Lapses of Memory by M.S. Spencer

Lapses of Memory
By: M.S. Spencer
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Published: May 10, 2013
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: Marchelle
Date: July 25,2014

 

In Lapses of Memory, Sydney Bellek’s love for Elian Davies is reignited each time they meet, but in the long years following each encounter she forgets him. For his part, Elian knows from the age of seven that they are meant for each other, but when she finally understands it’s too late. Will he regain his memory and remember her or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

Meanwhile, her daughter Olivia chronicles the ups and downs of her parents’ romance, making it difficult to concentrate on her own dilemma—how to choose between the rich and dashing Rémy de Beaumec, who wants to take her around the world, and the steady, quiet, American-to-the-core, Benjamin Knox, who only wants to make her happy.

This is the first book I have read by this author. I started reading it fully expecting something along the lines of "The Notebook". By the second chapter, I knew my expectation was completely wrong and I was hooked. I understand this isn't the author's usual genre but I have to say she definitely hit the mark with this one.

Olivia is writing the story of how her parents, Sydney Bellek and Elian Davies, met and fell in love. Sydney and Elian met the first time as children on a transatlantic flight, when she was only five years old and he was seven. They both grow up to become journalists and their paths cross several times over the years, almost always on airplanes. Through most of the years, Sydney doesn't recognize or remember Elian, but he always seems to remember her. By the time she realizes she is in love with him, he has been through a traumatic event and no longer has any memory of her and she fears it is too late for them to be together. While Olivia is "interviewing" her mother and writing the story, she is involved in a romantic dilemma of her own. She has two men vying for her affection and she is unsure which man she wants to be with.

I loved Sydney! She is outspoken, confident, headstrong and opinionated. She manipulates her daughter into divulging information about the men in her life by withholding parts of her own story. She meddles in her daughter's love life without her knowledge. She has been everywhere, seen everything and she's still as brassy as she was in her younger years. I found myself laughing out loud at some parts of her story and wanting to cry at others.

This is a very touching story and I was completely drawn in. The characters were vivid and real. I found myself wanting to skip to the end to reassure myself it would all work out. That's how invested I was in these characters. I'm glad I didn't read ahead and ruin the ending. The anticipation was definitely worth it!