Help Me Remember

Help Me Remember is a first read for me of author Corinne Michaels. And won't be the last book of hers I read, I assure you! Help Me Remember contains all the elements that makes the romance genre my go to brand of novels when I need to feel good. Corinne Michaels has created a strong sexy hero in Spenser Cross. She pairs him with a equally strong independent woman, a childhood friend, Brielle. From the beginning the two capture your heart and have you rooting for them and the power of true love even as they are caught up in a mystery that seems destined to keep them apart. Corinne has done such a masterful job of developing these characters they seem real as if they lived next door.I am blown away by Corinne Michaels' excellent word craft skills. With words alone she takes you to the picturesque town of Rose Canyon. Without leaving your favorite chair, you participate in an epic water balloon, capture the flag tournament in the local park and experience every sweet moment the two lovers are together. It takes real talent to show with words that depth of love shared by Spenser and Brie in their intimate moments together. Corinne Michaels has the talent to make you feel every touch, every sigh with her vivid creation of their lovemaking. It is breathtakingly sweet with just the right touch of spice. Yet, the romance does not overpower the storyline.Which brings me to the next must -have component of a romance novel- a story. There is more to true romance than sex, and a good romance author should be able to blend the more intimate moments of a relationship into an equally strong plot. Help Me Remember is a suspenseful murder mystery, full of twists and turns that keep you guessing who did it until the near end. It is a page-turner from beginning to end! The drama unfolds in painstakingly crafted moments. The implications for Spenser and Brielle have you holding your breath wondering how their love can hold up. Again, Corinne Michaels has done an excellent job in developing the story.The most important element of the romance genre is the happily ever after ending and Help Me Remember has that. The ending not only has you breathing a sigh of relief that all ends well, it peaks your curiosity to find out what happens to all the support characters in Rose Canyon.Help Me Remember is a well written romance that is well worth the time to read.

Sitting squarely between 3 and 4 stars for me, the best part of this suspenseful romance is its unpredictable storyline. I've read amnesia romances before, but never has one played out quite like this one - and that definitely kept me on my toes. I liked the teases and the guessing, and it certainly gets pretty angsty at times. I felt for this heroine (for losing her memory) as much as I felt for the hero (for having to hide his feelings). The "help me remember" situation got unnecessarily complicated and there were several things that left me scratching my head, but I liked the originality. Personally, I think this could've benefited from some flashbacks to showcase why this couple is right together; their relationship takes a backseat to the amnesia AND the drama, so it was left feeling very underdeveloped. Sure, I could feel the heartache seeping out of our hero, but I needed more swoon to build up the romance. Still an interesting series starter, and I was curious to see how it would all play out.If you want the full experience, then I suggest going in blind. I listened to the audio version exclusively for the first chunk of the story, just so I wouldn't spoil it for myself while trying to piece things together, lol. Essentially, the story follows Brielle, a woman who wakes up to discover that she's been unconscious for several days and has blocked out the memories of the last three years. Unfortunately, she's the only witness to her brother's murder, and those memories are essential to catching the killer. For that reason, Brielle's loved ones have been instructed not to tell her anything about the last three years - she needs to remember for herself. And a lot can change over the course of three years, it seems. The good news is that her brother's three best friends are by Brielle's side, and they'll support her while she works to figure things out.This part's going to get vaguely spoilery, so that's your warning. Brother's best friend romances typically go either really well or really poorly for me, depending on the couple's history. I think Brielle's love story would've bugged me if it was executed in the typical way (her guy used to be an emotionally unavailable manhoe, and she's been crushing on him for years), but this is almost like book two in a duet. They're already in love when the book begins... Brie just doesn't know that. For that reason, you can feel the angst once we get the hero's perspective, and it made for a very interesting dynamic. Frustrating, but interesting. I loved that our hero is so dedicated and loyal; you can really feel the love from him. The memory stuff was too convoluted and kinda repetitive though, so I wish there had been more time spent on Brie falling in present day. Suspense lovers are likely to enjoy the mysterious elements, and it does a good job of revealing things a step at a time. I certainly didn't love this, but it made for an interesting read - and it's got me curious about the rest of the series of interconnected standalones.Audio note: The audio was good! It's dual narration, with Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt. Neither one tops my list of favorite narrators, but they're both easy to listen to and right for the tone. The format also worked because I couldn't be a sneaky little reader and jump ahead to get some answers (because I'm bad like that). The story lends itself perfectly to audio. This also made a good workday listen, with a slow burn romance and just a hint of steam. Not many uncomfortable moments if you're in the office, lol. The runtime is also ideal for a workday, especially if you speed it up just a little. I've got no complaints about the audio, it was good.

This was a good whodunnit. It was kind of... twisty. There were so many red herrings. The suspense was thrilling. I could not stop reading... even though it's a couple of hours past my bedtime.I absolutely loved Spencer Cross. *Swoon* I actually loved all of the guys (Emmett, Holden, Quinn & Jackson)...but Spencer is the kind of wounded/broken H I love.Brielle Davis had her moments. She was OK for the most part... but she had a couple of situations where I just wanted to slap her.There are content warnings for this book on the author's website. I don't know what they are because I didn't read them. (The last time I did that, I spoiled the book for myself.) I can tell you that domestic abuse (against a wife and child) figure into the story, but we don't see it firsthand. Watching Brie struggle with her memory was hard. There is also additional violence in the story (but I think if I described it, it might spoil things...).There were probably a few things I was not expecting in this story...among them, the kids from the park. They were a hilarious!This was a really good read. It had everything I like in a romance: drama/suspense/mystery, humor, and steam.

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 📝        𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Help Me Remember    𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Corinne Michaels  𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense      𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:    𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 This book, amazing!  I'm a fan of Amnesia Storylines anyway but this one blew me away.  Although I won't lie, I did see the big reveal coming from the start but the impact was beautiful either way.  Brielle & Spencers story was jam pacted with emotions. I felt for both these characters and can not imagine the level of pain they must have felt.  Their connection and chemistry right from the start was utterly mesmerising, I couldn't turn away and devoured the book in one sitting. I love, love, LOVE Suspense Romances, they are some of my all time favourites and this one is definitely up there with some of my must Reads.  It truly is unmissable, not just because of the gripping storyline but because these characters are simply breathtaking. Another incredible win from an already gifted author.    𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐟:   • Contemporary Romance  • Amnesia Storyline  • Suspense Romance  • Second Chance  • Steamy Reads  •Angsty Reads  • Brother's Best Friend  • Small Town Romance  • Unrequited Love      𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:     𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘖𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘖𝘧 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 𝘗𝘭𝘰𝘵: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  ...................................................................................    𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The story started off ok..But i found Brielle really annoying.Then how cruel she was to Spencer.. didnt really seem like love to me.Even when she saw him as a friend.She knew what he'd been through before yet spouted the same cruel words.Then at some point she decided shes G I Jane and goes off to confront an armed man.. unarmed and alone.Even after all she had been through and after knowing first hand what the guy was capable of. Rediculous part of the story, more so as she knew military and police men who could and would've dealt with the situation. She just came across as insensitive and irresponsible.. to her own friends and family. All the other characters i liked.. just feel it wouldve been nice to see more of their friendships.. and a better conclusion to the story.

Corinne once again you have out done yourselfThe story line the ups and downs kept me intrigued until the endOnce I started I couldn't put it down

This was such a unusual story, you kind of didn’t know where it was going to, but knew whatever it was going to be perfect. Full of so much, can’t put it into words, read the synopsis, read the book and fall in love with the whole story.

A very good book. Her brother is killed and she loses her memory. A 3 year gap appears in her memories. It causes heartbreak to one man and embarrassment to another. The story unwind with her memories slowly coming back. A book that makes you, laugh and cry but also shudder with the danger between the pages as well