Repeat

I have not read a Kylie Scott book since I breezed through her Stage Dive series about the band members, years ago. Those characters had backstory, a sense of humor, and were adequately life-like and complicated.
I read the sample of Repeat, then bought it. It’s an interesting plot. I don’t know if it’s based in actual medical science or not. I would not write a psych paper on head trauma and amnesia using this book as a reference.
Repeat felt rushed. The plot holds together, but the details are thin. You could rush to the end and solve the mystery without missing much character development (I was tempted). Characters do strange, not-American things. An attractive former bank employee (requires higher education) does not impulsively cut off all her strawberry blond hair and wear it in a weird shaggy bob for weeks, unless she is mentally ill, deeply angry, or self-hating (this character is not). We do not actually use the metric system, so how big is a multi-liter pail of paint, and, could just anyone carry it? (No.) A character arrives on a motorcycle from “the west coast”. If your book is set in Portland, where all the Stage Dive books are set, a cross-country trip from the west will land him in Portland, Maine. Ask an American: would a bookstore in Portland, Maine, leave a book about vaginal piercing out on a table? No, that’s a certain kind of bookstore, an “adult” bookstore. Would a bookstore anywhere in America sell both new and used books? Again, no, bookstores in the United States sell either new or used/remaindered books but not both. Characters occasionally speak in an Australian idiom, and things happen that would not legally occur in the US (you cannot be fired from your job at a bank because you have been hospitalized after an assault — you would recover, then be re-trained).
The author fills space with lists of her favorite books. (I like Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley, too). She lists movies, too. (I am not as nuts about Die Hard as she is). Word, word, word, count them all, watch them add up and pad the page count.
And the sex scenes (there are two). We read what he’s doing; what is he saying? What’s he like? How much does he like her? I don’t want to read about his hand and her labia. Is this Dr. Ruth or a romance?
I like Clem pretty well. She takes to her new reality pretty well. Her tall tattoo artist friend — intensely protective, worrying, reluctant, anxious — he’s not book boyfriend material. We Americans want our men to have more backbone, not to scurry away from an honest conversation. Not to take things slow because something bad might happen in the morning. Not to use a condom without bitching about it, showing her his clean health documents, and making a better plan for next time.

Ive spent more of my life as the after me than the before me. I had a major car accident in my late teens that left me with a similar brain injury to Clementine, the main character in Repeat. This is the first time Ive realised this and Im surprised to realise that I still wonder if the before accident me was a better me than the current me. If you ask my family or friends, they claim they love both mes but I know deep down, my family would have happily throttled both mes too.

Meeting Clementine and watching her process and analyse each situation brings back memories of my recovery. I didnt lose all my memories and was lucky enough to remember everyone from my previous life. I remembered how to make a cup of coffee but for the life of me, couldnt remember where the coffee cups were. I was looking at buildings that I had driven by numerous times with completely fresh eyes. Im lucky that with some deep prodding, some memories will come back to me, like people I’ve met before. Hubby thinks I have selected memory problemsbut I guess well never know.

So, of course Repeat hit me a lot harder than the average reader/listener. Seeing Clementine cover her scar self-consciously, try to act blas when her feelings are hurt, and having loved ones hover constantly, were things I could relate to. You frequently find yourself questioning your thoughts, actions and reactions. Is this how I should react? Am I overreacting? Are they disappointed because Im reacting differently to how I would have previously reacted? Its no wonder Clementine and I suffered from severe headaches and a need to recharge often.

You cant help but feel that Clementine was given a second chance at happiness by having her brain injury. Obviously, you dont want her to suffer as she did, but theres this little part of me that thinks shes happier now than she would have been living her previous life. Maybe, its a case of making the best out of what life throws you. Again, I could completely relate to that as I felt invincible and some would even say, a little reckless. You become a person who looks for their happy place and won’t settle for anything less. Why waste your life being miserable?

The relationship between Clementine and Ed starts off a little rough and even felt a little hopeless. How on earth is Ed supposed to forgive Clementine for her lack of faith in him? But, then again, how could he not, considering she has no previous memory of it all. I loved seeing them struggle through the attraction and feelings that refuse to go away.

Andi Arndt is a fantastic narrator and she was perfectly matched to Kylie Scotts amazing story. Andi brings these characters to life and easily makes me feel their emotions. I had no problems telling when the characters changed and Im a big fan of her male voice.

Repeat is not a long story and I easily finished it in two sessionswhich I quickly regretted that I rushed. I loved every moment of Clementine and Eds journey to happiness and could definitely see them in their happy ever after. I highly recommend and Im adding it to my Best-of-the-Bestest Goodreads list.

Dear Ms Scott, please consider writing a story for all of Ed and Clementines siblings. Thanks. Hugs and smooches, Stacey (whos not often Sassy, but likes to think she is) xoxoxo

I have read a few amnesia books in the past, but none quite like this romance. It’s such a unique second chance romance, I couldn’t help but to swoon.

I liked how Scott showed that Clementine was literally two different people, the before and the now Clementine. I think that holds true to real life with something like amnesia. Scott didn’t pull any punches in Clementine finding out about who she was before and having to come to terms with it and who she is becoming now. They are polar opposites and a complete struggle for Clementine.

Ed, too, now struggles with the before and now Clementine. Holding on to all of the good and bad from before to the now is a total mind melt for him since he remembers everything and it contradicts the now. I could feel his struggle with letting go and embracing at the same time.

Scott did such a great job with these complex characters and complex story. Her writing of this story really makes you wonder if you could fall in love with the same person twice, who is actually two different people. I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I don’t think there was really anything that could have made it better for me.

Wow. I didn’t have high hopes for this one after having DNFed three books this week alone. It seems the quality of books being published these days is atrocious. No character development and little plot. But this one…wow, it kept me engaged and turning pages until dawn.

I’ve given it 4 but it’s more a solid 3.5 but I didn’t want to underscore. Here’s the thing, i loved the plot, i liked clem, i especially liked the bits of dry humour she supplied, what I didn’t like was everyone’s behaviour towards her, not that it was particularly bad, i just feel like she had every right to be like, hold on, i dint know you but everything isn’t just my fault. Like how could he go on dates so soon if he was destroyed? Rationally I know this happens but I felt for the first half he was really overly ambivalent about her and the situation, he admitted not paying enough attention etc so rather than try win her back, he proves her worst fears really. That doesn’t scream someone who is torn over someone else especially given the timeline of less than 3 months. It just bugged me personally, especially the date at her fave restaurant. Absolutely valid reaction from her, laid back as it was. I didn’t like that basically everyone had this vibe of her being uptight and no fun before, it’s supposed to be a guy who was in love with her, a best friend and a sister and yet none of them were overly nice abiut her previous character, again though, not in a horrible way. Yes i get her part in it and howbhurt he must’ve been but still it’s a 2 way street alright. Also what was with that look from tessas bf? That wasn’t explained, so I feel like that was to throw us off but I had it sussed fairly early on. And lastly I feel like the last ten percent was rushed. I’d if liked to have seen them go through the motions of finding out and maybe getting an apology for clems sake from tessa at least because while she should have hashed it out with them, they shoukd also understand now that she had seemingly good reason. Overall quick easy read with a good plot. Just wanted a bit more

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