Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Rueberry Orchard
SERIES: Beyond the Realm: Remember #1
AUTHOR: Michele Notaro
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 310 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2020
BLURB:
“There’s no time. Remember Rueberry Orchard.”
A beautiful man in strange clothing starts invading my dreams, and even though I know he isn’t real, the dreams—mind-links, according to him—are so vivid it’s hard to imagine this man doesn’t exist. After a few of these nightly visits, I start looking forward to meeting him and listening to his smooth voice as he tries to convince me to go to Rueberry Orchard.
To my surprise, the place really exists, but I know it would be crazy to go there when it’s ten hours away… right?
When the visits don’t stop, some deep desire inside me knows I have to listen to this dream man, even if it’s absolutely insane. I follow his instructions to Rueberry Orchard, and nothing in this world could’ve prepared me for what I find. Or for the wild adventure I’m about to embark on.
Rueberry Orchard is the first book in the multi-author series, Beyond the Realm: Remember. Each book is set in its own world and can be read as a standalone novel. Join eight authors on eight very different, romantic, and magical stories as each one writes their own take on the same concept.
REVIEW:
This book kicks off a new and collaborative series by a host of different authors – and it starts off with a bang! Right from the start I was hooked, I can’t put my finger on why, but the writing and the characters just wouldn’t let go of me. So I embarked on this intense adventure with two amnesiac men (insanely enough unaware of said amnesia) following the call from a man invading Rhile’s dreams, urging him to come to ‘Rueberry Orchard’. What waited for them was a lost love, a lot of danger and a world they never knew existed. As I write this I’m aware of how insane it all sounds, and it really does, but Michele Notario makes it work – and she leaves you wanting more. And that my friends is a sign of a great book.
And this adventure was great. My heart was alternating between pounding out of my chest, to breaking to aching. The emotions were pouring from the pages and you could feel every single one of them. Rhile and Ezryn shared an amazing connection – even if only one of them remembered their shared past. Which is why my heart broke for them. The pain Ezryn felt was so real, he’d been through an unimaginable hell the past couple of years and the one thing keeping him alive was seeing Rhile again.
But it wasn’t just Rhile and Ezryn who captured my heart, all of the (non-evil) characters did as well. I was so invested in all of their lives and wanted to spend more time with them. There were so many close bonds, friendships, brotherhood to get lost in. And I love the fact that none of it was new, every single person had a history shared and otherwise and you felt that history. It wasn’t only the characters that had a rich history, the world-building was intricate and had so many layers as well.
This all shaped up to a great book and I kind of hope this will become a series, because I would definitely like to spend more time in this world.
Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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