Never Forget You

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

'Don't worry,' he said. 'I've got you.'

Never Forget You was a heavy toned contemporary fiction story about losing and finding yourself, and not giving up on second chances. Five years ago, Lili and Ben had a chance meeting that had them spending the whole day together and then making a promise to meet in the same meeting spot one year later. Through mishap, Ben losing his phone and Lili not having the self-esteem to show-up, they miss their first second chance. The story is told from both Lili and Ben's point-of-view but has chapters that mostly alternate between the Now (current time) and Before, with a countdown to a wedding. The different timelines slowly start to converge as the story goes on.

Because she didn't know what her name was. She just didn't know.

Readers get to see Lili and Ben's first meet and then with the Before chapters, get to read what happened to Lili after Ben never calls her and she decides not to meet up with him. The Now Ben is living back home, after putting aside his job as a travel photographer and instead now taking care of his niece. When a woman claims to not know who she is at a cafe he's in, he's drawn to help her and thinking she has a striking resemblance to the woman he met as Lili five years ago. He ends up helping her with a place to stay after a doctor is concerned Lili has dissociative amnesia and they are waiting for a referral to a psychiatrist. The two have a sweet beginning bonding that reminds him how he felt with Lili but Ben, with the doctor's suggestion, he doesn't bring up to the woman his niece named “Alice” (Alice in Wonderland) that he might know her.

She might not know her name or her address or her date of birth, but she knew – remembered – what it meant when you sat a few feet away from someone and all you could do was notice them.

Eventually, a clue emerges in the form of a wedding invitation found in Alice's possession, and Alice and Ben end up traveling together from Ben's hometown in Scotland to a city outside of London as it looks to be the best way for Alice to find people that may know her. Around halfway through the story, Ben has a good idea if Alice is his Lili and readers will be able to glean a definitive answer by that point, too. While Ben and Alice have their moments of getting closer as they travel to London, the wedding countdown pov chapters drive the tone of the story and why I would say to not read this for romance. Lili's pov chapters are about her meeting an older man named Justin and falling into a romance with him. Those chapters have a heavy tone that cloaks the story as it becomes obvious readers are getting a textbook look at the unfolding of an abusive relationship. The small controlling that leads to bigger, the erasure of Lili's self made over to what Justin wants her to be, the preying on a vulnerable person (Lili) by a predator (Justin), and manipulation of Justin towards Lili and her parents. Lili's sister Lo, is the only one to have an inkling as to what is going on but gets manipulated out of the picture by Justin.

'And when I was lost and alone, when I was most vulnerable...' She looked up and met his eyes. 'I came and found you.'

It makes your heart hurt and give a sense of anxiety as each wedding countdown chapter progresses the abuse and readers know how bad it has the potential to get. This abusive relationship and Lili's journey through it is the bulk of the story being told here and while Ben's a balm to those dark, heavy emotions from Justin's presence, his starting romance with Alice plays second fiddle. The last twenty percent brings the timelines together in the Now with Alice regaining her memory but then losing the time she spent with Ben. Alice and readers get the full picture about what caused her dissociative episode and then get a few chapters on how she righted her life. I would have liked a few more chapters here as it would have felt great to see a person in an abusive relationship readers saw building, get to experience their moments of strength. The last few pages bring in a happy for now ending, to leave on hope. This was heavy toned with a look into a building abusive relationship but did have those sprouts of hope that eventually flowered to leave readers with a tender smile.