Crazy, Chaotic Book Babes: 4 STAR REVIEW~ Forgetting by J.L. Brooks

Release Date: January 13, 2015

Cover Model: Michael Gleason

Cover Designer: Heather McHenry at MHMPhotography

Stella Brady was the epitome of indulgence. With a history of seducing gorgeous men, wrecking hotel rooms and provoking scandalous rumors, fame rewarded her extravagant behavior. Nothing was off limits when it came to gratifying her desires, except the one thing she craved most of all-anonymity.

In a strange twist of fate, a tragic accident robs Stella of all memories past the age of seventeen and she must reconcile the person she has become with the phantom of who she is supposed to be.

Trapped in a limbo of his own, Navy officer Julian Moreau has taken leave and returned to his childhood home in order to care for his dying mother. Growing restless with a life on hold, nothing could prepare him for the impossible. Stella Brady had returned to Mooresville.

Despite a decade of separation and hopeless circumstances, neither is able to deny the irresistible attraction and connection they share. As each layer of the past unravels, they must decide if falling in love could lead to a lifetime of happiness, or one worth forgetting.

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~4 STAR REVIEW~

Forgetting by J.L. Brooks was my first emotionally draining book of 2015. The emotions in this book run high, all over, and so brokenly beautiful. J.L. Brooks told such a magnetic story as her journey with Stella Brady.

Stella isn't your ordinary girl. She's famous, a mess, and running away from a past she desperately wants to forget. She uses means of all sorts to forget the things she constantly feels... Until an accident takes her back to everything she never wanted to remember again. Problem is, she still doesn't remember.

Forgetting is Stella's journey to remember everything she lost and making herself into the woman she always was meant to be. Along the way she has the help of so many people she left forgotten. Her mom is there to help her pick the pieces up. She slowly allows Stella to become the girl she is supposed to be.. And Stella's long forgotten love, Julian. He mends her in ways nothing else ever could. Julian's love for Stella runs deep and true through everything they both have withstood. This is a second chance at love story while finding the place you are meant to be in life.

My favorite part of this book wasn't the story, the love, the rough patches. My favorite part lied solely in the heart of Raina, Julian's beautiful and strong willed mother. Raina was fighting cancer and even though it was robbing her of her life and soul, she still had such a fire and beautiful mind that she was hard not to be mesmerized by. The loss of her hit me hard... The stress cancer can take on the mind and body, personally having witnessed its destruction, it was so beautiful watching the person Raina continued to be until her last breath.

I really enjoyed this book. My emotions were a mess, I wanted to cry, laugh, scream, and mourn and I did all that in the pages of Forgetting by J.L. Brooks.

4 stars.

My eyes grew wide and my stomach fluttered. Imagining his lips on mine caused my mouth to water in anticipation. The air between us grew tangible, and I could think of nothing else. I moved my chest closer to his, and felt my breath grow shaky. The moment his hand rested against my cheek, I melted into his palm and closed my eyes. I parted my lips slightly and waited for him to move. The air puffed out of his nostrils and his face moved closer to mine. He wrapped his other arm tightly around my waist and pulled me close. Time felt as though it was dragging along on purpose, just to torture me, until finally his lips brushed mine and offered sweet respite. A deep whine was pulled from my lungs, and I craved more as I tangled myself into him.

“Child, I know what it’s like to feel like a stranger in your own body. To not have any control, or answers as to why things are so. How painful it is to move through the day to day, and continuously give yourself a reason to fight, when all you want to do is just go to sleep and have it all be over and done with. Tell me why am I sitting here voluntarily having my body poisoned to fight this demon, when I know ultimately I am going to lose? Why do any of us here keep fighting?” I looked around and all eyes were upon us. The room had fallen silent, and not one person dared to respond. Raina’s hand reached out for my cheek and was quickly soaked with tears. I didn’t have to ask why. I knew. “For love,”

JL Brooks is a former columnist turned novelist. What started as a bet changed her entire course in life. With a passion for adventure, she believes everyone has a story to tell. Chances are she will try to convince you to tell yours.

Favorite Quote:

"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it."

-Winston Churchill