Impossible To Forget

I loved this book. The book starts with the reading of a letter of wishes then jumps to 1985 to tell the whole story of the friends and beyond the year of guardianship.

Every character is just right. Flawed with depth.

The story is mainly told by Angie (the mum), Maggie (the strict lawyer) and Romany (the daughter) across the decades. It's an emotional story but somehow light hearted.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is another delightful book from Imogen Clark and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
The idea of a young girl loosing her mother seems sad at first but any sadness is rapidly banished through the telling of the story through the various characters' eyes.
The characters themselves are engaging and relatable and as a reader you feel you get to know them.
I highly recommend this book.

IMOGEN CLARK – IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET *****

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

With the name Imogen Clark on the cover, you know you’re in safe hands. Her latest has all her hallmarks: a gripping story, real and interesting characters, writing as smooth as butter. There is a reason she is a number one best-selling author with over a million sales to her name.

It is not too much of a spoiler, since it is the opening scene, to reveal that Angie has died, leaving behind fatherless Romany, her teenage daughter. At the reading of her will, each of her close friends are given a task to help Romany through her last year of exams before she heads for university, including someone no one else knows, the beautiful but mysterious Hope.

And then the story drops back to their own university days, how they all met, and follows the fascinating parallels of their lives with all their conflicting emotions. Each of the characters is particularly well-drawn: Maggie, the sensible, highly organised solicitor; Leon, apparently the dull one, yet full of surprises; sexy Tiger, with itchy, globe-trotting feet, afraid to set down roots. And Angie herself, of course, totally impossible from the start, yet someone everyone loves. And as you get to know the characters, you discover the reasons behind why she allotted each of them their tasks.

I don’t want to create spoilers by unveiling the plot. Suffice to say there are plenty of equally well-drawn subsidiary characters, not to mention page-turning twists and turns galore. It is one of those rare stories in which each character lives on in your mind long after their lives on the page has come to an end.

Highly recommended.

Disclaimer - I received an advanced copy of this from the NegGalley. No spoilers in this review.

For me, this is Imogen Clark's best book yet. I love, love, loved it!

The timeline moves through several decades from the mid-80s onwards and follows a group of friends who met at university and maintained the friendship through the years. When one of them passes away, her will asks them to step up and help care for and mentor her teenage daughter, along with a newer friend who they don't know.

Told from different perspectives, including the new friend and the daughter, the characters really came to life for me. The storyline wove in and out of their lives at the various stages with great skill and sensitivity, and I found it hard to put down. A great read and I definitely recommend this book!

I was fortunate enough to read Reluctantly Home so I received an advance copy of Impossible to Forget. The story starts with confronting Angie's death and what that means for her daughter and her friends. But that is only the vehicle to tell the story of friends growing up from university, through careers, marriages, relationships. etc. You become invested with each of the friends, and what friendship really means when faced with life's most difficult challenges.

Do yourself a favor and read this book ASAP! Once you start, it will be hard to put down!

Imogen Clark goes from strength to strength - this book kept me up until 3am because I simply could not put it down. Brilliant story telling and compelling, realistic characters, Absolutely loved it!

This book grabbed me from its opening sentence and kept me until the end. It's basically a story of friendship between a group of very different people, how the relationship between them started, developed and changed over time and how they are always there for each other. 18 year old Romany is left to face life alone when her mother dies, but her mother ensures she is not alone by asking her friends to keep an eye on her and help her.. The first part of the story is leads up to the events of the opening chapter, the second part is about what happens afterwards.. All the characters are different and each have their own different problems to deal with but they are all basically the type of friends anyone would want in their lives. I found it a very uplifting story.
I was given a free copy to review.

I was given a advance copy of this book and give my review without pressure or reward. It was an easy and most enjoyable task.
This is Imogen Clark's best book yet, Impossible to Forget is exactly what this story is and the main character Angie fits that bill from the very start. I was totally drawn in by the opening scenes and wanted to know why Angie had chosen these particular people to look after her daughter Romany. Every character in the book is so well drawn and unique and they pull on your emotions easily. Their interactions are a joy and allows the reader to visualise, sympathise, walk alongside and laugh and cry with them.

Angie is dead. Her daughter, Romany, has been left alone in the world. For as long as Romany can remember, Angie was her only parent. After weeks of feeling flu-like symptoms, Angie finally went to see a doctor. The news was tragic, Angie had stage 4 ovarian cancer. There was little chance of any treatment being successful. Faced with the knowledge that she would be leaving her daughter alone, Angie began crafting a plan to have guardians care for Romany. Who better to serve as guardians than her three best friends from college? They had watched Romany grow from birth to present day. Angie also had a new friend that she decided to include as a guardian. Angie left explicit instructions for each guardian as to who would teach Romany certain life skills. This came as a surprise to the friends. While they have been in touch with Angie, this is an extremely big request. How will this request be carried out day to day? What happens if they don't want to help? Romany has a father but Angie never revealed his identity to Romany. Could Romany find him after her mother's death? Who is Romany’s father? Did he know about Romany or not?

This story is related in flashbacks and present day events. We meet Angie as her university experience begins. She is an unconventional student. Her style is bohemian, she's not concerned with being fashionable. Much to the annoyance of her neighbors, she ignores the labels on food in the community cupboard and fridge, eating whatever strikes her fancy. One of Angie's neighbors, Maggie, plans to be a lawyer. Careful and studious, Maggie struggles to understand Angie and her easy going ways. Another neighbor, Leon, is fascinated by Angie and her unusual approach to life. Maggie, Leon, and Angie bond, not because of similar goals, but because of Angie.

Angie's oldest friend, Tiger, roams around the world. He has no money, no degree, and no desire to stay in any place for very long. Over the years he will flit in and out of the friends lives. What can this nomadic acquaintance provide to a seventeen year old girl? What was Angie thinking? The final addition to the guardians is a relatively new friend of Angie's. Hope was a well known model who was aging out of the model life. She wanted to start her own swimwear company and met Angie while taking a class on business management. Over the weeks of school, they appreciated each other's point of view. Hope's level headed approach to life is something that Angie values and wants Romany exposed to.

Romany is adrift. Without her mom as her anchor, she has to face her A levels (college entrance exams) and choose a university. Who will be at her house each evening when she comes home? Who will motivate her to study for the A levels? While Angie's plan was a surprise, it is structured to help equip Romany for the world. Romany starts living without her mother and it is bumpy at first but as time moves on, life begins smoothing out. The guardians stop looking at Romany as an obligation and begin enjoying their time together. Each character is changing and growing because of their unusual ties. Will they change for the better? Will Romany be ready to take a step toward university life or will she be too damaged by her mother's death?

In each of her books, Imogen Clark relates behavior and emotions so realistically. Dialogue is genuine. Her characters feel like people you know. There isn't any awkward getting to know the characters part of the book. You begin reading and it is like sinking into a comfortable chair. As the story unfolds it becomes more and more compelling. The emotions here are real, no rose colored glasses. The anguish and uncertainty Romany feels toward locating her father is expressed beautifully. Nothing is clear cut and the variables are exactly as you would experience in life. Ms. Clark isn’t writing fiction, she is showing us life, awkward moments and all. This book is about undying friendship, loyalty, emotional growth, and love. Angie gives her daughter and her friends the best gift of all - the gift of each other.

This was one of the authors best books. I was hooked in very early on and was curious to understand why the relevant people were chosen to look after Angie’s daughter upon her premature death. All of the characters were well defined. The basis of the book was of understanding, support and friendship. This was an easy uplifting book and easy read. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found story relevant but both unusual and original, and the characters well drawn and very entertaining.
The story begins with one character from a group of friends, and develops the stages of her life, and each of their lives over many years. Towards the end they are drawn together again in a situation which is strange but seems wholly credible and the denoument maintains the reader’s interest throughout.
. I wanted to get to end of the story but it was woven so well that I was never tempted to skip even a word!
Thank you and well done Imogen! My favourite book of yours so far and I wish you every success with it!

The story starts at the reading of a lady's will, in which she leaves the care of her 17 daughter (Romany) in the hands of her three oldest friends - and asks that the three of them act as Romany's guardians until she goes on to university. The book takes the form of snapshots of the characters at various stages of their lives as the story takes shape, I felt as if I knew the characters and cared about what was happening to them. An immensely enjoyable and interesting read and I confidently recommend it. This author has never let me down with the quality of her work - if you haven’t read any Imogen Clark books before, you are in for a real treat!

This story is founded on friendships formed during those early days of university which somehow survived the ebb and flow of life over time. Each character finds themselves facing an unexpected responsibility alongside an individual previously unknown to the circle of friends. Through the story each tackles their responsibilities in their own unique style with clarity of the connection described by the conclusion if the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest book from Imogen Clark with relatable characters and an interesting story. A solid read.

Grateful to the publisher for an early copy for review. .

I have pretty much read all of Imogen Clark's books and I think this is her best. They are all good but I think her writing has developed and this one flows really well. The story starts in the present and then goes back to the eighties where the four friends meet at university. Gradually we are taken through the next thirty years as their lives and relationships change over time. I very quickly got involved in the story and with the characters, often reading many more chapters than I intended!

It's not a dramatic storyline but if you like a book that concentrates on the ups and downs of life and friendships you should enjoy it and there is a twist or two along the way. I would say though that two of the characters mature in what to me is an unlikely way but that does not take from the enjoyment of the book and only my opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers of Impossible to Forget for a free early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Imogen does not disappoint in this latest novel. Clear from the first pages what the ultimate ending will be, your are swiftly whisked back decades in time, and follow the lives of four friends from university days through to a generation on.

The characters are delightful and very believable, and you are gripped by heir highs and lows, successes and regrets. I personally I found this a throwback to my days at University, and the diverging paths that my friends' lives took afterwards. In many ways it goes to show how those early days of adulthood seem so important, and how your original choices can become almost irrelevant to your later life. Following your happiness is the main key, and your true friends from the early days are at the heart of your happiness.

I enjoyed this novel more than any since her original "Postcards", and feel that I begin to know the author through her writing. It kept me reading late at night, a thorough page-turner.
You will not be disappointed by this, I was lucky enough to receive a copy pre-launch in exchange for a genuine review.

Angie knows she is dying and wants to make sure her daughter, Romany, has just the right support after she's gone. What starts out as an unlikely quartet of Angie's friends across the years becomes an engaging story of flaws, friendship and honouring the wishes of a dying woman to her daughter. At times it seems that Romany is the adult and the four guardians need her to help them find their way. There's laughter, wisdom, some fiery words and a few tears, and a great trip into the 80s and 90s which is wonderfully true to life as I remember it.

I read most of this book as I became rather poorly and ended up in hospital and it was just the right level of engaging, feel good read I needed. At times the characters annoyed me a little but by the end I was willing them all to rise to the occasion and it left me with a smile, and a few lessons of my own to consider.

Perfect beach, winter evening cosied up on the sofa, commuting to work (or hospital) read for 2022.

Thank you to the author & publisher for gifting me an ARC via Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

When Angie dies unexpectedly from cancer, she leaves her 18 year old daughter Romany under the care of her 3 best friends, and an ex-model called Hope. Each are tasked with guiding Romany through a different aspect of life, and the reasons become clear through the course of the novel.

Imogen writes family & friendships really well. I loved the bond between Angie, Maggie, Leon & Tiger - 4 very different people but best friends nonetheless. I loved the description of their university days and could relate to a lot of it - especially the stolen food & used crockery!

I would love a novella sequel to catch up with how all the characters are doing! I would recommend this to fans of novels with well-rounded characters & family dramas.

Having read all Imogen Clark's published titles to date, this is definitely my favourite. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was able to relate easily to the characters who were from my own generation and with whom I share similar experiences of university during the 1980s, but it is also because the excellent storytelling. Killing off a main character right at the start is always a risk, especially when a large chunk of the narrative is effectively told in flashback and the reader therefore knows that character's fate throughout. But the author makes it work by adding a mystery to the fact of Angie's death - why has she chosen these four people in particular to act as guardian to her almost-adult daughter and given them each a specific role in doing so? To find the answers, we are taken back in time and get to meet each of the four in the same way as Angie did and to travel with her and them to the present day, experiencing the highs and lows of their lives over a thirty year period and learning about their strengths and weaknesses. Thanks to some skilful writing, I became invested in those lives and by the end, felt as if they and Angie were my friends too. The story may not involve any dramatic or sensational twists and turns but there is a momentum to the storytelling that keeps you turning the pages and it is certainly an extremely enjoyable read.

Imogen Clark has written a mesmerising tale of how four entirely different personalities meet on their first day at university and against all the odds form a friendship which although at times is tenuous, is more than strong enough to last a lifetime.

Maggie, has always worked hard towards her ultimate goal, to become a successful lawyer, but at what cost?
Leon is steadfast and the peacemaker of the group. But he is scared of change.

Tiger is a nomad, travelling around the world with just a rucksack holding his worldly goods. Will he ever be able to settle down.

And then there is Angie, the ultimate party girl. How will she cope when she is faced with a life changing decision?

From the very first page I was drawn into this story. It was so satisfying to read a novel where I could see the world through the eyes of these four characters. Each one had a story to tell, and the author told it succinctly but honestly, no embellishment was needed just the raw truth of what these people were going through. When they laughed, I joined in, when they hurt, I felt their pain. These friends became my friends.

The book moves effortlessly from the present day to the 1980s, 1990s and the millennium. I was taken on a very nostalgic journey through the decades. Ms Clark had definitely done her homework. The talk of music, cars and food of each era was spot on and left me feeling more than a bit melancholy for my youth.

I have read all of Imogen Clark’s novels, but I can honestly say this one is by far her best yet. An easy 5 stars from me.

I thought I had submitted a review of this wonderful book, but ...so, I begin again! Utterly readable! Loved the development of each character through the memories of the pivotal characters responsible for Romanie's welfare. The concept of placing her lifelong friends in charge of her daughter's welfare after her death, leads not only to meaningful changes in Romanies life until her graduation,, but leads to re-examination of each friend's life as well.. Made me feel part of each person's recollections, and wanted nothing more than to find out how this would end. I think we all yearn for such steadfast, non-judgmental friends. Wonderful read, highly recommend to absolutely all ages.

I was a little sceptical about reading this book as it starts with the death of someone who had received a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. As I am currently undergoing treatment for incurable stage 4 cancer I thought reading it may be too much. However, I carried on and am pleased to say it wasn’t all doom and gloom!
The majority of the book is about the relationships between, and lives of, a group of characters who met at University, spanning over 30 years.
One of the things I really liked about the book is the attention to detail of descriptions of places. They make you feel you are actually there.
I also became absorbed in the lives of the characters and how they related to and interacted with each other.
I fully recommend this book. I’m sure you will consider it a 5 star read.

Imogen Clark has done it again! Impossible to Forget gives us a story about friendship – how it begins, how it endures, why it lasts. From the outset we know that Angie has died and requested that her oldest friends – Maggie, Leon, and Tiger – together with a new friend, Hope, act as mentors to her almost adult daughter, Romany. Angie has assigned each friend a specific role in Romany’s life, which at first seems strange, but we later find benefits both Romany and her four mentors. And where is Romany’s father in all this?

The story follows Angie, Maggie, Leon, and Tiger over 30 years from the beginning of their friendship through their journey into adulthood. It gives a true picture of how friendship waxes and wanes as friends go through life changes – careers, marriage, relationships, children. Through it all, Angie is the glue that holds the four friends together and even after death, her influence continues. As Maggie, Leon, and Tiger navigate their new roles as Romany’s guardians, their lives change in ways they never anticipated. There is an element of mystery as well. How does Hope figure into the story? Why would Angie include her as a mentor? Angie has been a single mother throughout Romany’s childhood and neither has been interested in finding Romany’s father. Will losing her mother change Romany’s mind about find her father?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are relatable and real, the pacing is good, the story flows, and the ending is satisfying. I have read all of Imogen Clark’s books and was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this one. I look forward to her next one!

Imogen Clark has become one of my favorite go-to authors for character-driven family drama, and this latest endeavor lived up to all my expectations. Featuring a cast of engaging, wholly authentic characters and a poignant but uplifting storyline, Impossible to Forget tells of friendship, loss and new beginnings, and ticks all the boxes for an engrossing and satisfying read.

The premise is brilliant and heavy with intrigue.

Angie has died leaving her 17 year-old daughter Romany an orphan. The reading of her will brings together three of her closest friends from university — Maggie, Leon and Tiger — and a mysterious fourth, Hope, whom the others know only vaguely. Angie's dying wish tasks all four “guardians” with specific, individual responsibilities in guiding Romany into adulthood.

What follows is a brilliantly executed dual timeline that segues back and forth between the past — detailing the back stories of the four friends and the evolution of their friendship — and the present — how things play out in the wake of Angie’s death.

I absolutely loved this story of friendship; an unlikely alliance between four very different people and the tenacity of the bonds forged even as they wax and wane over the years. And the intrigue! Who is Hope and what does she have to do with this tight-knit group? Who and where is Romany’s father? These questions add a delicious intensity to the narrative, the answers revealed only slowly and with a clever deftness of touch.

What I loved most, though, was the idea of Angie reaching out beyond the grave to bring about positive transformation in the lives of the people she loved the most, in a way that added extra meaning to her own shortened life. I reveled in their discoveries, as they tentatively tested new ground, settled into their new skins and adjusted to their role as Romany’s “family”.

I finished this book on a joyous high and applaud Clark for once again delivering a fabulous read. .

Calling all Imogen Clark fans! She has just released a brilliant new adult fiction book "Impossible To Forget". The title is fitting. Readers will remember this dazzling book for a long time.

Romany age-18, has just lost her mother Angie to cancer. Angie was a single parent and Romany was Angie's world. At the reading of the will, Romany finds out Angie has left her an unexpected gift. Angie requests that four of her friends Maggie, Leon, Tiger, and Hope, act as custodians of Romany during her last year of high school. Maggie, Leon, and Tiger have been Angie's best friends since college, but who is Hope? Why was she named as the fourth guardian?

This is a incredible story of loss, love, and friendship. Readers will immediately be taken in by events as they play out in this thought-provoking novel. Imogen Clark fans are aware of her place as one of the most respected storytellers. This exquisite book is another example of the depth in which she brings the characters to life. Adult fiction lovers, this is for you. Don't miss it!

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK, for the honor of reviewing this superb e-book. Applause to Imogen Clark for writing this 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ masterpiece!

Imogen Clark is amazing. Her characters seem to live and breathe - and grow. We follow a group of unlikely friends from university days into middle age, relating to each of them more and more along the way. I did not want this book to end.

This was a gentle but heartfelt read based around Angie who tragically died just as her daughter Romany turned eighteen so she appoints four if her friends to be guardians to Romany to help support her during her last year of A Levels, each tasked with a different area in which to support her. The story then rewinds to when Angie was at university and takes you through the friends and how the relationships formed and how life went for them in the intervening years. I found this really drew me in and it was fascinating to see how Angie’s guardian requests were as much about her friends as her daughter and both get to know them during her younger years and see how her death and requests impacted on them. The characters are great and the pace of the story was great, it gave you a great insight into them without dragging things out, overall I found this a very absorbing read.

The characters grew on me. Clark writes with a sense that renders each one of the central characters humane. Right from the beginning, there's a pull that keeps the entire story centred and yet, each character stands out on their own. The bitter-sweet equations they share is as real as life can be. The book celebrates a space that people eke out to fend for themselves. The back stories do justice to the plot. Totally recommend it.

This was not for me.
The writing was good and had an easy flow but for what the story was should have been quite a bit shorter. I thought the plot was going to follow Romany and her new guardians which it did, eventually. After about 300 pages of background. I think it would have worked a little better if the flashbacks were interspersed with the story, as a double time line instead of just all dumped at the beginning right after the initial revelation or even was just alluded to and Romany made the main focus of the entire story.
I found most of the characters really unlikeable? Angie is supposed to be carefree, hippy dippy type but really comes off as inconsiderate and rude. Same with Tiger. Maggie was the most likeable of the bunch and I still found her distant as a character and did not like her later treatment of Leon and her cliché life of career focused and not able to find a man and regretting it life. I do not think the portion where they were in university sounded like anyone at that age and there literally was no distinction between their behavior, thoughts and development through their 30 years of life. They seemed 50 at 20.
This got a lot of positive reviews so it seems to work for some people as a found family type of deal but it just did not work for me. The author seems to get a lot of love but I just might not be the audience. Sorry, I tried, Imogen!
I received this copy from Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book. This is the first book by Imogen Clark that I have read and it didn't disappoint.
I instantly warmed to the main characters and as the book starts, you already know that Angie has passed away and the story takes you back in time before she had passed.
I loved the idea of Angie having the guardian idea for her daughter, how each one of her closet friends can influence her daughter's life for the better.
I didn't know what to expect from this book, but it was a heart warming book, which I could imagine people reading on the beach this summer.

Impossible to Forget is an enthralling book with an unique premise. Angie requests four of her friends to take on the roles of guardian to her 18 year old daughter after her passing. She has individual responsibilities for each one and they are all a bit baffled as to what to do next.

The story then jumps back in time to when Angie, Maggie, Tiger and Leon first met. The reader gets to know them all through the first hand accounts of Angie and Maggie. Twenty years later Hope befriends Angie so we get a new narrator.

When the timeliness returns to Angie's daughter Romany then she joins in the storytelling. However, Leon and Tiger seem like background characters because we never get to know them beyond how the women view them. I found it a bit disappointing that we don't learn about their pasts or motivations because they are both fascinating characters.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all readers interested in good women's fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Impossible to Forget it's a book that will literally be impossible to forget. a book that will fill you with hope, make you smile, and cry from time to time.

This is the story of Angie and Romany a story that starts when Romany finds herself all alone, not knowing what will happen to her. four strangers are ready to take over and teach her things her mother Angie would love for her to learn and know.

Romany is not so excited to live with anybody especially with a guy who doesn't seem to have a clue about life and spend his entire time traveling to exotic locations but never settling down, she is not sure her mother knew what she wanted when she left so many things unsaid but she trusted her mother and knew this was the best.

In Impossible to Forget we get to meet each character and learn more about them how they became friends with Angie. we get to dig into the past and learn everything about Tiger, Maggie, Leon, and Hope.

My favorite character was Romany, she was never a petulant child, she was in her 18 teens and she was very mature for her age, I was waiting for her to be the typical narcissistic teenager that will make problems for everybody, a living hell but I'm glad this was never the case. she was always very respectful and kind and very smart for her own age. In the last pages of the book, Romany really shows everybody including the reader that she is a very strong character who deserves happiness. I love her strength, her faith but mostly that she was a strong character without being a problem.

The "secondary" characters more like the main characters as all of them are very involved in this story are amazing, each one has a great quality or thing to share with Romany, Tiger was the first one that I was skeptical to like him but at the end, he turned out to be great, always traveling and changing places and live like a nomadic, he was always flirting with Maggie but never made a move.

Maggie at first gave me a vibe that I thought she was going to be a problem in the story, but she was non of that, she was kind and always ready to help, a successful lawyer that is searching to find more on herself.

Leon, was the quiet one, shy, brilliant, a rare talent in music, he was a great friend to have around, Leon gave me the views as if he was a loner or prefer to stay in his silence, especially around his wife.

I couldn't stand Becky she was the worst character of the book, she was a terrible liar, always creating conflict around her friends and the typical insecure woman trying to separate Leon from his friends because she didn't understand the friendship.

Impossible to Forget is a book that will be Impossible to Forget, I love everything about this book, the freshness of the story and the characters, the light tone of the book, the strength of the women shown in the story, especially Romany.

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union for sharing this digital copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was a surprise for me. A group of kids become friends in college, even though they are all completely different! The story follows this group of friends to show how they come together in a time of need and use their strengths to help a young girl. While this is the first book I’ve read by Imogen Clark, it will not be the last!

I really enjoyed this gentle, poignant story.

Romany finds herself without the only constant in her life, her mother, Angie. She has never known her father and even though she is nearly 18, it is still tough to negotiate her way through life completely alone. Luckily for her, Angie has thought of everything and has appointed 3 of her closest friends to help guide Romany through the next phase of her life. Plus Hope, who is much younger and a more recent friend, and whom no-one can really figure out.

The story starts when Angie, Maggie, Leon and Tiger meet at University, just starting out in the world. They are all very different people and Angie in particular is divisive. She is brash, rude and confident and all the men want to be with her. Women don't particularly like her much, but Maggie, despite herself, finds herself being drawn to Angie anyway.

I enjoyed reading about the different paths that the friends took and how Angie came to befriend Hope as well. Angie clearly had a very high EQ and that was her special gift. She also dearly loved her daughter, so that was endearing as well.

Lovely story about friendship, love, acceptance and the ability of friends to see something in you that you don't necessarily see in yourself.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.

I loved this book with a dual timeline that was well written, had a good storyline and had well developed charcaters that were bioth relatable and likeable. It was both heartwrenching and heartwarming in its own way and I couldnt put it down. I loved it,

LOVED it!!! Imogen Clark's books never disappoint. She is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. I had a hard time liking Angie at first. I can understand how Maggie felt when she met her at college. It wasn't until after college that I finally started liking her and she really grew on me. By the end of the book I loved her. She was one smart cookie and knew exactly what she was doing when she made all her friends guardians. I wasn't sure why she made Hope a guardian until there's a flashback to Hope's birthday party. Then I put all the pieces together. Then there was Tiger. I thought he would be the worst guardian for Romany. He pretty much hated the idea of having to stay in Angie's apartment for a year. He is the Tiger that can't be tamed. He pretty much was a bum and relied on his friends for a place to sleep and food to eat when he wasn't galavanting all over the world. I LOVED how Tiger changed. He was a perfect house father and the apron sealed the deal. All I can say is Angie knew what she was doing. I feel like I got to know Tiger, Maggie and Angie pretty well. Leon on the other hand, not so much. He was absent from Maggie and Angie's life for many years while he was with Becky. Angie always wanted Leon to play his sax and finally got her wish with Romany's help. Maggie was the best friend anyone could have. She bought everything Angie needed after having the baby and was always there for her friend. Angie and Maggie started out rocky but ended being the best of friends. All I can say is I LOVED this book and the characters. Angie was definitely smarter than anyone could have guessed and put her daughter in the hands of the best people she could have ever wished for.

Definitely recommend the book. I was sad when I finished because I wanted to keep reading about Tiger, Maggie, Leon and Angie. I felt like I was part of their group and I was one of Ramany's guardians. I loved the characters, story and writing style. It was beautifully written and a magical story. It made me laugh, smile and even shed a few tears. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Amazon Publishing UK through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“Impossible to Forget” is by Imogen Clark. This book begins with the reading of a will, and then zips back in time and, after setting the stage for the friendships over decades, returns to the present. While I understood why the author chose to start with the reading of the will (shoot the sheriff in the first paragraph to grab the reader’s attention), I felt that Ms. Clark spent a long time in the past (college days and setting up the friendship) that I honestly forgot who had died for a number of chapters. Eventually, things became clearer, but I wish that the past had been interspersed with the present, opposed to one large chunk. This is mainly a book about friendship and how friends become your family. I liked how these strangers came together and despite their differences did care about each other, even 30 years later. The pacing was good and this was an easy to read book. I found it interesting that the lawyer, Maggie, was dismissed from her firm for the reason stated; as Ms. Clark has worked in the law arena before she should know if that’s a legit reason for dismissal, but I just found it an odd reason (meaning that it wasn’t tied to monetary reasons). I’d give this book a 3.5 star rating, rounded up to 4 - it was an engaging read (after I untangled things).

EXCERPT: August 2018

My dear friends,

If you are reading this, then I must be dead. (I've always wanted to say that - so very Agatha Christie! And please don't cry, Leon. It's only a bit of fun. X)

Seriously though, I want to thank you all for being there for me over the last couple of months. It's been pretty tough, but having you lot in my corner has made it easier to cope. To be honest, I don't know what I'd have done without you. I couldn't have wished for a better bunch of mates.

But there's just one last thing I need to ask you to do for me.

Obviously, my biggest concern is my beautiful girl, Romany. I will never understand a universe that lets a parent die before they have finished preparing their child to live. It's all kinds of wrong. Yet we are where we are.

Without me, Romany will be left all alone. Even though she's about to turn eighteen, she's really still a child with so much to learn about the world, good and bad. She needs someone to be there for her, a guardian if you like, to guide her until she finds her feet. It won't be forever, just until she finishes her A levels and gets a place at university, but I can't bear to think of her struggling through school on her own. I had to do that, and I don't want history repeating itself.

That's where you come in. I charge you, my dearest and most trusted friends, with the vitality important task of steering her through the challenging months ahead.

I know it wouldn't be fair to suggest that just one of you shoulders this massive responsibility, so I've decided to ask you all to play to your individual strengths.


ABOUT 'IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET': Just turned eighteen, Romany is on the cusp of taking her first steps into adulthood when tragedy strikes, and she finds herself suddenly alone without her mother, Angie, the only parent she has ever known. In her final letter, Angie has charged her four closest friends with guiding Romany through her last year of school—but is there an ulterior motive to her unusual dying wish?

Each of the four guardians possesses an outlook on life that Angie wants to give her daughter as a legacy. Three of them have known each other since university: the eternally nomadic and exotically named Tiger; the shy and practical Leon with his untapped musical genius; and Maggie, a brilliant lawyer who doesn’t know her own abilities. But the fourth guardian is a mystery to the others: they’ve never even heard of former model Hope before…

As the guardians reflect on their friendship with Angie, it becomes apparent that this unusual arrangement is as much about them as it is about Romany. Navigating their grief individually and as a group, what will all five of them learn about themselves, their pasts—and the woman who’s brought them all together?

MY THOUGHTS: Impossible to Forget is a nice read about a mainly nice group of people, but it's nothing special and, honestly, I was expecting so much more.

I never became fully invested to the point where the characters felt real to me, that it mattered what happened to them. I picked up other books in preference to this, and yet I didn't dislike it, it just failed to move me.

One of the problems I think, was that there was far too much backstory, chapter upon chapter of it; in fact, it makes up the majority of the book. A lot of it was unnecessarily repetitive and could have been done without. For all the background given, the characters still fell flat.

The premise is interesting, but I believe that this could have been a far more emotionally fulfilling experience than what I had. Unfortunately, this is not impossible to forget.

⭐⭐.8

#ImpossibletoForget #NetGalley

I: @imogenclarkauthor @amazonpublishing

T: @imogenclark @AmazonPub

#comingofage #contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #sliceoflife

THE AUTHOR: Imogen initially qualified as a lawyer but after leaving her legal career behind to care for her four children, she returned to her first love - books. She went back to University, studying English Literature part-time whilst the children were at school. It was a short step from there to writing novels.

Imogen's great love is travel and she is always planning her next adventure. She lives in Yorkshire with her husband and children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this book. It was the first of Imogen Clark's that I've read and it won't be the last. This book is about a group that meets at university and how their lives weave and intertwine throughout the years. We learn the history of their friendship and why each was chosen for the role they play for the daughter of one of the characters, when she passes away and asks them all to be a guardian of her 18 year old daughter. The story unfolds and it is easy to become invested in the stories and what happens. How the characters grow and change is integral to how they share their duties for the daughter. It is a great story, and I highly recommend it.

Really enjoyed this book. I hadn't read anything by Imogen before but I will definitely be reading more. The story and style of writing were just up my street.

The story took my back to my uni days living in halls and the nerves of those first few weeks, not knowing anyone. I went to a uni roughly 100miles from home so I knew absolutely noone, I felt the same as Maggie at the beginning.

I love the growing friendships made and some of them lasted through some really tough times.

The Mother/daughter bond between the two characters (not saying who, no spoilers here) is so beautiful. I love there bond.

This book is emotionally beautiful and shows that good friends and relationships do last.

I haven't read anything by this author previously but I think this could be my favourite book of the year to date so far. Stunning story, really gave me the feels. I loved all of the characters, a beautiful story spanning four decades, a story of believable relationships and friendships and love and loss - oh, I can't string a sentence together right now. I'm so jealous of all you people who will have the chance to read it for the first time - how ironic the title of the book is "Impossible to forget".

This book! What a moving and touching story. The characters stay with you long after you finish it. Cannot recommend this one enough! Can't wait to read more by this author!

So imogen Clark has done it again, A book filled with great charecters and a perfect storyline, the getting to know the charecters page by page was great, loved every minute of this book

This was a comfortable read and enjoyable towards the end of the book.

The first 70% of the book followed Angie and her 3 friends from meeting at University to the current day, so the majority of the book didn't follow the synopsis. This part was rather slow and the storyline didn't go anywhere. It also felt too long for the purpose of introducing the characters and their back story.

After this we met Romany and the book picked up pace. I liked Romany as a character and wish that more of the book featured her.

I liked the characters but didn't love them. Even though you got an idea of the characters, they seemed to lack emotional depth. However, at the end you wished you could be part of their friendship gang.

Thank you net galley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading character-driven books. And this one is no exception. This story is by no means a light read, but somehow I found it comforting. It deals with grief and relationships very well. The book was as real as you can get. I'm interested to read more from Imogen Clark, the way she crafted the story to me felt very well done!

DNF at 20%. Writing good and synopsis promising, but I can tell this isn't going to be one for me, so I've put it down.

This was a really good book. Kept my attention from chapter one. Each charactor was unique and I loved that they melded together in great love and friendship. Good book for relaxing and chilling. Will look for more by Imogen Clark.

Love this book based upon a group of friends who met at university. A nostalgic read of how we make friends throughout our life who we would not normally meet but become friends for life. Brilliant characters with lots of different emotions throughout the story would 100% recommend

When Romany’s mother Angie dies, she’s left alone at eighteen to navigate the world. However, Angie has asked 4 of her friends to look out for Romany while she finishes her senior year of high school. Angie selected each of them as a “guardian” with a reason in mind. Leon, Tiger and Maggie have been friends since college, and each had their own unique friendship with Angie. The fourth “guardian” wasn’t a part of that group and the others are left to wonder why she was chosen and what role she plays in Angie or Romany’s life. They all learn to navigate their grief and loss together and reflect on their friendships and future.

This book has glowing reviews, and I have read one other book by this author and loved it, so I was very excited to pick it up. I was left a little disappointed after all the hype. I feel like the book could have been much shorter. A large portion of it gives all the background on Angie and her relationship with each of the guardians. I think I was expecting more focus on Romany and her storyline. The pace was a little slow, and I felt myself forcing myself forward at times. The characters didn’t feel developed enough for me to connect with them and invest in their story line. There were some plot twists toward the end, so that did add some interesting dimension. Overall, this book was okay, but not what I was expecting, and did not warrant a rave review for me, personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

This is a beautiful story with characters that become your friends. I loved getting to know each of these people with their flaws and great personalities. There is something special about this story, and it just sweeps the reader into the pages. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading more from this author!

The first thing I highlighted in Impossible to Forget was the epigraph: "The unlikeliest of people are hiding halos beneath their hats. Anonymous" The second was the first sentence: "If you are reading this then I must be dead."
An auspicious beginning, right?

If you're not familiar with Imogen Clark, she writes entertaining, not too heavy contemporary book club fiction about family and friendship. In Impossible to Forget, four very different individuals come together through their proximity in a college dorm; not the likeliest of friends. The first half of the book is backstory and moves along slowly but perseverance is rewarded in the second half. One of the things I found interesting was how courageous and insightful Angie was. So many things could have gone wrong but, on the other hand, her daughter could only be better off by her trying. (No spoiler as this occurs on page one). Surprisingly, I didn't find the most interesting character to be among the cuatro amigos but I will let you decide for yourself. As I finished the last page I had the thought, "And a little child shall lead them." 3 1/2 stars

Thank you to Imogen Clark, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of Impossible to Forget for my enjoyment and review. Published on 2/12/22.

The first line of this book had me hooked!

From there it just went down hill. I was expecting so much about the situation that the group found them in now, but the majority was about how the group met which I was a little disappointed in. It felt like information dumping.

I loved the writing style of the author, just a little gutted with the plot

I have had the honour of reading both an ARC and listening to an audio version of this book and it’s been fantastic. I’d say that it’s definitely my second favourite so far this year and that is only because of some very tough competition.

When I first began reading it, we hear of Ange’s death and the guardianship of Romany her daughter. Then the book transports us back to when Ange met them way back in uni. I was quite confused about why her death was at the beginning of the book, and there’s no real mention of it again until maybe the last quarter of the book. That said whilst I don’t necessarily feel it adds anything at the beginning it doesn’t detract from it either.

My one small and it is really small criticism was that I would have liked more surrounding Ange’s death and illness. It is kind of glossed over in the book. One minute she is there and the next gone. Whilst I know a death is a rather macabre topic, I do think it would have added even more depth to the story and created an even deeper emotional connection with the characters. That said it hasn’t detracted so much for me to drop it down to four stars so it’s still pretty good.

The funniest part for me…..Tiger’s real name!!!

Honestly read this book, it’s brilliant!

Need a feel good book to get you over the not quite Spring hump? You've found it!

This is definitely to feel good with a spring. It's Park chocolate, part ya, our family dysfunction, heart relatable to anyone. And that's what makes it such an amazing read, at first you're not sure if you're going to like it, and then suddenly you realize you can't put it down and you have to finish it! There is so many backstories interwoven to the present to explain why people are acting the way they are acting or the way decisions are being made, and the way that it's handled is a way that you would tell a friend, so in many ways the book is like a friend telling you the story. It is the story that will stay with you, and if you're a parent of children that are teens and under, make you realize you have to think about the people you leave your kids with if something were to happen to you. It's an honest look at our character faults is humans and the ways we can get around them, in a Yang Yang relationship with our friends who may be more family to us in our family are. It's an amazing book and make sure you read it!

This book was like being wrapped in a big cozy blanket. It celebrates the relationships that you make in life, and the ways that people can influence your life. The characters are very dynamic, and the growth they experience throughout the novel is really satisfying to read. This book also takes a great approach to grief, by seeing through the eyes of a group of people, but also of each member of the group individually. It was comfortable and familiar, and left me feeling satisfied and thankful for life, and the people that I surround myself with. This is one of those books that makes you really think about what you're doing here, what you're doing with your life, and who you're going through life with. It was really heartwarming, so if you're feeling down about life, take a look at this book, because it will remind you of why you keep going despite the hard parts of life, and help you realize and celebrate all the great things and people in your life.

I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC to read and review truthfully.

I loved this book from the outset. It chronicles a group of misfits who meet at University and follows all the trials and tribulations of their lives. The story is told by Maggie. We learn about each character through her eyes. Despite being the least emotional of the group it soon becomes clear that she is the glue that holds them all together albeit unconsciously. My only criticism is that most of the story features and explains the past. I would have liked more depth, and more time, getting to know Romany and how she faces losing her mum at such an awkward age. I just felt like it ended too quickly. This did not, however, affect my 5 star rating. Great book!

The story of a group of friends who met in university. Odd friendships where they appear to have little in common in the first instance, the book follows them through the years . After Angie passes away, she asks her friends to look out for her daughter. It does ring fairly true and it was an interesting story.
The main characters are well portrayed, others in less depth. The book is set in York, my own hometown, but that was not really described, though I did recognize the few details that were in the book.
I liked the way the characters interacted and how their lives panned out. All in all a feel good story of friendship.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Another five star read by this spectacular author! Imogen Clark has written a mesmerising tale of how four entirely different personalities meet on their first day at university and against all the odds form a friendship which although at times is tenuous, is more than strong enough to last a lifetime.

When Angie dies she leaves four friends as "guardians" to her senior (18 yr old) daughter, Romany. Three of them have been friends for over 30 years, however, one has only been in her life for a handful.
The book opens at the will reading where the characters also learn this fate. And then quickly goes into a flash back of Angie at college. The story is told from 3 points of view (Angie, Maggie and Romany).
The first half is told pre-baby, when Angie is building her friendships and the story is fun and interesting. But it doesn't tie into the guardianship/4th friend plot and thus it was hard to really get into the storyline.
The second half flips to modern day with some flashbacks and Romany's POV, this is when the story starts to all click together between past and present. It gets interesting and it was just emotional enough (like a few tears but not crying all over).
The ending fell flat, it was a good ending and it ties up most of the characters stories. It just doesn't have any real sense of closing.

I think for me, the real drawback was that you develop an interest in all the characters, but the story is only told from 3 view points. And the ending can't really complete each of their stories.
This would be a great book club discussion book - it has so many opportunities to discuss what family means, friendships, life choices, regrets, etc!

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an opportunity to read this book before it was published.

WOW.. I found myself wanting to pick this book up whenever I had the chance and it to be the last book I read at night... Do yourself a favor and go get this book!!

It starts off with Romany just turning 18 when tragedy happens- her mother (Angie) passes away. Little does Romany know that her mother set her up with four guardians to help guide her through life. I LOVED the way the chapters were set up with it first taking place in the present time to then going back in time to understand how the guardians all met with Romany's mother. The chapters were shorter which made it easier to just fly through and certain chapters were labeled with a new time period to follow along with their aging. It was incredible to hear the different perspectives of Angie (Romany's mother), Maggie (Angie's best friend), and Romany (Angie's daughter). I've never read a book with a concept like this and it was a beautifully written coming-of-age novel. Every person deals with grief differently and this book discusses how one person has significantly impacted their lives for the better even after death. I did find myself tearing up at certain parts just because of the magnitude of the friendship in the story. I plan on buying this book when I get a chance so I can read it again.

What an interesting concept for a book. A woman dies and charges her best friends from college to guide her almost grown daughter through her last year of school.
I was captivated by the relationships in the book and the way that each person was assigned a way to help Romany.
I wasn't too sure about the first few chapters, but once you really got into the book, it was hard to put down. I stayed up late a couple of nights reading this and I don't regret it one bit.
I love Imogen Clark's books and this was not an exception to that, at all.
I can't wait to share it with my book club next month!

This was a great book, cover was beautiful and I look forward to reading more by this author. Sharing it with friends.

This book is moving character piece that I got completely lost in and didn’t want to end ! This story starts off with the death of Angie and the reading of her will, in the will she grants guardianship of her 18 year old daughter to her three college friends and a mysterious younger woman. We then go back in time to when the three friends met and college and followed there more than 30 year friendship. The book follows their success and failures and fears and was beautifully written with amazing character development. The second half of the book focuses more on Romany, Angie’s daughter, and how she is dealing with her mothers death and the guardianship from these 4 people.

I loved the way this book was written it was mostly character focused and not a lot of plot but I was not bored once. I felt like I really knew these characters and loved them and related to their struggles and success. My only complaint was I wanted more it was a fair ending but O just wanted to know what happened next. I would recommend this book to people who like very well developed characters and don’t mind getting lost in a characters life. I would like to thank the publishers and Net galley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark is a charming and heart warming tale of friendship and found family that spans the decades from the 1980's to the current day. When eighteen year old Romany is left alone in the world following the death of her mother the last thing she expected or wanted was the news that her mother had asked four of her best friends to look out for her and take care of various aspects of her life while she finishes out her final year in school and decides what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Her mum has chosen these friends carefully and over the course of the book we see when and how she meets all of them and what unique qualities and perspectives each of them bring to the challenge they have been given.
The book has two timelines, the current day with Romany trying to come to terms with her grief and to accept the help she is being offered, while the group of friends are challenged to re-evaluate their own lives and choices and the past which begins with Romany's mum and two of the other characters meeting at university in the early 1980's and follows the expanding group of friends through the decades to the current day. I really enjoyed the nostalgia of this timeline and loved that we really got to see the characters grow and mature. Seeing how these very different people came together when needed was really uplifting and watching Romany coming into her own made for a beautiful coming of age story.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Romany's mother Angie just passed away and her final wishes were for her group of 3 long time friends from college to look out for her- along with one other mystery person that the friends have never heard off. The book jumps from the past - how the friend's formed their bond - and the present - with them taking care of Romany. This was a beautiful story of love, loss, friendship, and secrets. It was a predictable story, but it was still very sweet nonetheless. Thank you to Amazon Publishing UT and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fabulous story of love, loss, friendship, and secrets. It was very easy to read with likeable characters. Somewhat unbelievable at times but didn't detract from the enjoyment of the story at all. Would recommend

I'd read a couple of Imogen Clark books previously and knew her to be a good storyteller. This book was no exception!

The book begins with Angie dying and leaving her teenage daughter, Romany alone. Angie has plans for her university friends to take over- unsurprisingly this does not go off without a hitch! From the mid 80s to the present day we meet Angie and her friends and learn how and why she makes the decisions that she does.

I enjoyed the characters and the way in which they interacted and interlinked with each other. It wasn't always entirely believable, but I still very much found myself wanting to read more!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

What a gorgeous book! This story is about 4 friends who meet in college and continue their friendship for many years after, despite their differences. I love how the POV changes between the characters, it was so entertaining (and emotional). Bravo Imogen!

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me the ARC! I didn't know what to think when i started this story. It was so well written about a tough loss. I loved it! Every character made this book such a sweet read. I rate it a 4.2

This was such a heartwarming read. A novel about friendship taking care of the ones we love. I enjoyed the backstories on each of the characters.
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Impossible to Forget was pretty easy to forget. While the premise of the story is a group of four friends being asked to support the 18-year-old daughter of one of their own after she dies, the majority of the book follows the thirty-year friendship instead of the actual support request. The benefit of these flashbacks is that the thirty years moves quickly otherwise I definitely would have put the book down and never looked back. I did not feel invested in any of the characters, nor did I really like any of them. They were all very one dimensional without substance. I had high hopes for this story as a tearjerker but felt very let down in the end. I am sure many will love this book, as it has all the elements of a really good women’s fiction novel, but for me there was nothing there to wow me. Thank you Netgalley for an eARC copy of this book.

What started off as a very awkward situation at the reading of a will, with a young girl, three friends and an almost-stranger, turned into a beautiful story full of life's funny coincidences and perfect moments you only find in novels.
The basis of the story is sad: Romany is left alone after her mum dies. She doesn't know her dad, and here she is, finishing her last year of school, alone.
Except her mum had a plan. A bigger one than anyone could imagine.
And slowly, as the story develops from the 80s when the four friends met to the current day, we start to understand how it all fits together.
Without wanting to sound cheesy (and knowing full well that it isn't quite as easy as it appears in books), this story is about the beauty of the puzzle called life, and how its pieces sometimes fit together in the most surprising ways.

What a beautiful book: The Big Chill for modern readers. We are drawn back in time to discover how a group of friends got to where they are today, meeting deftly drawn characters and treated to evocative reminders of that era. I feel sure this is one I'll return to and read again.

Another reviewer on GR's described this as "sweetly predictable" and I second these sentiments.

Some time ago, I read Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark, so when I saw this on Netgalley, I decided to try out another of Clark's books.

It did not disappoint.

I really like Clark's easy writing style, which seamlessly wove through multiple timelines and narrators.

It's a story of friendship, loss, and hope.

I don't do great with sad books. I'm an empath, so they hit me hard. But, I liked this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up.