong character, and when she finds out her past and remembers it all, it truly is a test to her strength
I really like Grady, he has been hurt by all that is happened, he is still the same person with the woman he loves in front of him, but it’s like she’s 2 Lucie’s, and he struggles to love this new Lucie, he feels like he is cheating on the old Lucie and I love that about him.
This story was a truly great story and I loved it. It was a great love story, having to learn to love all over again and for her have those first moments again. This book had so much potential for me but it ended up falling flat. The writing at times was very confusing, it switched back and forth from the present to past moments, but found myself having to back track to see when the switch happened and figure out what part was present and what was past. It may be just me but I like when there is a break or the font is italicized to show the change from present to past, this just took me away from the story to have to go back to figure it all out. Second I found the first half to be very slow moving in the storyline and found myself wanting to skim a lot of pages. The second half picked up and was much better in flow of story right up till the end but then it just ended in spot that left me going “What, where’s the rest of the story, where’s the epilogue?” I am left feeling like the book is missing the last 10-15 pages of the book, in my mind it’s not finished but when I further looked into it, it seems this books is a standalone, there isn’t another book, so even though the book picked up, the way it ended ruined the book for me.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
*3.5 Stars*
Water Love Memory is a sweet romantic story with some intriguing mystery thrown in. It is the story of Lucie, just two months before her wedding, shows up in a San Francisco lake standing in knee deep water. But she has now clue how she has gotten there, who she is and what she has done the last 10 days since she took off and left her fiancé. Grady is so grateful that they have finally found her and that she is okay, that is other than the amnesia and that fact that she is now a completely different person, a complete 180 of the Lucie he fell in love with and was to marry in just 8 weeks. Can these two people fall in love again?
I really loved Lucie’s character; she had a tough past, slowly as the book progresses you learn more about it as she learns more about herself and her past. She was a very career driven and somewhat cold unfriendly person before this all happened and she has now taken a complete 180 but she is determined to find out who she was and remember, and does it on her own. She is such a strong character, and when she finds out her past and remembers it all, it truly is a test to her strength
I really like Grady, he has been hurt by all that is happened, he is still the same person with the woman he loves in front of him, but it’s like she’s 2 Lucie’s, and he struggles to love this new Lucie, he feels like he is cheating on the old Lucie and I love that about him.
This story was a truly great story and I loved it. It was a great love story, having to learn to love all over again and for her have those first moments again. This book had so much potential for me but it ended up falling flat. The writing at times was very confusing, it switched back and forth from the present to past moments, but found myself having to back track to see when the switch happened and figure out what part was present and what was past. It may be just me but I like when there is a break or the font is italicized to show the change from present to past, this just took me away from the story to have to go back to figure it all out. Second I found the first half to be very slow moving in the storyline and found myself wanting to skim a lot of pages. The second half picked up and was much better in flow of story right up till the end but then it just ended in spot that left me going “What, where’s the rest of the story, where’s the epilogue?” I am left feeling like the book is missing the last 10-15 pages of the book, in my mind it’s not finished but when I further looked into it, it seems this books is a standalone, there isn’t another book, so even though the book picked up, the way it ended ruined the book for me.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 571 reviews