Author: Lexi Ryan
Publication date: April 5th 2014
Source: Received ARC from the author (Thanks sooo much, Lexi! <3)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes
The last thing I remember is having drinks at Brady’s and trying to avoid eye-contact with my life-long crush—the gorgeous, unattainable Maximilian Hallowell. They tell me that was a year ago, but I have no memories of anything since then. What I do have is this ring on my finger that Max says he gave me, and this much-thinner body I’ve dreamed of most of my life. Aside from a case of retrograde amnesia, everything seems almost...perfect.
But the deeper I immerse myself into this new world of mine—planning a wedding to a man I don't remember dating, attempting to run a business I don't remember starting—the clearer it becomes that nothing is as it seems. Do I have the life I’ve always wanted or is it a facade propped up by secrets I don't even know I have?
I need answers before I marry Max, and the only person who seems to have them is the angry, tatted, sexy-as-sin rocker Nate Crane. And Nate wants me for himself.
(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)
Review:
I'm pretty sure everyone is tired of hearing me gush about how much I absolutely love Lexi Ryan's books but I swear, guys, this one is literally her best one yet. I have always been fascinated with amnesia stories, be it TV shows or books I just generally enjoy them. (I blame Meteor Garden for this.) So when I heard that Lexi Ryan would be writing one, I was immediately ecstatic, add the fact that the story would be about Hanna (who I adored from the previous New Hope books), Max (who I was really unsure of) and a mysterious sexy rocker named, Nate (who I knew I would be rooting for) it got me all kinds of excited. If there's really one thing I know about Lexi Ryan and her MO, it's that she will place the biggest plot twist the world has ever seen in her book and you won't even know that you were heading that direction till you get there. It will literally jump at you, and Lost in Me's twist definitely took me by surprise. I am still trying to decide if I love Lexi Ryan for it or if I want strangle her. Get back to me when book 2 comes out.
After waking up from an accident that left her with a slightly long-term amnesia, Hanna Thompson soon discovers how close to perfect her life is. She was engaged to her long-time crush, Max Hallowell, who never gave her the time of day, she lost a ton of weight that used to make her feel insecure, she owned her very own bakery, and she had a secret affair with the famous rock star, Nate Crane... wait, what? Okay, maybe not so perfect especially when she finds out that not everything is what it seems and that people have been keeping important things from her. BIG things.
Going through the journey of retrieving Hanna's memories was both enjoyable and torturous. Seeing Hanna's memories come back to her was like a slow burn, it took a while to spread but you felt it going through you body. That was what it felt like, seeing Hanna experience those memories again. At first you think that everything is all good and jolly but as things start to unravel and unwind, you will realize that even that smallest detail has a big significance to the story. Having met Hanna in the previous books, I already knew that I liked her. Even though she was the exact opposite of her adventurous sister, Hanna wasn't completely a shut-in or a prude. She was timid but also knew when to say her piece and that made me appreciate her all the more. We frequently see so many powerful and snarky heroines nowadays and it was good to be able to take a break from those kinetic characters and spend some time with the more quiet but still special heroines. If there was one thing I trait I didn't particularly like about Hanna, it's that she was too conscious about her weight to the point that everyone she knew started questioning her health but I can sympathize with her and I was glad that Lexi Ryan remedied that when she started making her eat again after the accident. Haha!
Max Hallowell... Max... Hallowell... I can't say that I've always liked him because even when I first met him, I was unsure as to what to feel about him. Sure he was hot and... that's it. (Sorry I'm not sorry, bro.) Had I not read about how he and Hanna got together, I would not have been able to believe that they were actually together. It kinda annoyed me how he immediately switched from one sister to her twin. *cough*douche*cough* To say that I am not a Max Hallowell fan would be an understatement, I just never clicked with him, you know? I understand that all Hanna wanted to do was to reacquiant herself with her fiance after her accident but it felt that she put him on a too high pedestal just because of her former massive crush on him, I guess love does make you blind. #MaxHater Yup, see what I did there? Trust me, the book will continue to get crazier and crazier as it goes on.
As soon as I read the lines "I need answers before I marry Max, and the only person who seems to have them is the angry, tatted, sexy-as-sin rocker Nate Crane. And Nate wants me for himself." I just knew that I would love Nate and I was glad that Lexi Ryan added him to the mix. Not only did he add more depth to the story but his appearances and interactions with Hanna were what I lived for. There were times when I wanted to shake Hanna and tell her to just go with Nate already but then I realized that her being with Max wasn't what was stopping her, it was something else... If Max played the doting fiance well (almost too well), Nate played the vulnerable other man perfectly. I honestly felt bad for him the entire book because right from the very beginning you already know what he feels for her but you also know that they cannot be. I cry. I am still Team Nate and I hope that Lexi can find it in the goodness of her heart to let him have a HEA... with me, if need be. #TeamNate5ever
The minor characters in this book played key roles in the story as well and it was great that Lexi Ryan was able to give them each an important part in the story. I still love the Hanna and Lizzie dynamic that they had going on and I hope that their relationship only continues to grow. It was also fun seeing Maggie and Asher as well as Cally and William! Loved their cameos (especially my William, hee! <3). I also really liked Nix, Hanna's doctor friend. I look forward to getting to know her better as the series goes on. But if there's one person who I did not appreciate was Meredith coming back. I cannot even express how much I absolutely detest that woman. I just... ARGH. I have to admit (begrudgingly) though, she does bring good drama. Like I said, they all played pretty important parts in the book and some of them were a part of the the bigger picture.
I never considered Lexi Ryan to be evil... until now. I am not even going to mention the ending or what I feel about it because it will just take me back to that state of depression I was in a few weeks ago and I just got over it so no, I really don't want to talk about it. I will say that it was absolutely brilliant and one of the most shocking endings I have read (and I never get shocked) but it was also evil. Pure evil. That is all. Moving on.
I wasn't kidding when I said that Lost in Me was Lexi Ryan's best book yet, because it is. It's like all her writing and other books have been leading up to this moment wherein she wrote a completely unique and addicting story that will have readers eating out the palm of her hand. That's the truth. But I will say that I was left with quite a number of questions and I am hoping that I will get the answers to them soon before I spontaneously combust. I don't doubt that book 2 will blow me away as well, maybe even more than this one did. I am really looking forward to what else Lexi Ryan has in store for us in her Here and Now series. Also... more Nate, please!
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