Try to Remember (Harlequin Presents, No. 961)

Of course, I kinda knew who Eliot was! I was TOTALLY waiting for the big reveal. Anyway, this book kept me on my toes, and I totally wanted to get the whole story. Kinda like a cliffhanger all the way. But yeah, all those stupid relatives were a bunch of nasty people! Can't believe they wasted five years of the hero/heroine's lives!!! Yay for happy endings!!! (Obviously I loved the book, gave it four stars only coz I wanted the evil villains to have suffered more)

Vanessa utilises her two most effective devices here. The heroine with (selective) amnesia. And the thoroughly evil manipulative relatives. In my opinion American romance writers cannot do evil relatives. I mean. The heroine forgets about the man she loved, the fact that he married her and the baby she lost. For what? To live as a moonling companion to a malicious step-father. The entire plot hinges on the serendipitous death of the step-father. And if that hadn't happened neither Isobel nor Eliot would have found happiness together again. I just wanted to shake the pair of them. Strictly speaking this story involves TWO doormats. Isobel and Eliot are abominably abused and lead by the nose by their jealous relatives. Both of them are supposed to be intelligent people. Eliot was a lawyer. Pardon me. But when a man marries, he becomes the legal guardian of his wife doesnt he? So why does Eliot allow the step-father to refuse him access to Isobel when she is injured in the car accident? Why does he get himself banged-up on a trumped up charge? Because he's a masochist who loves being a martyr. Thats why. That Bobbi. What an abomination. That Edmund. What a perv. And let me just explain the 2 sets of parents relationships to each other. Hang on, I don't think I can. Brilliant story. Beautiful ending.

I read this book years ago and loved it. The characters and plot are well developed. This book has been placed in my re-read collection.

I read this book for the first time a while ago, with a friend. We both just loved it so much. Since then, it has been in my reread rotation for almost 10 years. It was a great story with a great ending. Any love story lover will definitly enjoy this book. (I actually teared up...I don't do that often)Thank you Vanessa James for this lovely story!