Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for this ARC.

Will and Gem were together for over ten years and very much in love. They both knew they had found the one.

Then suddenly over night Will changed and became an awful person who seemed to have alienated all his family and friends although it takes a while until we find out what he actually did. So Gem and Will broke up and both found new partners. Life went on. Three years later, Will is involved in a car accident and sustains a head injury. When he wakes up, not only does he not remember the last three years and thinks he's still with Gem, but also his personality change seems to be reversed. Should Gem believe him and get involved again, and what about their new partners?

This is an intriguing premise, and we're routing for Will and Gem to find back to each other, but the way there is slow and painful, because we also apparently need to explore childhood traumas on the way. We don't learn until 66% in what caused Will's personality change, and until 88% what really happened with that car crash. Plus whenever we think the way is clear now, someone else throws a spanner in the works, trying to forcefully keep them apart, with lies if necessary.

This is an emotional story about traumas, secrets, grief, forgiveness and second chances which I really tried to like, but I got very impatient at the end. It was bad enough to have to go back and forth in time and from POV to POV to finally get all the answers, and then we get an inconclusive ending? Why not provide an epilogue for some time later?

I liked Jack though, he was a nice brother.

There are romance novels that explore the road less travelled, giving the protagonists a second chance at happiness through magic or time travel or a wish granted. This isn't one of those, but ends up giving Will and Gem, our star-crossed lovers, an opportunity to fix what was broken by happenstance and accident and plain malice.

The premise is great: Will has had a car accident and forgotten the last three years, how he broke up with his schoolboy crush in the ugliest, most unforgivable way; and Gem has been nursing her heart for three years, settling for the next man who came along, until Amnesiac Will, pre-ex Will, comes hurtling back into her unsatisfying life. Their memories are at odds with each other, Will in the throes of his once-in-a-lifetime love, Gem trying to forget the terrible things that happened between them.

As much as I wanted to love this, the lack of clarity between each voice in the novel made it hard to get into the romance before the terrible thing and the romances after it. Whether it was Gem or Will, or their new partners, or even the other characters, the constant first person narrative that rarely changed gears or style made it hard to invest in any of the characters. It was like being at a party where everyone is miserable.

Two stars, I’m afraid.

Somebody I used to love was an emotional, second chance romance filled with twists and turns, that flips between the past and present as we follow the love story of Will and Gem and where it all went wrong.

This held my attention and I had to try really hard not to skip to the end to see how it all unfolded! 🙈😂 I kept changing my mind about Will and it was only towards the end when everything came to light that he finally won me all the way round. I loved how he realised how badly he'd messed up and did everything he could to fix it. I really, really wanted him & Gem to make it!

With that being said, the ending wasn't for me for that reason as I'm not keen on an open end. So whilst it was a HFN finish I would have preferred to see if they found their way back to each other a year later?

I still really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of this authors work in the future!

Title: Somebody I Used to Love by Eve Ainsworth

Release Date: June, 27th, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars

When Will wakes up after a car accident, he discovers he has lost three years of memory. Desperately wanting his girlfriend and childhood sweetheart, Gem, by his side, he finds that nothing is as he remembers. Gem, who has moved on from their break-up with a new life and boyfriend, is shocked to receive a call saying Will needs her.

As Will recovers, he is determined to show Gem that he is still the man she once loved. In doing so, he must unlock the secrets of his past to understand what caused his dramatic change. Gem faces a tough decision: stay with her new, safe life or return to the man she used to love.

"Somebody I Used to Love" is a captivating tale of lost memories and rekindled romance.

Will and Gem's journey back to each other is filled with emotional twists and turns that keep you glued to the pages. Eve Ainsworth masterfully crafts characters you can't help but root for, making this book a delightful and compelling read. I was hooked from the first page and engaged throughout.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves a heartfelt story about second chances and enduring love.

Thank you to The Publisher Canelo,The Author Eve Ainsworth & NetGalley for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

I was absolutely hooked on this book. Literally couldn't put it down. I loved the characters Will and Gem. These where two characters that were destined to be together and I couldn't stop reading to find out what was going to happen to them. Will definitely read more from this author.