Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I'm sad, because I haven't had a book let me down this much in a while. Recently I read and reviewed Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser and absolutely adored it, so I couldn't wait to jump into this one. Unfortunately, this domestic drama fell unbelievably flat for me. 

Best friends Molly and Liza are trying to keep their friendship going after Liza moved away to Chicago, so they set up a Skype date to catch up. When Molly steps out during the call to check on her child, Liza sees a masked figure enter the house. After a frantic call to the police, she is reassured it's nothing, and has the door slammed in her face after driving all night to check on her friend. Was Liza imagining the whole thing? Why is Molly giving her the cold shoulder? What is Molly hiding, and will their friendship ever be the same again?

For me, this book dragged from almost the beginning. After the masked figure incident, the plot slowed down to a snail's pace. It had such promise at the beginning, but jumped the shark early on. There were way too many side stories to keep track of, and I didn't find myself invested in the characters at all (except maybe Liza's love life). I actually dreaded picking up this book in the evenings because I didn't want to read it, but I felt like I owed it to both the book and the author to finish it. I literally screamed "ARE YOU KIDDING ME" at the reveal at the end, because I couldn't believe I wasted so much time for that ending. 

I know, I'm rarely this scathing in reviews. I adore more books than not, and I rarely dislike one enough to give it one star (although I have had a few 1 star reviews on this blog). This read seems like a novice attempt at a novel when compared to Not That I Could Tell. Unfortunately, I had no other option here when it came to rating.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this read! Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser is out now.

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Ok guys, this book hit me, and hit me hard. It took me a while to get around to reading it (to the point that I actually had three copies in my possession at once), but now that I have I am so upset at myself for not making it a priority earlier. 

Huge trigger warning on this book for domestic violence, so keep that in mind.

In Yellow Springs, a few neighborhood women get together one night for some drinks around the fire. The next morning, one of them and her children are missing. What happened to Kristen? Did her soon to be ex-husband have anything to do with it? Are her and her twins even alive?

This was absolutely a slow burn book, which usually bothers me, but with this one I was hooked. I loved the two different points of view of Clara and Izzy, interspersed with a third that we can rightly assume is Kristen's. Izzy's radio show segment "Second Date Update" is so similar to one I listen to on the radio every morning! I could really see myself in Izzy's shoes as well, and she reminded me of myself back when I was in my early twenties-sort of just drifting through life, lonely but not really willing to admit it, and struggling in a job she didn't like.

It was pretty clear from the beginning what was happening, and I think it was supposed to be, but there was still a reveal at the end that actually made me drop the book. 

The importance of this book is not to be overlooked, as it really shines a light on domestic violence and the struggles a woman must go through to escape an abusive husband. The story, the characters, and the message were all powerful, and were the perfect level of entertaining while still tackling an important issue facing many women today.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much for St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser is out in paperback now, so be sure to pick up a copy!