I liked this book and found it very hard to put down. It seemed straightforward-girl has difficult childhood but manages to escape then has difficult young adulthood-but it is so much more. The twists and turns were inspired! You think you know the characters then realize you don’t or that you don’t know them fully but it turns out to be okay. Thank you to #netgalley, the publisher and the author for #forgetmenot to read and review.

Not quite the read I was hoping for. Virtual reality, social media, isolation, the future, mystery. Just not my "cup of tea" Not a difficult book to read, but just not subjects I am interested in.

Compelling and suspenseful. Alexandra Oliva's sophomore novel is an immersive page turner. An innovative and dark tale that defies expectations..

I can say that this book was much different than I expected but in a good way! I would say it is a thriller, but with a lot of contemporary/science fiction written in. The main character is Linda, who was cloned for her crazy mother who had lost a child. Linda escapes the place she is held as a child by climbing a forbidden wall.. As an adult, she is known as "clone girl" and doesn't understand a lot about social media, who can't get enough of the story, so she stays in her apartment by herself a lot. There is some virtual reality/gaming written in which was a little confusing for me but still fun to read because it is so different than the norm! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I was worried I was going to struggle with this book because the main character is not terribly likeable in the beginning. She's actually outright unlikable for most of the book. I had to keep reminding myself that of course the things she was thinking were unusual given her past and her history. I do agree with some of the other reviewers that the racial aspects of it were completely unnecessary though.

One thing that bothered me was that I felt like there was more to Anvi's story and why she was looking into Linda. I feel like there were hints about it when she first appears up to when she first meets Arthur, and then it kind of gets lost in the action. I also felt like Percy's story was sort of unresolved. Even though he died, I felt like there should've at least been some brief mention of him in the news, and how he tied into everything. Something to show that his culpability became known.

I was not quite expecting there to be the level of miscommunication there was between Linda and Arthur. I'm glad that that resolved in the end. I was also happy that Linda was moving on to a more positive life. I did find it odd that she ended at the location of a false memory just before going to start studying to be an EMT. I was kind of expecting her to go for nursing or something, and I found it a little too "neat" that she went in the direction of what essentially started off the whole tragedy/story.

Great book! I would read books by Alexandra Oliva any given day. I was hooked from the opening paragraph, and the way she built the story of Linda was spell binding to say the least. The story built, had a climax and was resolved in a way that made me an active participant as the story played out. Well done Alexandra! You have a new follower of your work.

As much as I wanted to like this one, it was ultimately a DNF for me. I typically get about 1/3 of the way through a book before I decide to give up, but this wasn't the book for me.

2/5 Stars

3.5 stars, rounded up
This is a fascinating book, set in the near future. Linda was raised in isolation by her mentally ill mother. She escaped the rural house after her mother disappeared and has shut herself off to the world for many reasons. Now an adult, she still carries the trauma of her childhood, curious about the outside world, yet also afraid of interacting with it. When she meets her outgoing neighbor Anvi, Linda decides to start stepping out of her comfort zone to figure out exactly what happened during her childhood, because her fuzzy memories are unreliable and leave a great deal unexplained.

I loved Linda and how the story lets you know right away that she is an unreliable narrator. There are parts to her backstory that I figured out from the beginning, but that didn't detract from the unfolding of the story as she discovered it. The incorporation of technology and referring to the pandemic as a historical event gave the story authenticity without bogging it down. Every part about the technology seemed quite believable and like a natural step in where things are going in the world today. The novel explores some fascinating thoughts about memory, reality, and weaves a story surrounding how those things fit together.

This book is part mystery, part futuristic story, yet altogether it succeeds because Linda is a character to root for. A worthwhile read.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, stunning novel. This is the story of Linda , a young woman with the most tragic of childhoods. 20 ish years ago her parents had a child- Maddy, who died tragically as a teen and the resulting grief tore them apart. Her father threw himself into work, and her mother Lorelei, went insane. After the divorce, her father built a successful tech empire, her mother inseminated herself in an effort to recreate Maddy, which resulted in Linda. Linda became her mother’s project- to make her just like Maddy. Unfortunately, Linda never could quite measure up and the result was a very emotionally and mentally scarred Linda.

The story peels back the layers telling Linda’s story as she navigates the world as a young woman in NYC. She isn’t doing too well until she meets her next door neighbor Anvi, a vivacious tech worker, and her first real friend.
I won’t tell more but despite the tragic circumstances, the story is one of hope and redemption, building a life you deserve despite how badly it started out.

Side note the story takes place 10 years in the future, FUN! The pandemic is over, driving cars are ubiquitous as is wearable tech, and social media is STILL unfortunately populated by trolls. Highly recommend .

I received a complimentary copy of Forget Me Not from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Wow! I have me never read anything quite like this! I was hooked early on. (Poor Linda!). This was a very realistic view into the lasting effects on life of an emotionally abused child. Without spoilers, this is a tough book to describe, so I will just say that it is a great book for lovers of mystery/suspense!

Linda is known as “Clone Girl.” She’s not really a clone but it’s the moniker she’s known been called her entire teenage and adult life.

The novel centers around Linda’s secluded life, almost on the run from strangers that don’t think she should exist. You learn about her upbringing and strained relationship with both parents.

I liked the book. Thought it was interesting and easy to follow along. I’d recommend it to others.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

When Linda was little, she lived on a rural piece of property in Washington. She knew nothing of the outside world and she didn’t know that the only reason she was alive was to replace a sister who died years before. It is now years later. She had been “rescued” from the only home she knew and was expected to transition into the modern world. There may be technology to keep everyone connected, but Linda still feels isolated. Who wants to be on social media when everyone already has an opinion about you? Will Linda’s new neighbor be the ticket to finally making a friend? After a fire at her childhood home, what truths will Linda find out about herself and her family?

Forget Me Not is a stand-alone novel that sounds like it would be great but left me feeling like pieces of the story were missing. It is hard to classify this book in one genre. Some might call it science fiction and others might call it a mystery. Either way, it is not an average read. The overall storyline was fascinating and I enjoyed slowly learning about Linda and her past. Even with that being said, it had several sections that just dragged on. This would be a good read if you don’t have anything already planned to read next.

Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva is a fantastic book! I was hooked from the start of the story and the novel was atmospheric.

Be sure to put your thinking cap on before you start Forget Me Not. The story sort of starts in the middle where you are introduced to Linda Russell and her non exciting life. Then Alexandra Oliva starts adding in small bits and pieces, clues and memories that give you Linda's backstory. Set in a future technologically advanced future, you will soon move to a more comfortable chair in a quiet room and fall face first into a sci fi/ mystery/ thriller/ whatever the next genre is called book and not come out until it is done and the WHOA moment is over.

This novel takes place in the near future, almost a decade after the pandemic of 2020. Twelve years ago, Linda was introduced to civilization after spending her unconventional childhood off the grid in the woods. Having practically raised herself for most of her childhood, Linda finds her newfound life challenging. Twenty-four year old Linda is sensationally known to the world as Clone Girl, since her mother created her in a failed attempt to resurrect her daughter Madeline who had died as a teenager. The novel follows Linda through a pivotal week of her life as extraordinary events unfold that trigger lost memories of her childhood to resurface. As Linda faces newfound danger, she also ultimately receives closure from the realities of her bizarre early days. If readers can tolerate a slow beginning, they will be rewarded with an intriguing, suspenseful story and rich character development. The more I read of Forget Me Not, the more immersed I became in this unique novel.

I was given this book to read and review by the publisher. It is a futuristic story. A child is made to take the place of her dead sibling. Determined that she is not good enough,she is abandoned. She raised herself and because of this she is not used to interacting with people. When her father finally settled her in her own apartment, she is forced to interact.
This was an interesting story. It has sadness in situations. It has betrayal and heartbreak. But, it also has courage and determination. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

4-4.5 Stars

When the publisher reached out to me to see if I was interested in reviewing Alexandra Oliva’s new novel, Forget Me Not, I immediately jumped at the chance having absolutely LOVED her debut novel “The Last One”. You can read my review for that book here (my review is here). When I got TLO I went into it pretty blind having not read reviews but only reading the blurb. I did that here for FMN as well. By the time I started reading it I hadn’t read the blurb in a while, so I went into it even more blind than I did TLO. I normally hate doing that, but I really wanted to see if my enjoyment of the first book by Oliva was a fluke or if she would be able to capture my interest almost immediately the way she did the first time. Oliva did not disappoint. FMN doesn’t have the same thriller aspect to it that TLO did but she has such a way of drawing in a reader that it probably could’ve been a microwave use manual and I would’ve enjoyed it.

Linda had a rough childhood. Regularly neglected and scorned by her mother as well as being kept in cage of sorts by never being allowed to really leave their property. Linda had no concept of what the outside world was or how it worked until, at just 12 years old, she sees something that she shouldn’t and in fear, she climbs over the wall of her property and is promptly rescued by a passerby.

As an adult Linda struggles to connect not only with the world, but with the people in it. In a highly tech driven world, she doesn’t really understand social media and is frankly a little scared of it because of the horrible treatment she received in the court of public opinion because of who she is, how she was conceived, and why.

The entire story is told mostly through Linda’s POV and sometimes her neighbor, and possible friend, Anvi. It is sometimes difficult to be in her head because it’s so hard to relate to her since she is so far removed from what we consider to be normal in our current society. But mostly you just feel really sorry for her and want to give her a hug and let her know it’s going to be ok. It was very compelling to be with her as she grows and learns more about the world and people around her and when you get to the climax of the story you’re really rooting for the hidden strength in her and want to see her come into her own.

You feel the range of emotions throughout this story. Sadness, anger, anxiety, devastation, depression, and even sometimes happiness and triumph.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to those who enjoy character driven pieces whose characters aren’t just caricatures of the people we meet and see on a daily basis.

Received via Netgalley through the publisher, Ballantine Books

Linda is trying to adjust to living in the city of Seattle after being left alone by her Mother out in the country, surrounded by the woods and ponds that were her home. When her childhood home is burned, she needs to return to her property to assess the damage. This starts a series of memories and events that endanger her life and the life of her new friend that she has just made. When Linda goes missing, will her friend and Linda's father be able to find her in time to save her from her demons?

This is a little bit futuristic but is very well written. It keeps your attention until the end.

"Where does one draw the line of responsibility when mental illness is involved? When exactly does normal human variation dip across a line into diagnosable disorder?"

The above quoted questions gave me pause in my review of this book. Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva had me at times very angry as a mother, sympathetic as a daughter and sometimes frustrated as a reader. Much like all the genres covered in this story I went through numerous emotions.

It is hard to summarize or review Forget Me Not for several reasons. First there are many surprises and WTF moments that I don't want to spoil. Second this novel is part futuristic sci fi, part psychology thriller and a whole lot of family drama. If you like all three you will devour this book which I did in one day.

Linda barely ventures outside. She is not use to the real world. Until she was 12 she lived most of her life alone when her mom disappeared and left her in a house in the woods. Her mom was disappointed because Linda was not like her older sister who died and the only reason Linda was born was to replace her. Linda sees something she shouldn't and literally climbs over a wall and is overwhelmed by society.

She discovers the world of virtual reality which helps her be herself or who she wants to be at times. But just like the virtual world nothing in her reality is what it seems and when truth enters the scene everything goes haywire.

The writer easily kept me glued to this book. I had to figure out what was going on, I had to see how Linda survived, if she did survive, and I had to know if my hatred of her mother was justified. Any book that had me so involved is worth a sincere recommendation.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Oliva made her debut in 2016 with The Last One, a genre-defying story in which technology fails with disastrous consequences for reality show contestants. I was delighted when I received the invitation to check out her current novel; big thanks go to Ballantine Books and Net Galley for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Linda Russell lives alone. She has had a traumatic past, and she is naïve in some ways about the world around her, having been kept apart from it for so many years. Money isn’t a problem, though; she has inherited a pile of it. Yet we cannot envy her, because the unspeakable horrors she has seen outweigh the benefit of her wealth.

When we meet Linda, she is in her nest chair surfing the internet. Her sheath provides her with information, but we have to figure out what a sheath and nest chair actually are by examining context, which takes a little while. And this is a key part of the suspense, giving us some information about the time period, the place, the technology and the characters, but also withholding quite a lot, doling it out to us in small portions so that we can follow along, without ever getting a firm grip on the situation till we are far into the story. And for me, there were moments when I became confused enough that I wanted a little more information in order to follow events as they unfolded, but most of the time the narrative was paced effectively. I began to have a solid enough grip on the basic facts to follow the story well at about the 36% mark.

Linda is a clone, and her story went big several years ago, when she was found emaciated and filthy, having been more or less feral inside a walled property where her mother abandoned her. The part of her past that weighs on her mind most heavily is the fate of her twin. Lorelei, whom she must not call “Mother,” loved Emmer, but not Linda. Both of them were created in an effort to duplicate Lorelei’s deceased daughter, Madeleine, and Emmer resembled Madeleine more. Of course, everyone knows that eye witnesses are notoriously unreliable, and so it is with Linda’s memories, but she knows this for certain: after a particular point in time, Linda never saw either Emmer or Lorelei again.

Meanwhile, a cult of sorts has sprung up around Linda, whom social media has dubbed “clone girl.” Rumors are spread; even the tiniest hint as to her possible whereabouts is greedily devoured by those following her story. And so, Linda hides, and she talks to no one; that is, until her new neighbor, Anvi, pushes her way into Linda’s life. Anvi is new in these parts, and she wants a friend.

To say that this story is a thriller or a mystery is unfair, and will lead the reader to a dissatisfying end. The focus of the book is not on unraveling a crime, and the hair-on-fire pacing that marks a thriller isn’t present here. I keep turning the pages, not because my heart is slamming in my chest, but because I am curious. The story really is about our character. Likewise, although the story is technically science fiction, my interest isn’t captured and held by complicated new technology, but by Linda herself, wanting to see her unharmed and able to lead something resembling a normal life. So I urge interested parties to come to this novel with an eye for character, because that’s the anchor here.

At the climax—and I’m being fairly vague here so as not to spoil the ending—there’s a moment when Linda behaves fairly stupidly when she is faced with an urgent problem, and I feel let down, but then she rallies and pulls herself together, and I let my breath out and smile. Go, girl, go.

When I learn what is really in back of the personal mysteries Linda faces, I’m inclined at first to regard it as far-fetched, but then the sci fi aspect kicks in, and let’s face it: science fiction and fantasy both permit and even require far-fetched material. What needs to be credible and consistent is Linda, and Oliva does a fine job developing her protagonist. I believe Linda at the outset, and as she changes over the course of the story, I believe her every step of the way.

I enjoyed this story a great deal, and I look forward to seeing what Oliva comes up with next. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys good fiction that is character driven.