Forget Me Not is a book with a very unique premise and I am extremely grateful to the publisher for reaching out with an ARC for me to read and review.

Forget Me Not takes place in the not-too-distant future, where social media rules and nobody can run from their past. When there is a fire at Linda's childhood home, she is forced to return to it, with the help of a neighbor who doesn't just treat her like everyone else. This story is told through an unreliable narrator, so if that's the kind of book you like, get ready!

Forget Me Not really digs deep into the trauma of Linda's childhood and her present. She is forced to learn so much about herself and the others around her. The writing is well done and while it wasn't necessarily the book for me, I wouldn't warn anybody else off reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for this book!

I can’t remember what it was about this book that made select it, but I’m really glad I did. This book started out really strange because I never read the blurbs ahead of time. I like to go in cold. So getting a feel for the book took a few chapters. But once the pieces fell into place, the book was smooth sailing for me, and I finished it in just a couple of days.

From Goodreads: What if your past wasn’t what you thought?

As a child, Linda Russell was left to raise herself in a 20-acre walled-off property in rural Washington. The woods were her home, and for twelve years she lived oblivious to a stark and terrible truth: Her mother had birthed her only to replace another daughter who died in a tragic accident years before.

And then one day Linda witnesses something she wasn’t meant to see. Terrified and alone, she climbs the wall and abandons her home, but her escape becomes a different kind of trap when she is thrust into the modern world—a world for which she is not only entirely unprepared, but which is unprepared to accept her.

And you couldn’t see a future for yourself?

Years later, Linda is living in Seattle and immersed in technology intended to connect, but she has never felt more alone. Social media continually brings her past back to haunt her, and she is hounded by the society she is now forced to inhabit. But when Linda meets a fascinating new neighbor who introduces her to the potential and escapism of virtual reality, she begins to allow herself to hope for more.

What would it take to reclaim your life?

Then an unexplained fire at her infamous childhood home prompts Linda to return to the property for the first time since she was a girl, unleashing a chain of events that will not only endanger her life but challenge her understanding of family, memory, and the world itself.

Because this book mentions the pandemic in the past, I knew it was set in the near future. Social media is now controlled by one tech, SocialHub, and people wear their phones are arm sleeves. See why I was confused at first? My own fault! But once I dug into Linda’s story, I couldn’t wait to see how her story, both past and present, would develop. I really enjoyed the fact that this book wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill thrillers, but rather, it has a fair amount of science fiction added to it. I found the story super creative and enjoyed the book quite a bit. Will for sure be recommending this one!

Thanks for the ARC. Typically my genre is not sci-fi, that being said, I pushed through and somewhat enjoyed this book. Linda is a clone of her dead sister. She grew up in the woods and ends up in Seattle in a world which she is not prepared to exist.

Absolutely loved this book. It was written well, I felt for all of the characters, and the story moved at the perfect pace. At one point I even questioned reality and what part belonged where. Overall a perfect read.

I was completely drawn into this story. Alexandra Olivia does a fantastic job of bringing the reader into her stories and making them care about the characters. The mystery of what had happened in Linda’s past made this a suspenseful read, but I would say the storyline was more character driven for me. There were some awkward parts in storyline, but the writing is so good that they didn’t bother me much.

many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

When I had just started this book, and was trying to explain what I was reading to a librarian friend, I prefaced the description by saying "I know this sounds like a very different book than I usually read", a statement that is definitely true. My desire to read this particular book stemmed from how much I loved Oliva's previous book The Last One.

Forget Me Not is definitely a book that makes me very glad I tried something new.

From the start of the book, readers are immediately thrust into Linda's difficult and overwhelming world. She was raised completely isolated from the rest of the world, and after even the only family she had ever known left, she climbed the wall and found herself out in a brand new world. Every facet of life outside her previous home is baffling, frightening, and anxiety provoking, especially the realization that her mother had carefully crafted her birth in an attempt to genetically resurrect her dead daughter.

Social media (hashtag #CloneGirl) continues to make Linda feel hunted and afraid, and her tenuous connection with her biological father doesn't bring her much comfort. So when her childhood home suddenly catches on fire, Linda finds herself drawn back into a reckoning of what happens when the past you thought you understood suddenly meets the truth.

This book is fascinating and completely gripping. There is a mysteriousness to it that calls what readers and Linda think they know into question constantly, which is what grabbed me the most about this book. There were also these strange chapters that seemed to be completely disconnected from the rest of the story, but came back to matter in a big way, and I liked the guessing game of trying to figure out where those fit in.

Oliva does not pull her punches when it comes to the big twists, and this book had them in spades-I was completely shocked by the way things unfolded, but everything made sense looking back. The ending also left me feeling really satisfied.

This book is a conversation starter for sure. The subject of cloning is a hot button topic in the scientific community. Is it ethical to make a genetic copy of someone? Is the clone autonomous or just part of another person? Linda is a clone of her older sister who died tragically young at fourteen. Linda's mom Lorelai was so devastated that she decided to clone her daughter and give birth to what she thought would be a perfect copy.

Linda has been through a lot and is struggling to adapt to this technological world. She and her twin were raised by a mother with mental health issues and could never live up to her image of Madison, her first daughter. When Linda left behind the isolated woods she grew up in to live with her father, she was thrust into a whole new world. Linda struggles with social anxiety and goes on 'outings' to the grocery store and other places in an attempt to become more comfortable with her new life.

I really felt for Linda after the abuse and neglect she suffered. She also has people saying she shouldn't exist because she's a clone and has to hide her identity so she isn't harmed. That would be a huge thing to deal with and I imagine you would have a hard time trusting anyone. Linda's new neighbor Anvi was nice and I'm glad she made an effort to befriend Linda.

It took a bit of reading to fully understand what happened to Linda as a child. I was confused on a few things and had to keep going to figure out what actually occurred versus imagination/delusions. I wish this had been a bit more straight forward instead of jumping around timeline wise and into different character's heads.

The ending was interesting though not that much of a surprise. I'm glad things wrapped up well and this is a quick moving story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the copy

Compelling and something different,. I read a LOT of books and it is refreshing to read something out of the norm. I thought the story was fascinating. The only issue was that I didn't get the "feels" - I couldn't feel sympathy for the characters. I mean, I did analytically, but I didn't get caught up rooting for her.

I really loved Alexandra's first book and was very excited to read Forget Me Not. Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me. I found it a bit bland and definately not a page turner like The Last One. Sorry.

Very interesting story. A somewhat futuristic plot line.
Not at all what I thought it would be but after I decided to keep going on reading it, it became a bit more interesting. Eclectic characters and a protagonist that seemed to have nothing going for her but yet you find yourself rooting for her at the same time.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Ballantine and the Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Color me intrigued.

Forget Me Not definitely confused me for most of this book. Mostly because I just had endless questions and not enough data to produce the answer. Luckily for me, I stuck with it and sort of got the answers that I was looking for. All in all, some of these people are complete psycho's and I felt bad for only one person.

In this, you will meet Linda. At first, she was strange and did all kinds of weird things. The beginning had a way to suck me in because I just wanted to know her story. Once secrets come out, well, I wasn't expecting all the twists and turns to come my way. So in other words, I wasn't fully prepared by all the craziness within these pages.

In the end, my mind was blown a little bit by what actually went down.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of Forget Me Not, a near-future thriller about a woman hounded by social media for the life she escaped as a child, haunted by her home in the woods, and suspicious of her new neighbor.

I'll preface this review by saying that I rarely read thrillers, so I might be "off" as far as target audience is concerned. I could certainly relate to the agoraphobia experienced by the protagonist, Linda, and her desire to live out of the spotlight. I had no particular complaints about the writing style or the characters. The book lost me a bit when it delved into extensive detail about the VR Skyrim-like game that Linda discovered; part of me wanted to zone out while another part suspected there would be some kind of Chekov's gun in the VR game that would have implications on the real life plot.

Later, when commentary was made on (the current 2020-2021) pandemic and "cancel culture" as being things of the past, that really took me out of the story completely. It was just too close to current times for me to engage with the story, especially when addressed in what felt like a condescending, "Oh, we're smarter now in the future" attitude. I DNF'd at roughly 35%.

Its been long since I read a good character driven SciFi thriller like this. Forget Me Not is set in a near future that is equally emotional and suspenseful.

Linda tries to fit in the world, despite how she was born and raised. She struggles to accustom to the values of the world. This is my first read from author Olivia, and I’m impressed that she has written a fascinating story that is spun around Linda. The storyline is bit confusing since there are two plots - one with Linda and the other that also has Linda but in the past before she is born. There are mentions are gaming with futuristic tech and ARs which I thought were fun to read. As for the characters, I really hated Linda’s mother and loved Anvi’s relationship with Linda - it was pure and gives the reader hope!

Overall this is a twisted thriller that I feel might not be for everyone. If you like a coming of age story that moves suspenseful with unreliable protagonist, you’d love this one. 4/5 🌀

Thank you Netgalley & Ballantine books for the arc.

In this domestic thriller Linda and her twin Emmer were raised in isolation by their mother Lorelei following the accidental death of their older sister Maddie. Emmer disappeared and Linda managed to escape from Lorelei. Linda became a media sensation referred to as the “cloned girl”. The story is told primarily from Linda’s point of view, but there is also some email correspondence between Lorelei and her ex-husband Arthur. In addition there are some confusing (and irrelevant) discussions between a couple of video game developers.

I enjoyed “The Last One” by this author but I didn’t like this book as much. The emailed correspondence, Linda’s fascination with a virtual reality program and the video game developers all felt like unnecessary filler. Although characters were endangered, none if this was very thrilling and the plot seemed improbable. I hate it when everything boils down to a character being “crazy”. However, the book moved briskly and I did find it entertaining enough to keep reading. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Forget Me Not had an interesting premise. I don't feel that it delivered. Linda was just a seemingly normal girl who is living in this apartment is afraid of everyone. She has this futuristic technology. We get no background for Linda right away. No suspense no nothing. She's just going about her days missing her sister and being lonely and awkward. It made it really boring. I couldn't go on. This is a DNF for me.

When I read the blurb for Forget Me Not, I knew that I had to read this book. I enjoy books that deal with childhood trauma/mystery/science fiction/dystopia. So when I saw that this book had all of those, I knew I would read it.

Forget Me Not was a fast-paced emotional book. The pacing was fast enough to keep the story going but not so fast that things got lost. There was a slight lag at various points in the book (mainly during Anvi’s POV), but the author got the book over the lag and back on pace.

Emotionally, this book wrecked me. My range of emotions went from anger (at Linda’s mother) to extreme sadness (Linda was severely damaged) to happiness (Anvi’s friendship) and back. I didn’t cry during this book, but I did have tears in my eyes while Linda battled her demons (literally and figuratively).

My heart broke for Linda during the book, but at the same time, I was amazed at her inner strength. She was a strong person. But even strong people have breaking points, and she did reach hers.

There were two plotlines in Forget Me Not. There was the main plotline with Linda and her issues (past and present). Then, there was the plotline about Linda’s older sister, who died and who Linda was born to replace. Both plotlines were equally fascinating and disturbing at the same time.

There were a couple of secondary plotlines in Forget Me Not too. Anvi’s plotline was interesting because of who she was and where she worked. I also liked it because of the genuine friendship that grew between her and Linda. The other plotline was….different. I didn’t understand why it was even being mentioned until the very end of the book. Even then, though, I wasn’t sure how it fit into Forget Me Not.

I loved how the author incorporated science fiction into the book. There were self-driving cars, devices that tracked Linda’s every move, and virtual reality. I loved it!! I loved how virtual reality helped Linda with her healing. There were points in the book where I was like, “Why didn’t her therapist try this before!!” But then I realized it probably wasn’t around.

The book’s thriller/suspense/mystery aspect didn’t come into effect until halfway through the book. I couldn’t get enough of it. I will say that Lorelei made me feel conflicting emotions. I wanted either to hug her, beat her, or put her in an asylum.

Before I forget, I do want to mention Linda’s father. I had conflicting emotions about him and also about how much he knew. He said that he knew nothing about Linda or what Lorelei did, but I don’t quite believe him. However, I think he didn’t know how Linda was being raised, and he took her in when she escaped. But he wasn’t precisely a hands-on father. Calling him distant would be nice. He did somewhat redeem himself at the end of the book but still. I wasn’t a fan of him.

The end of Forget Me Not was terrific. I will not get into it, but there were more twists and turns than a mountain road. I could not put the book down. And that last chapter. Talk about a doozy!!

Forget Me Not was an emotional, fast-paced book. It was well written with an engaging plotline. The author was able to keep me on edge with the mystery/thriller/suspense angle of the book.

I would recommend Forget Me Not to anyone over the age of 16. There is no romance and no sex (there is a flashback where Anvi remembers her ex, but the author did not give details). There is violence. There are scenes with an extremely mentally ill woman. There is a scene where MR’s death is detailed. There are scenes of extreme child neglect and abuse. There are flashbacks where Linda is harassed verbally and online.

I got to chapter 6 before the writing started grating on me.
The author does a lot of telling, but no showing and every sentence is basically "Linda *does action* then *thinks* and tries to understand how to be/act normal.

Maybe it gets better, but I was so bored and felt like I've read this before.🤷🏻‍♀️

I have to admit I did not expect the way this book turned out based solely on the extremely vague book description.
This novel is set in the near future with self driving cars, augments, and immersive VR. While there is some description of this technology, it does not play a vital role in the plot of the book.
Linda is a fragile individual. She shies away from social interaction mostly because of the trauma caused by her terrible childhood with a mother who didn't love her. She is a lonely young woman who is struggling with coming to terms with her childhood. A childhood that she comes to realize was not as it seemed.
I enjoyed the narrator's voice. It made this novel a quick read. While there were not too many twists and turns, I cared about what happened and wanted to learn the real truth about what happened to Linda as a child and how she would cope with it as an adult.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting concept with little bits thrown here and there to confuse you even more. I can’t recommend this book as in ways it seemed almost combative with the reader. The writer did an excellent job of setting the scene but after finishing the book my first thought was, Huh?