Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Forget I Told You
AUTHOR: Tanya Chris
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 301 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 18, 2019
BLURB:
His memory’s been erased, but his soul can’t forget its mate.
Jay has a nice wife and a nice life with a nice house and a nice job in the very nice city of Seattle. Except he’s beginning to suspect that none of that is true. If he has a wife, why can’t he remember marrying her? And why does trying to remember make his head hurt?
Deron knows he shouldn’t be in Seattle. Giving into his need to check on the man who once belonged to him could put a complicated cross-agency investigation at risk. All he wants is one little peek. He didn’t expect Jay to recognize him or for the two of them to get shot at on the streets of Seattle.
Jay’s suffering from a case of amnesia only he can cure and is at the heart of a mystery only he can solve. Too bad he doesn’t know any of that. But there’s one thing he does know: Deron. His memory may have been removed, but his soul will never forget its mate. Can he remember everything else in time to save both their lives and possibly an entire country?
REVIEW:
In a coffee shop, Jay sees a man that invokes feelings, but no memories. Jay had a wife and a job, but something felt off. He liked his wife, but he wasn’t attracted to her, and he wondered why. Upon seeing Deron, some emotions clicked into place, and he perused it.
Deron needed to know that Jay was okay. So, he travelled to Seattle to check up on him. He intended to keep his distance but when they locked eyes, he knew they were both screwed.
The story is conveyed using two viewpoints and two ways. For the majority, the tale is told in the third person from Jay’s pov. Then there are inserted chapters with snippets from Deron in the first person. I’ve not read a story with this layout before, and it worked well.
This is a story that is difficult to review without giving away spoilers, and I’ll do my best not to give anything away. Though in case I fail, consider this the warning.
In the early chapters, I believe the story is written in a way to be deliberately vague and a touch confusing. It appears Jay has a kind of amnesia, and the style of writing gives an indication of the way Jay’s mind is working. That aspect is clever. It also left me with more questions than answers. I read the first few pages several times as in my head some of the facts didn’t stack up. Stick with it though, because what seems like misinformation and plot holes at the start are soon cleared up.
Realizing that he has an emotional tie to Deron, puts Jay in the middle of a mystery he needs to solve. He has moments of confusion. He logically processes the information reaches conclusions which then pose more questions. It doesn’t take him long before he understands he had a life before his marriage – one he can’t remember.
Unable to trust his memories, all he has to go on are his gut instincts. As more facts some to light Jay has no idea why his past-self did the things he did or made the decisions he had. His present-self had to discover why, while his memory hopefully circumvents the blocks that have been put in place.
Don’t trust anyone – is the primary tag. Everyone seemed to know more about Jay than he did of himself. Games are being played, some for safety, some for secrecy. There is a case for everyone being the bad guy. But after a while, the games being played with Jay – Jay starts playing them back.
Once Deron makes an appearance, he is a constant presence. He’s a cop with the NYPD, and for me, he lights up the page. He has a personal battle between protecting the man he loves and his job. However, secrets separate people. The secrets between Jay and Deron cause an emotional rift, but Jay can’t remember why he’s keeping the secrets or what they are.
For the majority of the story, Jay goes through the process of emotions before memories. At times it’s a bit of a mind-fuck for him and the reader. To that end, the author was talented in the way the story was written because it puts the reader in Jay’s mindset. Though, the reader isn’t privy to everything he remembers until the moment of exposure.
Judging from the character descriptions, I’m guessing the author is a fan of NCIS LA as Deron’s boss, sounded very much like Hetty.
The story is one of the few where I had no actual idea of who was good or bad until close to the end. Much like Jay, I only had a gut feeling and to see how it played out. Kudos to the author there.
By the time I was well into the story, it was evident that the plot was a build up to Jay keeping some huge-ass secret. And he is. The disappointment was how the ending was handled. The build-up was massive, and I get that the story focus was on Jay and Deron, but I felt a touch cheated that more time wasn’t dedicated to the fall-out. When Jay discloses what he needs, and the relevant people are in the know, it’s as if that’s where the main story ends, with only a side note for the consequences.
Reading this review back, it reads a bit like what’s happening in Jay’s mind. It will probably only make sense once the story has been read.
The facts are.
Forget I Told You, is more of an emotional journey rather than a physical cops style drama. There are dramatic physical scenes, as well as some impressive explicit sex. But most of the story revolves around Jay’s thoughts and ways of dealing with what he knows. The insight into the process was very well written, and it kept me guessing to the last minute. The ending was more physical drama than emotional because that’s where the bad guys make their play. Those scenes too were well written. But I’d have liked the story to be a little longer and go into more detail regarding the consequences of what Jay put his life on the line for. After the ways the rest was superbly written, I expected a hugs finish, and for me it petered out.
RATING: 
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