Out February 5th!

Forget You Know Me was the opposite of what I expected it to be. After reading Jessica Strawser's book Not That I Could Tell, which had a strong thriller/mystery quality, I was expecting something similar this time around. The beginning of the book had me on the edge of my seat. Two friends on video chat catching up from hundreds of miles apart. Molly steps away from her computer to attend to a needy child when suddenly a man in a ski mask walks into the house. Liza panics when she sees him enter, and goes into full on freak out mode when he shuts the laptop and leaves her in the dark as to what is happening in the house. Thriller, right? Wrong.

The rest of the book evolved into more of a women's fiction novel about friendship, marriage, relationship struggles, changes people go through over the course of their lives, guilt, second chances, and more. Just because it wasn't what I was expecting does not mean I did not enjoy it. In fact, I did. Strawser's writing is enjoyable, easy to read, and real.

While both of the main characters really irked me (stop making a series of horrible decisions people!), they could have been real people from my life. A wife struggling with her new life as a mother, a husband unhappy in his marriage, a friend feeling like she's being left behind. It was all very realistic and believable.

I will admit that in the beginning of the book I felt like there were a lot of subplots all going in different directions and I was a bit confused about how they all related. But for the most part, they all intersect nicely along the way. There were perhaps a few places where I didn't understand the relevance, particularly in Luke and Steph's portion.

Overall, bravo to Jessica Strawser on another successful novel! I hope to see more from her in the future.

-This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Strawser, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review.-

This book has one of the best hooks I've read in a while, making me turn the pages for hours into the night. When two old friends are speaking via video chat, Molly steps away to attend to her child for a moment and Liza witnesses a masked intruder breaking into Molly's kitchen. This clever set up sets the runaway train in motion and the train keeps gaining speed right up to the satisfying conclusion. The characters are flawed, and interesting and real. I appreciate the depiction of Molly's battle with chronic illness and Liza's struggle with anxiety. The male characters—Daniel, and Rick, and Max—each have detailed backstories and challenges of their own. Henry is the one character who feels a bit flat, probably because he isn't given too much time on the page. Despite this, I rooted for them all to figure out what happened and get all of their lives back on the right track. Strawser does an incredible job with the plot and structure of this book, and the dialogue is witty, clever and fun to read. She has definitely hit her stride, and I will anxiously await to see what she writes next.

Best friends Molly and Liz are determined to have a girls night together even though they are separated by states. As they connect via video chat Molly leaves the room to check on one of her kids, leaving her computer open and Liz with a view of the empty room. Suddenly, a man in a mask enters the room and disconnects the video. This has all the makings of a fantastic thriller but unfortunately this train derails halfway through the book. This is not a thriller but a domestic drama with a laugh worthy reveal at the end. Fantastic premise but poor execution and a dissatisfied reader. It kept me turning the pages but I was so disappointed at the outcome and found all of the sidewinder stories to be too much. For me, Forget You Know Me was ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars, rounded up from 2.5. Thank you @stmartinspress for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Forget You Know Me is my second novel by this author. I previous read and enjoyed Not That I Could Tell.

This book is listed on netgalley as Women's Fiction. It is listed other places as suspense. I think that it is a combination of the two as it has elements of both genres. Although truthfully while reading it I was thinking of it as more of a suspense (as there is a bit of a mystery).

This book has three 3rd person POVs: Liza, Molly and Daniel. The story takes place in Cincinnati and Chicago. Liza and Molly are best friends who have grown apart a bit in recent years. Daniel is Molly's husband.

Daniel is away on business. Molly and Liza are on a video chat, when Molly goes upstairs to tend to one of her kids. What Liza sees changes everything. And it completely freaked me out. This eerie feeling and what happened is what made my mind think of this book as suspense.

But this book is so much more than that. This story is also focused on relationships, friendships, and there are a lot of secrets. These are major elements in this story.

I really enjoyed this book. There was definitely a lot going on. Liza had things happening with dating, with her home and with her family. Daniel had stuff happening at home and at work. Molly had stuff happening with her health, with her marriage, and with a male friend. That male friend's daughter had issues. There were a lot of interesting elements to keep my attention.

Overall, I really liked Forget You Know Me. I was invested in all three of the main characters. And I was intrigued to learn the truth about what Liza saw that night. There were so many possibilities that I honestly was not sure which way the author would go with the reveal.

I really enjoyed both the story and the characters. They were likable and well developed and made me want to learn more about them in the same way the story kept me hooked too. It's an emotional and complex story about friendship and family and I was intrigued from the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I skimmed through most of this book. It was kind of marketed as a thriller, but really is just a domestic drama. The plot was silly and contrived to me, and the characters fairly unlikable.

Another good read by Strawser! She is able to capture the elements of suspense and weave them within a tale of a breaking friendship and marriage. I was grabbed quickly by the action and I enjoyed finding out what was really going on. The characters are all very different and interesting. Stawser does a nice job making realistic characters who are dealing with real issues. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book started out with a great, tension filled scene and then quickly became a domestic drama. It would have been so much better if it would have carried that tension throughout. Unfortunately, the secrets were not very difficult to figure out. I enjoyed Liza’s storyline much more than Molly and Daniel’s. While there were many relationship issues throughout, the book did end on a good note.

This is a very well written book examining the relationship between two friends who like in real life drifted apart only to be reconnected through a trumatic event.

This novel is more of a character study with well developed real characters than a fast paced thriller.

I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley, the review is my honest opinion.

I was a fan of Strawser's previous book ALMOST MISSED YOU. Her second, NOT THAT I COULD TELL, was pretty good too. But I'll confess I had a hard time getting into this new book, FORGET YOU KNOW ME. Despite the intriguing set up and promising premise, the story ultimately fell flat for me. The character of Molly was pretty strong, but I didn't come away feeling like I "knew" Liza very well. Although the writing is better than average, the story feels bogged down by exposition/explaining in a few spots. Where this novel shines is in its examination of relationships. Perhaps if it was marketed as less of a thriller and more of a women's fiction type book, that would be more accurate.

This book was not for me. While I enjoy domestic drama, relationships, marriages and secrets overall, this one did not really make me feel invested at all. It was difficult to keep at it and read as this book. The characters were annoying and unrealistic. What could have been as intriguing and Big Little Lies fell flat simply beacuase of a few loopholes on the plot and these flawed characters. They worked off of so many assumptions and miscommunications that it was annoying. The author’s story telling is good, but this one needed more character refinement.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I love reading and reviewing books before they are published. I promised the publishers to always provide an honest review and sometimes it is not an easy thing to do. I am giving a generous three-star rating to this book. The story did not grab me, and I found myself easily distracted while I was reading it. Not to say that you would not like it. The writing is good and there are great life lessons to learn.

This is the story of two best friends who grow apart and whose relationship comes to a near end after a tragic incident. Liza and Molly have been friends since their teens. Liza moved away to Chicago for work and Molly is dealing with major health and financial issues. One night, as they are skyping, Liza witnesses an intruder in Molly’s home while she is attending to her children. She scares the intruder away, but once she tells her friend about it, Molly is acting like it is no big deal. Liza is worried for her friend and drives all night to Cincinnati to find out while Molly is so aloof. When Liza confronts Molly, she gets a cold reception and eventually a slammed door in her face.

This book about their friendship and their separate lives. It was hard to read as there was no real common denominator between the two stories. I was expecting some conjunction to come eventually but did not get one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced reader’s copy of this book. FORGET YOU KNOW ME by Jessica Strawser will be available at your favorite bookstore on February 5, 2019.

The opening of the book is strong and instantly grabbed my attention. It is obvious that there is more going on than meets the eye. The opening scenes along with the book description may make this book look like a thriller but it is really a look at relationships and how relationships can become distant, lonely and lose their luster. After the intense beginning, this book slows down and has a slower pace as it explores the relationships of the main characters. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary literature, especially those that revolve around the complications that can arise within adult relationships.

Although this book started out very interesting, by the middle of it, I found myself loosing interest. Characters were not well developed. There were far too many relationships going on that we're leading nowhere. The friendships seemed contrived, not realistic. A bit disappointing .

When a video call between friends captures a shocking incident no one was supposed to see, the secrets it exposes threaten to change their lives forever.

I have read and loved both of Jessica Strawser's previous novels and knew that I would enjoy reading Forget You Know Me as well. I wasn't wrong! From the first chapter to the end, the book had me hooked and greedily wanting more! While many erroneously believe that this is a thriller, the thing I've learned about Strawser is that, while the suspense is there, it is not the focal point of the story - the characters are where the interest lies and what makes you furiously read to the end. This is definitely a women's fiction/general fiction, literary novel.

The story begins with two childhood friends making a video call. Their friendship, once forged of steel, is now weakening as both women deal with their own, very different adult lives. Neither wants to give up on what they had when they were younger, but neither do they know how to re-connect. It is during this video call, the call that they both hope will strengthen their friendship once more, that Liza sees a masked intruder in her friend's home while her friend, Molly, is away from her computer to tend to her child. As Liza frantically calls 911, Molly is upstairs, unaware that anything has happened. When she returns, the laptop is closed and the police are banging on her door. Liza, terrified because her friend will not return her calls, hops in the car and drives from Chicago to Ohio to check on her friend, who, upon her arrival slams the door in her face. ??? Not what Liza expected at all. The story continues to unfold from each friend's perspective. We learn about their fears, worries, trials and tribulations, marital problems, health problems - you know, all of the things that we all deal with every single day. Yet, somehow, Strawser makes their story so incredibly compelling that the reader becomes invested in their lives and the outcome of this harrowing event.

I will admit that there are some minor flaws in the storyline and some very nit-picking details that had me scratching my head at times. There also were many occasions that I wanted to reach into the book and slap all of the characters for being so stubborn and uncommunicative because, ultimately, all of their problems revolved around miscues, assumptions and miscommunication. Don't people just talk to one another any more? Well, that is the question that this book will have you asking yourself. Ultimately, this is a book about friendships that come and go, old and new. It is about commitment and what it takes to make any type of relationship work. Most importantly, it is about bonds that we forge - human to human - what it takes to nurture them, strengthen them and when to know to break them for our own well-being. Forget You Know me is a strong, character driven tale in which Strawser deftly guides you along as you explore these characters' lives, their quirks, pain and joy.

Forget You Know Me has repeatedly been listed as a "must-read" book for this winter and I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree. Strawser is an author that I know I can count on for a very good, well written, beautifully told story.

Immense thanks and gratitude to #Netgalley, @JessicaStrawser and @StMartinsPress for my advanced copy of this amazing book.

My first thought in starting this book was that I was going to miss my plans that evening because I couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns as the story unfolds. Very well written!

This was a great book about relationships. Liza and Molly have been best friends for many years. Liza is single and Molly is married with children. As it often happens with life, Liza and Molly have drifted apart. As they are trying to reconnect, a traumatic event spins the friendship and life out of control. This is a story of relationships both friendships and marriage. The characters are flawed and real and you need to read quickly to find out how their stories finish. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

I am sorry but this book confused me. I kept losing who was talking, The character's seemed to blend and be all over the place. I read only to chapter 5. I could not finish.

A solid family drama with a good twist at the end! The characters were relatable, and the story flowed really well.

This did not work for me at all.

I really enjoy this author and wanted to love this one, but honestly, I was not wanting to pick up the book throughout reading it.

The beginning was so intriguing and I was hopeful that the story line would be suspenseful. It wasn't and I didn't feel anything for the characters. The twist was not surprising or thrilling. I can't figure out why the novel started one way and swerved off on so many detours. I feel like it was trying to hard to be several genres, but that was just my take. There are many positive reviews.

Themes of relationships, troubled marriage, and making sense of it all.