After two years of not speaking to her family, Mia Davis, a 25-year-old relationship advice columnist, receives a wedding invitation in the mail from her older brother Todd. Despite telling her boyfriend, Ethan, she’s going alone, she secretly RSVPs yes with a plus one.
Once back in her hometown Mia is quickly bombarded by memories of her life before she left, as both Todd and her dad treat her like no time has passed at all. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for her mom, who is still holding tightly to the pain of Mia leaving her after experiencing a tremendous loss, that no one seems to want to talk about.
As Mia navigates this new family dynamic and struggles to figure out where she fits in, she leans on Jake, the ex-love-of-her-life. In a bold—but not-so-innocent—effort to make amends with him, she invites him to the wedding. To her surprise, Jake’s presence brings up emotions she thought she’d never feel again, and her plan of keeping her cards close to her chest quickly unravels.
Mia soon realizes that mending old wounds is harder than simply saying sorry. After searching for the answers to forgiveness in those around her and finding they were right in front of her all along, she admits that she’s not the expert on love, loss, and healing.
Before returning to New York, she must choose between Jake and Ethan, find a way to redirect the anger and blame she feels towards her mom, and decide if she’s strong enough to integrate her broken past into her unfolding future.
This was such a bingeable book, I read it in less than a day. This is a story of second chances, navigating life after loss, learning how to grieve and accepting your grieving process. I really enjoyed the way the past was weaved into the present, Mia had a memory so we would flashback to that, then return back to the present. Even though, the topics are quite heavy (and I definitely cried at one point) the book still feels light enough to binge. This is my second book by the author and have found her writing to be captivating and really well-done. The romance wasn't the main storyline but I loved that just as much. I can't wait to see where life takes Mia (and hopefully Jake) next.
Afret receiving an ARC for If I’m Being Honest, I knew I had to read the Remember Me series.
After ending up back in her hometown for her brothers wedding with her family who didn’t do well after the loss of her younger brother and spending the weekend with her first love. Mia is juggling all the emotions-fear, sadness, anger, joy. She’s attempting to find some normalcy and mend some relationships but it’s definitely not an easy journey.
I related to Mia so much in her journey of grief, being stronger for herself and not others and love. She realized she has to live for herself and other things will fall into place. I’m having a personal dilemma of what direction I want this story to go for Mia so I will report back after book 2 with how I am feeling!
I first want to say thank you to the author for giving me a chance to read an ARC of her book! I’m so grateful for this opportunity and happy that you’re the first author to give me an ARC. This book touches on topics like grief, growing, learning how to become a better person, and most importantly, forgiving yourself. If you are looking for a book that pulls on your emotions, then this is the read for you. The only reason I rated it a 3.5 is because the writing style wasn’t really my cup of tea and I struggled to like the main character a lot. Remember Me comes next month on June 13th!!
This book was fantastic. It made me feel all sorts of things. I felt like i related to the main character. i can't wait to see what book two has in store for mia
This book follows Mia as she goes back home two years after her little brother's death, to attend her older brother's wedding. She hasn't spoken to most of her family for two years, but she's ready to deal with the grief and all the emotions to try to make things right with her family. This book has to do a lot with grief, and it handles some heavy emotions associated with it and how to find your way out of the darkness to bring yourself back for the other people you love. The conversations with her mother alone were enough to have me tearing up. The memories throughout the book was very helpful for the story to fill in blanks about the past but toward the end I was kind of wishing there wasn't so many, I wanted to focus on what was happening then in the story.
Also, in the process of leaving home, Mia left behind her longtime boyfriend Jake. Upon returning home, she runs into Jake and begins trying to make amends, to gain back a friendship she feels like she's lost. In the process, she invites him to the wedding as her plus one to see where they still stand. Even though she has a boyfriend back home in New York, Ethan. Unpopular opinion, I hated Jake, I felt like he spent most of the time playing with Mia's emotions. He told her he would move to New York to be with her, while they were both drunk on the night of the wedding, hoping to hook up with her. Then, the very next morning, he took it back. He told her loving her wasn't enough to justify uprooting his life for her. Then throughout the rest of the book ran hot and cold with her, telling her he loved her right as she was leaving town again, only to call her as soon as she broke things off with Ethan to tell her he was having doubts. He finally comes for a visit at the end of the book, but with his record, my hopes aren't high for a happy ending for these two.
Now, for Ethan on the other hand, I loved Ethan. There's very little about him in this book but what we do see, he's supportive, he's caring. He helped jump start her career but not in a way where he was expecting her to sleep with him in return. He seemed like he truly cared for her and was hoping she would open up herself to loving him. I was highlighting every quote in the scenes with this man. He told her he would wait for her to be ready to finally love him back. Mia's weekend with Jake did cross some boundaries but she tried to be respectful of the fact she had a boyfriend back home she needed to end things with before she got too carried away with Jake, and the breakup scene with Ethan left me heartbroken.
Overall, I loved the writing, I enjoyed the story, and I can't wait to read the next book. I'm excited to see where things go now that Mia has learned how to process her grief and forgive herself for not knowing how to before and how her relationships change because of that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First, I want to thank the author for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of their debut novel! It was an honor to get your read & review your book early.
This is a book about loss, grief, and how different people react or respond to that grief. It’s true that some people experience significant loss and they’re able to work through that and live their lives appearing normal to those around them, even with the effects of that loss held deep inside them. Other people completely shut down, and may become standoffish or closed-off emotionally. And others, as evidenced in this book, “run away” from their problems and try to start over in a new place, without ever truly processing their loss. This is what our main character, Mia, has done.
The book uses a present POV, but with frequent flashbacks in each chapter, to slowly reveal what the tragedy was that ties all of the characters together. The flashbacks were often prompted by a song, event, or conversation in the present tense that sent our MC reminiscing on the past. I found these helpful for background information, but sometimes disruptive to the flow of the plot. However, I do love books that show both past & present POV!
In terms of the characters - Mia, our MC, is feeling lost and adrift. She seems caught between 2 worlds. She definitely has unfinished business in her hometown, and sometimes makes decisions during the book that don’t make her exactly likeable - however! If you like a character-driven novel with a flawed, very human MC, you’ll like this book! My favorite characters were probably her brother and his fiancé, Todd and Kaitlin. They had some really special moments. In terms of the romantic interest, I wasn’t totally bought in, but I also understand the pull Mia felt toward him with their history.
Overall, I’d recommend this book if you like a character-driven novel about an estranged family member coming back home, a story focused around grief/loss, books with present POV & flashbacks, or if you happen to love books with very gorgeous covers 😍
You can tell the author, Kristin, put her heart and soul into this book. Congrats on your debut novel and happy pub day tomorrow (June 13, 2022)!
Even though this book is categorized as a fiction novel but the experiences that you will get from reading this book is one that the readers can relate to in terms of how we choose to process grief, confront our past, and live with the choices that we have made.
So many of these deep-rooted things that our MC Mia experiences in one weekend unpack a lot of the real-life emotions, thoughts, and actions that anyone of us can have when we’re faced with an uncomfortable past. The intriguing part is that, even though we’re reading from Mia’s perspective, we’re also able to witness how each character reacts and copes with the uncomfortable past along with hers. Which shows that we all process grief in our own way. Whether it is valid to others or not, at the end of the day you’re just a human being.
The same is said for our MC who can be viewed as “selfish” in the choices that she had made in the past and during the one weekend home. But let’s be honest here readers…aren’t we all “selfish” in one-way shape or form. Even if you want to admit it to yourself or not we go through those moments where we have to make the best choices for ourselves; especially when you’re trying to process something that can take a lot of your mental and physical strength to get back, or even feel some sense of normalcy in life. And if Mia is being “selfish” for how she chooses to grieve then maybe her mom was too for choosing to ignore her kids and family to think about herself first.
Anyhow, it is all in perspective and how you choose to interpret it. If you’re someone who enjoys a good complex MC and stories that are grounded and relatable to real-life this novel is for you. I am also interested to hear more from other readers and your take on the book and how you see Mia.
Coming from a person who is very picky with her fiction novels this book was worth being #sadgirlsummer for. Thank you to the author for sharing this beautiful story and for crafting such a beautiful book; #subwayread #doublespace #NYClife.
“They say that love is a battlefield, and I think to some extent I agree. It can be messy, complicated, and chaotic, but your greatest strength will always be how you showed up to the fight with an armor of vulnerability and a sword coated in compassion.”
Review: I enjoyed Kristin’s debut novel! Mia must return home for her brother’s wedding after two years of basically no contact with her family or her childhood best friend/lover. A great loss resulted in Mia retreating and cutting off her “pre-loss” life. At first I thought Mia portrayed grief very well, then as I kept reading I realized ALL of the characters were portraying grief well, just in very different ways. Remember Me made it very clear that grief isn’t linear, it doesn’t just go away with time, and sometimes you need to face it on your own while other times you need to embrace the people who love you.
I found Todd and Kaitlin to be the most likable and level headed characters and enjoyed their part in the storyline. They were both great guides for Mia while she figured out how to make peace with the past.
I would say my only real complaint is that I wasn’t a fan of Mia’s mother, even by the end of the story my feelings toward her hadn’t changed when I was hoping they would. I think this story could’ve benefitted from an epilogue with some more details about Mia’s mother.
Overall I did like this story and I flew through reading it. I’m typically not a fan of childhood friends to lovers but I did find myself rooting for the couple this time!
Favorite part: Mia’s speech! Very well written.
Thank you so much Kristin for sending me your novel! Can’t wait to see what else you publish in the future 🙂🫶🏻
Thank you Kristen for entrusting me with your debut novel. What I thought might be a romance story (which there are definitely elements of!) turned out to be a deeper portrayal of grief, family relationships and healing. I won't spoil anything, but I was moved by Mia's journey to healing after a terrible family tragedy. Kristen captured such a tough topic beautifully. I came away thinking how incredibly human and flawed these characters were - and loved them for it.
I think the only part that wasn't for it was regarding a bit of a religious/fantasy subplot I don't want to give away in detail (but if you've read it, you probably know what I mean). For me, it just took away from the down-to-earth-ness of the story a bit. But it wasn't a deal breaker by any means.
Congrats to Kristen on self-publishing and announcing a new book in this series! I look forward to catching up with main character Mia and seeing how she progresses.
I love this book. But it also broke me. First I have to say that I love love love the flashbacks in each chapter. There you can emphasis more with the main character and what she was going through. Also the cover, when you realise what it means broke me. I am obsessed with that cover. I really liked the writting style. Not too complicated and I think everyone can easily read it. For me something was missing, like I would have loved to see more romance going on between Mia and the love interest. But all in all and AMAZING book and EVERYONE should read it.!!!
I am looking forward to reading more books by Kristin Marzullo
Seems to be a story of a young woman's inability to accept her younger brother's passing or her family member's reactions and needs. The author makes a two year period seem much longer. The main character has had to suffer 'all these years'. Cherry blossoms are blooming during the photo shoot the morning of a wedding and it is October when the ceremony occurs... When you lose someone you love, you do not get over it or move on. You are forever changed and you carry it with you. But everyone has their own needs in grief and it needs to be respected even when it is not your way.
This was my first Kristin Marzullo book. I was NOT disappointed.
This book tells the story of Mia, her journey through loss and grief, and family reconciliation. Kristin has an amazing writing style. The flashbacks help show us how hard Mia is struggling and how much she’s shut out as she goes home for the first time in 2 years.
I. Was. SOBBING. The ONLY reason I didn’t give this book a full 5 stars is because of the ending. I felt like it just ended with no warning. 🤷🏻♀️
❤️SLOW burn ❤️Second chance romance ❤️Loss and Grief
his is my first book by Kristin Marzullo and I’m just so happy I have the rest of her bibliography. This book was so beautifully written. The way she evokes emotions from you. I actually cried like CRIED. Not just a tear here and there? I had to put the book down and calm down cause I couldn’t see the page.
This is just a beautiful story of a young woman trying to find herself again after a big life change affects her and her families lives. The growth is just so nice to see. This book was messy, emotional, frustrating lol. But it was also so beautiful. Can’t wait to pick up the next book tomorrow.
Kristin Marzullo has such a way with words. This book had me feeling all sorts of emotions throughout the entirety. Heartache knowing the loss of my own sibling, built up anger for the way my mom had also treated me during the grieving process, giddy kicking around at the sweet little things between Jake and Mia, and overall, the feeling of serenity with the way things had worked up to the end and the showing that grief isn’t linear nor is healing. This was beautifully written. My second of Kristin’s books, and I can’t wait to finish the rest!
Kristin Marzullo has such a way with words. This book had me feeling all sorts of emotions throughout the entirety. Heartache knowing the loss of my own sibling, built up anger for the way my mom had also treated me during the grieving process, giddy kicking around at the sweet little things between Jake and Mia, and overall, the feeling of serenity with the way things had worked up to the end and the showing that grief isn’t linear nor is healing. This was beautifully written. My second of Kristin’s books, and I can’t wait to finish the rest!
Found this book on tictok and it is a slow burn but so far a great start to the series. The only thing i didn't like was how she dragged Ethan along even before Jake she knew how she felt from the beginning and Ethan seems like such a great loving guy. To see she was able to over come the heartache she was going through with her family and start healing and having Oliver there to help her along the way.
It has been a while since a book has made me feel ALL THE THINGS. I seriously ADORED this book! I don’t want to say too much because I really don’t want to give anything away but if you love figuring out life after loss, second chances, a little bit of drama, and growth; then you will LOVE this book!
This book was so good. A wonderful journey on losing someone and even if you don't deal with things in a good way you can come back and still heal and help others heal. Finding yourself isn't easy and learning who you are and who you want to be while you heal is what Mia teaches us. You don't have to be who you were when thr trauma hit.
I absolutely loved this book! So relatable, especially if you have ever dealt with grief and the grieving process. I saw myself in this story a lot, mainly back in my twenties. It took me down memory lane a little bit. I’m really excited to read more of Mia’s story in Losing You.
Such a cute romance, And so much happens from family lost to kind of a love triangle. But definitely give it a read if this is a type of story you would like. It is the first in a trio.
This was a beautiful book about the main characters journey through healing after her brothers death. I can’t wait to read book 2 & this will definitely be a book I keep coming back too.
💭: - first, i would like to thank Kristin for gifting me with a copy of her debut novel. i think the book is a pretty short read as i finished it in one day, but because it looks to be double spaced, it seems like a longer read than it really is. overall i think the writing was very smooth and flowed really well. the book is told from mia’s pov alternating from present and past memories. personally, i really struggled with how i feel about the main character because i felt like she was selfish in her quest to figure out her love triangle situation. however, i found myself engulfed with Oliver and his story — i think this was a beautiful portrayal of how everyone handles grief and trauma differently, and i can see how this book could be a tear jerker for some people.