{NEW} With Every Memory by Janine Rosche
(Trigger Warning’s: Death of child, Sexual Assault, Leaked Nudes, Cheating}
TLDR: Absolutely adored this book and it's originality, it was an emotionally compelling and intelligent quick read that can go along with summer rushing in.
Story Synopsis: Lori, a traumatic brain injury survivor after an accident with a train that kills her teenage son Austin. After recovering from amnesia, she returns to a broken and mostly forgotten home where she must try to reunite her distracted husband and closed off daughter.
Review:
First off, my thanks to author Janine Rosche, BookishFirst, and Revell Books for the complimentary physical advanced reader copy of, ‘With Every Memory,’ per my request. This review is being voluntarily given and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Get a copy of the book here (not affiliate link)
I am so glad I won a copy of this wonderful book, I had a long reading slump - and have not been able to really settle down with a book in a while due to a precarious living situation. This book was able to get me to sit down, and read, for the first time in a few weeks - and I appreciate it for that.
This is told in a rotation of two points-of-view, Lori and her daughter Avery. These switches helped fully cover the story where Lori’s memory could not. It was still very easy to digest, and did nothing to complicate the narrative. I usually feel jarred by such quick POV changes, but this was able to switch seamlessly. I have no doubt readers would enjoy both characters' narration.
The novel is an emotional rollercoaster, literally. The author is VERY witty in the way she writes, and many of the quotes will stick with you. This novel contains the most well written, fleshed out family I have ever read about. There are real dynamics and interactions, a lot of show and not tell - which you appreciate after reading so many novels where families essentially cease to exist outside of the main character. I saw a few users mark this novel as, ‘slow burn,’ but I see this as inherently wrong - as there is not a page that passes that something important or integral DOESN’T happen. So much was happening that I actually had to keep putting the book down for a breath towards the end. It felt smothering emotionally upon the big reveal, and it captures frustration and desperation so well that it was no big step to believe you saw it in yourself as well. It is a deep and relatable pain. This book also has a good deal of romance, which I felt surprised as I figured this would focus on the marriage troubles of an adult woman and lots of secrets. The premise doesn’t prepare you for this, but I was so glad for it! The romance was refreshing and so sweet between Avery and Xander, and I often related to the way they fell in love - unsure but always honey-sweet. It is also CLEAN, which I appreciated. I cannot explain enough how tired I am of forced smut in novels, or even smut in general - so it was a nice reprieve. However, there are mentions of someone else's (not the MCs) nude leak, which I am giving a warning for if this is a trigger for you. It was also nice to see Lori and Michael fall in love all over again, a type of romance I have never read about - but found even more enticing.
Still, this does not mean that the plot was without its cons. Some of the subplots were badly handled, namely the one involving sexual assault. Without including spoilers, it was simply thrown in while wholly out of place and had no point except to justify a character’s ‘good guy,’ characterization. Some of the book’s characterization of Lori is also to be critiqued, she is an odd one. She can be downright naïve, and childish, which can be expected with a TBI. However, this does not seem like an intentional write. You start off initially feeling a lot of sympathy and care for her. Eventually, though, you realize how almost everyone around her deserved better. It’s not that her predicament isn’t understandable or even unrelatable - but that she constantly victimizes herself in situations where she was at fault, and then hops on a unrealistic forgiveness train almost instantly. There is a moment where Lori selfishly attempts to talk about a very PRIVATE piece of information with Avery in front of Avery’s entire school at prom. When warned to stop by Michael, she continues with no regard for Avery’s privacy or the sake of space and respect. It’s a childish moment that made me dislike Lori. I am VERY glad she is now so far removed from who she was before, and that somehow such a horrible situation restored her to her true self. The whole subplot about adultery was interesting enough and made me speculate the entire story, but looking back at it -it was something that only made me appreciate the other characters even more. Which directly juxtaposed how I felt when I first started the novel.
Avery’s POV is at first so edgy it’s daunting, uncomfortable, and reeks of the YA I used to read when I was a 17 year old girl. This is a brilliant choice to start with, as you can actually witness Avery’s change from a defensive and sensitive stereotypical teen into a fully fledged caring and open young woman. She no longer takes so much of her identity in Austin in the end, while still keeping him in her heart. After the second chapter I was very invested in her brilliantly written character. She is very layered, and perhaps the best written of all of the characters - and it was so rewarding to watch her become happy. I did not at all find her snobby, I found her understandable and I cannot say I would not have reacted differently in her situation. It was great to see how well studied the author was in emotional intelligence, and how well they portrayed projection of others' jealousy onto women. Avery is at the figurehead of this and I felt it was handled responsibly.
The ending felt very quick, as everything comes together quite literally in the last chapters. For so much paranoia and speculation to wrap up so quickly in under three chapters - it was immensely satisfying. It took me a while to ponder the book fully, but at no point did I feel unhappy with what I read or questioning. I did feel like the book could’ve been longer, but it was brilliant at exploring grief and its relation to love and forgiveness. A topic which, I feel, is greatly underappreciated in both life and novels. I would recommend this to everyone who loves general fiction with a hint of tragedy, seeing as you aren’t easily triggered by death or SA, as it is a very underappreciated gem of a read that I’ve since moved to have a cozy spot at the top of my bookshelf for constant rereads on long summer days!
I am deeply looking forward to more from this author, including the upcoming spin off that she sneak peeked at the end of this arc.
Pros:
👻Well written, witty, and short - perfect beach read.
👻You can get easily lost in the story, like you are seeing it with your own eyes.
👻All heavy topics are handled with grace.
👻A deeply emotional, complex plotline.
👻Great relatable characters. Even my least favorite one, Lori, is immaculately written in a way that still makes her deeply understandable.
Cons:
👻Heavy topics, one of which can have been easily removed without changing the story.
👻A very quick wrap-up within the last the last 3 chapters that can serve as either satisfying OR jarring.
👻Not well fleshed out subplot on adultery that makes you strongly dislike one of the characters.
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