I Wish I Could Remember You

by L.J. Epps

A story of enduring love as romance goes all wrong and Emily Montgomery struggles to rebuild her life after a terrible accident changes everything.



Emily wants romance in her life—the kind of romance that leads to a perfect marriage. She dreams of having a husband who loves her and treats her with respect, someone she can spend the rest of her life with. She meets—and marries—Steven Montgomery, hoping he will make all of those things come true.


Everything is wonderful, at first; until things start to slowly change. Steven begins to mentally, verbally, and physically abuse Emily. Through it all, Emily tries to be the best wife she can be.


Finally, after so much devastation, Emily leaves Steven, files for divorce, and moves on with her life. Her sister, Monica, introduces her to a wonderful man named Robert. Emily falls in love with him. He is kind, gentle and sweet—all things now missing from her marriage. She is happy, in love again, and well on her way to divorcing Steven.


But, Steven doesn’t want the divorce; and, since he is a savvy lawyer, he tries everything to prevent it. Although Emily still has residual feelings for Steven, she knows that it could never work between them. She wants to move on with the new love of her life, Robert.


After a horrific accident, Emily can no longer remember Robert and all the things he has meant to her, and she can no longer remember all the horrific things Steven has done to her.


Emily has two men professing their love for her. She is confused; she doesn’t know where she belongs or who she should be with. And, she has a hard time deciding who to choose. Emily is being pulled in several different directions by her loved ones. They all mean well, but only Emily knows how she truly feels. She has to decide, on her own, what to do.


All Emily wants is to start over, but that isn’t so easy, since everything in her world is broken, and she isn’t sure how to fix it. All Emily wants is to be happy, healthy, and whole again, but that may not be in the cards for her, either.



“A fascinating story about who we are and how our memories ultimately guide us in the choices we make.”
—Kristina Gemmell,
Beta Reader

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

270 pages, Paperback

Published March 26, 2016

About the author

L.J. Epps is a lover of all things related to books: fiction and nonfiction novels, as well as biographies and autobiographies. She has also been known to sit and read comic books from cover to cover, several times over.

Over the last few years, L.J. has written several manuscripts; her mission is to publish all of them. She enjoys writing fiction in several genres, including contemporary romance and women’s fiction, as well as young adult dystopian, science fiction and fantasy. She loves to write because it immerses her into another world that is not her own.

Reviews

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 18%

Too much tell - not enough show. Has potential but I don't have the patience this week.

[Arlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: I Wish I Could Remember You
Author: L. J. Epps
Publisher: L.J.E.
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"I Wish I Could Remember You" by L. J. Epps

My Thoughts....

I found "I Wish I Could Remember You" a interesting amnesia read. The author gives the reader quite a read that deals mainly with three main characters....Emily, Stephen and Robert all being somewhat 'vivid and complexed.' For Emily will she be able to have the kind of marriage with happiness after her devastation with Stephen now that Robert is in the picture? Only after a terrible accident that involves Emily's memory we see this story will take the reader on quite a ride in getting her to a HEA. Who will truly be their for Emily in the end ...Stephen or Robert? Well, this is where I say you will have to pick up this good read to see for yourself how well this author brings it out to the readers. This will be a long read but after all is said and done a good one that in the end will give you a satisfied detailed read.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started using Goodreads because I am a prolific reader and I needed a system to keep track of what I’ve read. I write reviews here primarily for my own use, assuming that few, if any, other people will read them. My reviews are written so that I can avoid inadvertently rereading and so that I can remember why I liked or didn’t like certain books and/or authors, since I am often asked for recommendations. This review is a little different. The book is self-published, the author is apparently semi-professional, and I don’t want to unfairly influence potential readers of her work or discourage the author.

That being said, here goes. The plot is interesting though somewhat adolescent, so it has potential. However, it has been prematurely published, in my opinion. My enjoyment of any written work is dramatically diminished when the author has not polished the writing to eliminate grammatical errors, awkward sentence structures, and incorrect or vague word choices. The book is filled with all of those. I highlighted 22 of the most glaring. Three categories of errors stand out: (1) verb tense errors (including these: “He had drove” and “she hadn’t rode”) and using the simple past tense when the past perfect tense was needed to clarify sequence of events. (2) confusion using the verbs “Lie” and “lay.” (3) awkward or incorrect word choices (“drudge” instead of “dredge”, “brunette haired nurse.”)

To summarize, if you like simple romances and are not bothered by unpolished writing, you might enjoy this novel.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a lot of guts to get out on of an abusive relationship & just when everything is on track it gets derailed by an accident.
So basically Emily has escaped her marriage, is filing for divorce & about to be engaged to Robert. Waking up after the accident she has lost her recent memory & goes back to the days when her marriage to Steven was good. Unfortunately leaving Robert in a bad place. However Emily is not entirely convinced of her husbands motives. Bit by bit her story is told, occasionally with various POV's.
Who does she believe? Her estranged husband, sister or the lovable Robert?
Although the topic is a sensitive one it is dealt with in a good manner. While the abuse is mentioned it is not the actual situation taking place which can be quite distressing to some. I think Emily was quite brave & had a very supportive network. I'm glad she found her strength in the end.
While I've disclosed some of the storyline there's more to it than I've mentioned. There is a lot inner dialogue, angst & some suspense & drama which will explain more of Emily's journey.
Overall, while quite intense at times, I did enjoy this tale.
I received a complimentary copy for an honest review from Voracious Readers Only. 4.5*

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could like this book more

The basic premise of this book is a perennially popular theme - domestic abuse. Coupled with amnesia, this could have been a terrific book. However, the story was predictable and I couldn’t really like any of the characters. I know that victims of abuse lose so much of themselves so I was really prepared to pull for Emily. However, she wore me out with her inability to make a decision. Her husband was little better with his complete obsession. Maybe I am just experiencing a little of the frustration professionals feel in working with domestic abuse. I wanted to be caught up in the story but that just didn’t happen for me.
I did appreciate that the writing was free from the spelling, sentence structure and grammatical errors that I see so often these days.
I would read another book by this writer hoping to see if there is growth in the potential this book shows.

[Jessica Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting story!

I couldn't put it down. This story pulled me straight in. It had me crying and smiling right along with Emily. This is a sweet, clean romance. I really enjoyed this book. Will definitely look for more by this author.

[Patty U. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I felt it was a lot like others with this kind of plot. Even with that it still held my interest.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Really good plot to the story. Very well written. Would highly recommend it to anyone who likes these kind of stories. Can't wait to read more from this author.

[Cindy Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

First time read from this author.i was impressed, It flowed well . I surprised she went so easy with her past.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet romance!

This was a story about love, heartbreak, and trust. It is a sweet romance that had a tragic event cause amnesia to the main character.

It is a clean story. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Christine Yunn-Yu Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

In I Wish I could Remember You, Emily Montgomery, a high school teacher, is a victim of domestic violence. Now trying to divorce her abusive husband, Steven, an attorney, she has met Robert.

Sounds like a perfect idea for a romance novel. The trick is to create enough obstacles to keep apart the loving couple, so that after many twists and turns they can get back together. Easy, right?

Nope.

Issue #1: Having separated from Steven for one and half years, Emily still has “some unsolved feelings” for him, a man who has hurt her multiple times both physically and emotionally.

Issue #2: Steven doesn’t want to give up Emily, and will do anything to keep her to himself.

Problem #1: We often see fictional depiction of violence against women both with and outside of families. In these cases men are seen to be dominating, aggressive, chauvinistic, believing in being tough and masculine, concentrating on their own needs while taking those of women for granted, and many of them have experienced some sort of abuse in childhood. If such portrayal is cliché, then Steven as a character stands out. Details of how he loves Emily and misses the daughter they have lost (directly as a result of his behaviour) makes it hard to convince readers that he favours extramarital affairs and violence over his marriage.

Issue #3: Emily loses her memory as a result of a bad accident. Specifically, she loses all memory of Steven’s wrongdoing but remembers him as a wonderful husband. Worse, she completely forgets Robert, the man she truly loves.

Problem #2: Retrograde amnesia is a convenient but risky literary device because it is hard to back up with supporting material. This is particularly so in cases of selective memory loss.

I Wish I Could Remember You does a good job convincing readers of the neurological obstacles Emily goes through. The medical examination process is reasonably detailed, and readers see a vulnerable, woman who is intellectually and emotionally less than her real self – the one she should be at the moment, having developed strength, confidence and independence from the pain she suffered as a victim of domestic violence. To convince the regressed Emily of who she truly is is akin to asking her to leap forward in time, to become someone in the unknown future.

Problem #3: How will the people around her adjust to this situation?

Well, you will have to read the book to find out. But it is tricky to convince someone who has retrograde amnesia that you, the person whom she thinks she is meeting for the first time, is actually her soul mate and fiance.

To conclude this review, I Wish I could Remember You shows every sign of having been meticulously edited, so that it is grammatically perfect. (Well, things get a bit slack in the second half of the book.) There is nothing wrong of editing, but somehow this editor has somehow reduced the author’s style to zero, making the writing stiff, unnatural and slightly repetitive. With that said, this is still a good book.

[Kaisha (The Writing Garnet) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would say no to romance or a happily-ever-after type relationship? Not many people I would imagine. When two people get married, they don’t except abuse after abuse, disaster after disaster or the dreaded control, do they? I can only assume no, I’ve never been married. That wasn’t the sort of relationship that Emily thought she would get when she married Steven. A ‘perfect romance’ to begin with, the ‘perfect man’, everything just slotting into place, that was Emily’s dream. But did Emily’s dream come true? Or did she find herself in an unbearable situation?
Emily and Steven’s relationship spiralled into a cloud of negativity, so bad that Emily filed for a divorce and tried to move on with her life with a wonderful man named Robert. But Steven wasn’t daft. He wasn’t going to leave her alone, and he had people he could call on for ‘favours’. Steven wanted Robert out of the picture, and there was only one way he was going to be able to make that happen, illegally.
Unfortunately, he got more than he bargained for. Emily suffers an horrific car accident which leaves her with the inability to remember the recent and happy moments with Robert, but it’s left her remembering the ‘wonderful’ things about her and Steven’s relationship. Pretty much a case of ‘rose tinted glasses’. She refused to believe her past, what Steven was capable of and he knew that, but he also used that to HIS advantage and not hers.
‘I wish I could remember you’ covers really tragic and unfortunately circumstances, some of which many women and men suffer on a daily basis. L.J.Epps, in my opinion, has written about those situations in a realistic way to show exactly how damaging it is and that it isn’t a laughing matter. It’s a very serious matter and should not be ignored. However, when you’re living that life, you don’t see it, so the rose tinted glasses stay on. I enjoyed the book because of how it was written and how ‘normal’ the characters were. Obviously the topic within the novel wasn’t enjoyable but because it was a subject that happens, I still found it to be part of a good story. One thing I would say is though, L.J.Epps delves into the situations and circumstance with great detail throughout, however, the last part of the book I found that it halted far too quickly without much of an explanation. The basis of the explanation was there, but that was it. Now, that is nothing against the writing or the book because it just shows that I wanted more of the book and didn’t want it to end.
The storyline was incredibly gripping and quite unpredictable which, for me, made it even more enjoyable. I like feeling that I’m reading a book which leaves me sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation. ‘I wish I could remember you’ was one of those books. Full of emotion, raw reality and very unfortunate circumstances. Those things MADE the story. There were times within the story that I gasped, cried, got angry and thought ‘what the’…the makings of a mind blowing story.

[Lindsey Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Original Review Here

I received an advanced copy for a fair and honest review

I Wish I Could Remember You by L.J Epps had the potential to be a really good novel. Exploring the complications of memory loss and the affect it has on the lives of everyone involved is a strong topic for a novel. Unfortunately, this one failed to deliver and I was left feeling disappointed and frustrated.

The plot could have been strong but the dialogue undermined it. The majority of the speech was weak and read as forced – additional words or phrases that you wouldn’t use in everyday life interrupted the speech, slowed down the pacing and made the characters sound ridiculous. There was even a point where a character responded to something one had thought rather than ever said.

The characters did not develop enough. Emily was weak; even with her accident, she would appear determined and adamant, then backtrack and do the opposite. Robert backed down to easily and felt like a waste of space who only wanted his happy ending. Steven could have been a great villain, but his sections came across as conflicted – the reader was never truly aware of what he was planning: it felt like he was building up to something that never happened. Talk about missing the mark!

I chose this quote because it clearly shows the clichés found throughout the whole book. There was never the issue of mistrust and honesty between Emily and Robert, so that sentence felt as if it came out of the blue and contradicted the relationship the book had set up. Also, to finish a book with that cliché made me cringe – definitely not a strong ending!

Research for this sort of book is, of course, absolutely paramount. When the reader has received that knowledge, however, it is only annoying to witness other characters being told about it as well – we only need it once, paraphrasing would have worked the second and third times around. I feel like I know about retrograde amnesia now though!

Unfortunately, `I Wish I Could Remember You` disappointed me. It had the potential to develop and it just never took off. It lacked the spark to make a good novel.

[R.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

I Wish I Could Remember You is a gripping romance that loves to play off of the reader’s emotions. It’s writing is elegant and an absolute pleasure to read.

The characters are realistic in how they deal with their problems and the dialogues between them keep them separate, and also does a lot to reveal the story. They are unique and stay consistent in their characteristics throughout the storyline, which seems as if it would have been difficult to accomplish (on the author’s part) given the battle between lack of memory and consistency of character.

The plot unfolds at the perfect pace and keeps the readers interested and was also surprisingly very clean. There is not a single cuss word and the sexual references were extremely low considering that this is a “romance” by title. Where the sexual scenes were, they only involved a few semi-detailed kisses, a few mentions of “being intimate” or “making love” in conversation, and one semi-detailed making out scene that the author switched scenes before anything else was “shown” but it was clear in how it ended for the said couple.

When it comes to morals, I have mixed emotions. On one hand some readers may say that this book encourages a cheating wife and then on the other hand some readers will say that because her and her husband are (and have been) separated and are simply waiting on the legalistic aspects, that she is a free woman. It really depends on the reader’s views of this matter so I can’t necessarily judge it as a neutral reviewer, but for me personally, I think that some of the things that happened between both couples should have had a better respect for “marriage” than what was given.

Overall, I did enjoy reading I Wish I Could Remember You and I give it 4 out of 5 stars for being a clean romance, and a well written one at that.

This review was originally posted on Literature Approved. (http://literatureapproved.wordpress.com)

[MELODY · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first read by Ms. Epps. She brings us the story of a young woman who is finally trying to rebuild her life, after leaving her husband who she found cheating on her.

Emily, thought she had found true love but somehow it all went wrong, she had everything money could buy with her husband Steven except fidelity, trust, and respect. She didn't see it till when arguing one night while they were arguing he accidently pushes her down the stairs and she their baby. She finds the stregnth to leave everything behind. And then just when she has the courage to end her farce of a marriage she is in an accident and remembers nothing of the past few years. Steven is her loving husband and the new man in her life although she feels something she has no idea whom he is.

Steven, is a dirty rotten sticking hound of a man - I wanted to poke him in the eye with a branding iron more than once. Robert, Emily's boyfriend is steadfast in his feelings and at first he is doing everything he can to help her recover her memory. Of course, her stinking bastard of a husband takes advantage of her vunerability and tries to start over.

Will, Emily ever be happy, healthy and whole again? Will Steven win Emily's trust and love again, 0r will Robert prevail in his attempts to rekindle what they had? This is a story that will make you feel, I had to put it down a few times just to relieve the pressure on my heart.

If you are looking for a superb story of love, redemption and rebuilding, this one is definetely worth it. My only small complaint is how rushed the ending felt. That being said - this should definetly on your reading list.
I am an independent reviewer for Romance Author's that Rock.

[Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice story about starting over (also literary), with great characters, that really caught me from the beginning. I loved every character, even the bad ones, because they were very nicely built and they actually started some feelings inside me while reading. Whether we speak about love and affection or hate and repugnance, the characters were very vivid and complex.

Emily has always wished a happy marriage, next to the man of her dreams. She felt the luckiest woman on Earth. Still, when her loving husband became a monster and her dreamy happy marriage became a real nightmare, she decided to put an end to it. She is ready to start over next to Robert, though she feels incomplete. When amnesia sets in, both men try to convince her who is worth her love and attention.

I believe self discovery is well depicted here. Emily has the chance to correct her mistakes and decide if her husband deserves another chance or if her love for Robert is real enough. A story full of lies and truths, a story about deciding who is for real and who is not, “I Wish I could remember You” was a great read and I must admit I was curious about how she will make the right choice. Even though the ending must seam predictable, the pages are a good way to get there. Hope you like it:)

[Joyce (The Jinxed Goblet) · Rating 2 out of 5]

PLOT ★★
The set up for this book has potential: woman develops amnesia and remembers the wrong lover (Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella anyone)? However, the following details leading up to the end were boring and unmemorable.

CHARACTERS ★★★
None of these characters acted like themselves. They were always a certain way with one character, then a different way with another. This is realistically a normal thing, like acting more casual with your friends than with your professor, but it was extremely difficult to outline character development because of this. As well, sometimes the characters act out-of-character, doing things that do not fit how they would act (or how I've noticed they act).

WRITING STYLE ★
I'm not too fond with how the story is written. It is blunt and patronizing.

Read my full review: The Jinxed Goblet.

[Kristina Gemmell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do we always make choices logically and with a clear head, or do our memories influence our actions? I beta read I Wish I Could Remember You before publication, and was instantly taken in by the concept of this story. It centers around Emily, a woman who gets engaged to the man of her dreams, and mere moments later, sustains a head injury, which causes retrograde amnesia. She has no idea who this new fiance is, meanwhile, her ex-husband, who she is able to remember, comes swooping in, wanting to make amends. Stephen, the ex, seems like a genuinely good man, but not all is as it seems. As Emily tries to make sense of her reality, it will take all she has in her to realize the truth of her situation. Part romance, part suspense, this story keeps the reader engaged until the last page.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

How would you feel if you were in an accident. Suddenly everything you once knew was gone. Stuck between two guys who you feel differnt things for. If you want to know, you should read this book. Emily and Robert were great together. I just wished she would have choose him from the start. All the signs were there but she decide to see how her marriage would play out. I'm glad at the end she made the right decision.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an ARC of this debut novel from Goodreads, the novel has lots of emotions I felt were realistic and I particularly liked chapter 6 with the descriptions of retrograde amnesia and the care given to comatose patients.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book!!!!! I couldn't put it down!!!!! I want to find out more about what happens with the divorce, and if Emily and Robert can make it work. Just an awesome page turning book!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

I like the story the characters report flow the way the author made the book blow was kind of off the end was kinda left hanging coming to see what's gonna happen throughout the whole entire story I feel like the book was kind of missing something key

[Theresa Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book (spoilers)

I didn't trust Stephen from the get go. The depths he went to were insane. I enjoyed the book, and would love a sequel to see how Emily and Robert do.

[Angela Quesada · Rating 1 out of 5]

too slow

[Donna Dv · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a fairly good book. It was well written but I just never did feel anything for the main characters. Maybe it was just me.