Series: Rose Canyon #1
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Release Date: June 14th, 2022
CW: gun violence, domestic abuse, murder, character with amnesia, death of a sibling, mentions of drug abuse and parental abandonment
My past. My memories. My future.
The only certainty I have from the last three years is that my older brother is dead, and I am the only eyewitness.
In order to protect the case, the lawyers demand that no one give me any information about my life . . . I must remember on my own. My only help comes from my brother’s best friend and world-renowned investigative reporter, Spencer Cross.
He has no idea how many nights I’ve spent dreaming of his name—and his body—next to mine.
Now we’re a team and our goal is to recover my memories and retrace my past. But each day we spend together, he’s looking at me as more than his friend’s little sister and I find it harder to want my old life back. Instead I’m wishing for a new one–with him. His kiss feels like home. His arms make me feel safe, and I never want this to end.
As my memories return, forcing me to face my future, everything falls apart… especially when I find an engagement ring hidden in my apartment. I have no idea who gave it to me, or what it means about my past.
I may have asked Spencer to help me remember, but now I wish I could forget.
If there’s one thing that Corinne Michaels does really well, it’s write an emotionally charged story. The blurb of this book had me hooked and even though I got the gist of it from there, I was still so unsure about what was going to happen. And this book opened with pain and it was so beautifully crafted.
Brielle wakes up with no memory of what happened and there are gaps in her memory of the last three years as well. All she knows is that someone killed her older brother and is probably out there looking for her. Everyone in her life is there to support her and get her back on her feet, but the one thing they’ve all decided for the sake of the case is that nobody is to tell Brielle anything that has happened in her life. She needs to figure out the past and her truths on her own, which exhausts and stresses her out. For Brielle, this journey to discovering what happened is a lot harder than she expected, even when she’s got the support of three of her brother’s best friends.
I loved Brielle and Spencer together and their relationship as they slowly build up and figure things out. I loved him as a character too, because he was so passionate about helping Brielle and he was driven and determined to make things right again. As her brother’s best friend, Spencer has been in Brielle’s life so much that it’s a no-brainer that their feelings get all wrapped up in each other. They have so much history and dealing with all of that was also so beautiful.
“The moment our lips touch again, I’m so completely freaking lost. Forget the lack of memories, this man has erased my entire life in one kiss.”
I absolutely adored the friends in this book. Emmett, Holden and Spencer are the best group of friends and the fact that even though Brielle’s brother is gone, these three step up and do whatever it takes to help her out. They want to make sure that she has everything she needs, while also protecting her from the darkness. I cannot wait to see more of these guys in the rest of the series, because I feel like each of their stories are going to be so exciting.
While I understand why they kept secrets from Brielle, I definitely don’t support it and I think a lot of the drama came from those secrets. I wish that at least a few of the truths and secrets were discussed and talked about early on, instead of it being a constant mystery. As Brielle got frustrated, so did I at times. LOL
There are some elements of suspense and I love how Corinne woven it all together. It was fun, going on this journey of unravelling the mystery with these characters. At no point did I figure out the twist till it was staring me in the face. I will say this much, make sure there’s someone who can give you a big hug when you reach the end, because you’re gonna need it!
Thanks to Valentine PR for generously providing me with an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
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