Rebecca Lim. MERCY

Mercy is an angel, but she doesn't know it. She has no memory of her life before her current situation. She wakes up in a different person's body every so often and she isn't sure why or how. She does what she can to improve that person's life and then she moves on with little memory of the details.

However, this time it's different. She wakes up as Carmen, a soprano singer on a bus traveling to a neighboring town to rehearse with a group of schools. She's staying with a family who is dealing with life after a tragedy. The daughter was kidnapped two years before. The parents are still deeply sad, but are trying to move past the incident. The brother, Ryan, is still searching for his sister, Lauren. He insists he can still feel her presence. She is not dead; she is calling to him for help.

Mercy believes Ryan. She feels like Lauren is still alive too. Mercy wonders if she was sent there to help Ryan find this missing girl. Then when another girl goes missing, she feels even more certain that she was sent there to help. Another interesting aspect of the story is that Mercy discovers Carmen is a remarkable singer. Everyone is stunned at her angelic quality. Mercy realizes that the other two kidnapped girls were also sopranos with unmatched talent. What is the connection? Is Mercy herself in danger?

This intriguing novel is part mystery, part supernatural, and part romance. I was immediately drawn in to the story. I want to read more about Mercy and the mysterious boy she dreams about. Fortunately, more books are coming. It was released already in Australia as a trilogy, and the second book should be coming out here in the U.S. soon. For more on the series, go to the Facebook page here.
Also, check out the trailer:




Don't be confused if you go looking for the book and see several different covers!

The Australian cover is on the left. There is another US cover that looks like the one on the right!

Fortunately, they are all beautiful.

Cat Patrick. FORGOTTEN

Imagine going to sleep at night and waking up the next morning not remembering the day before. At all. Zero. And imagine this happening to you every day. London Lane has this problem. Although, she does have forward memory. So, she remembers things like where her calculus class is located at school because she goes there in the future too. Plus, she knows events that will happen to her best friends in the coming months. Bizarre, right?

London's dad left her and her mother when she was six. Her and her dad had been in a terrible car crash where London died and was brought back to life at 4:33 am. This is the reason they assume her memory resets itself every morning at that time. London has never been able to remember her past. As a coping mechanism, she writes down all the important details of each day, so when she wakes up she can read her notes and function like a normal person.

Then she begins dating Luke. She's surprised each morning by how handsome he is, since she doesn't remember meeting him. Even with having her notes to remind her, it still feels like meeting him all over again. Even stranger, she doesn't remember him in her future. This makes her curious. If he's not in her future then what happens to them. Around the same time she met Luke, she begins having a memory of a funeral. Someone will die, but who?

Here is a section that really brings home what it feels like to remember forward, rather than backward.

    "I remember forward.
     I remember forward, and forget backward.
     My memories, bad, boring, or good, haven't happened yet.
     So like it or not - and like it I don't - I will remember standing in the fresh-cut grass with the black-clad figures durrounded by stone until I do it for real. I will remember the funeral until it happens - until someone dies.
     And after that, it will be forgotten."

The concept is fascinating and the reason I picked up the book. But the writing kept me reading. It's mysterious, psychologically fascinating and suspenseful! You'll love it! It really made me think! I wonder if this type of memory problem really exists or did the author make it up? Also, I love the selective-ness of it. If London decides she doesn't want to remember something, she just doesn't write it in her notes. How powerful is that? You can choose only the good stuff. And what do you do with knowledge of the future? It's all so fascinating.

This is a stunning debut by Cat Patrick. For more about her click here for her website. I cannot wait to see what she writes next!