Back of Book: 

Two souls bound by loss, rediscovering their place in life. Drawn together by a secret he’s always known and a truth she is about to uncover.

Syve has spent the last year struggling to hold together the pieces of her life after losing her family. Her shop—and the apartment above it—are the final ties to everything she’s lost, and she’s desperate to keep them. But how do you hold on when grief weighs down every breath? As if that wasn’t enough, vivid dreams of haunting the graveyard, trapped in the body of a deer have begun to plague her nights. Searching for answers, she uncovers an old family secret: the dreams are real. When a stranger appears, offering explanations she never imagined, a door to a hidden world creaks open.

Bastien knows how fast life can fall apart—less than a minute, if you’re counting. Now, all that’s left is a hollow work to support his mother and teenage sister, and fight through sleepless nights. Only his wolf—an untamed force within—gives him escape, running wild through the darkened woods to silence the memories. Until one night, he finds someone who looks as lost as he feels. And for the first time, he can’t walk away.

When dreams blur with reality and nightmares claw their way into the light, can two broken souls find healing in each other? Or will the deer and the wolf be forever haunted by the past? 

Book Number: One 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance | Paranormal 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A phenomenal shifter romances that focuses immensely on putting oneself back together after grief tears one apart. 

Syve feels as though she has lost everything. It has been a year since her husband and son died in a deadly accident, and she is struggling to hold on to everything she has left. It's hard enough trying to keep her shop, Sew It Seems, open and running, but things get even worse when Syve starts having a reoccurring dream of herself trapped in the body of a deer visiting her son's grave. Syve feels as though she's completely lost it when she stumbles across her mother's journals and discovers a shocking secret—she is descended from a long line of deer shifters. Scared and stuck in her deer form, Syve runs into the woods and encounters a man. This man also has a secret; he can turn into a wolf. Desperate for answers, Syve begins to befriend Bastion as he helps her learn all there is to know about being an animal shifter in modern society. Syve and Bastion have both had their share of tragic circumstances thrust upon them, but it seems that the two's meeting is helping to heal their hearts. It shocks both of them that they just may be what the other needs to truly begin fixing what has been broken inside of them. 

Holy smokes, I loved this book! When I say that this book has all the feels, I'm not joking. Yes, it is brimming with grief and sadness, but I kid you not that this one constantly had me laughing out loud. Like full on guffawing at the absurd scenarios and giddy at the romantic tension. I was also consumed with worry, anger, and fear for the characters as this book truly took me on an emotional rollercoaster. 

When I first came across this book, I knew little more than it was about shapeshifters and it was allegedly really sad. Both of these things are one hundred percent true. But it is also so much more than that. It is a swoony paranormal romance tinged with grief, but it is also a story of rock-solid friendships and families you'd move heaven and earth for. It's a journey of forgiving oneself and learning to live after one has experienced world altering pain. Long story short, it is a flipping masterpiece. 

The characters in this one are absolutely phenomenal. Syve is a confident, independent woman who is shattered due to her grief. I love that she feels one hundred percent real with all her ambitions, her strong dislikes, and her quirky little traits. The fact that such a fierce woman is also a deer shifter is so thoughtful. Syve is going through some serious stuff and she is certainly vulnerable, and I feel that her doe form reflected that quite nicely. 

And don't get me started on Bastion! He is such a green flag book boyfriend, and I couldn't be happier with him! He is such a gentleman even when he is practically stalking Syve he is doing it in her best interest. The circumstances of their first meeting was less than optimal, but he was also very chivalrous about everything and made sure to keep her modesty intact. Seriously, this guy is a keeper! He also stands up for her when his flirtatious friend is being a buttface and he makes sure that he isn't taking things too fast, due to the fact that he knows she has a late husband. I seriously couldn't get enough of Bastion's character. 

The cast of side characters is truly phenomenal, too. Syve's friends Aimi and Cam are some of my favorites. Aimi is fiery, addicted to "Twilight," and not afraid to get under others' skin when it benefits her. Cam is a bit more down to Earth, but still a really fun character. Her little daughter is adorable (and it is so cute how addicted the little girl is to Bastion). Seriously, everyone needs a support group like Syve's. 

Bastion's family is also so amazing. He comes from a family that is half-wolf, half-horse, which is an interesting combo. His mother, Soriah, is a classic Latina mother who goes out of her way to make sure that everyone is taken care of. Bastion's younger sister, Del, is a high school senior with enough sass for a dozen people. Cyrus is an honorary member of the family, and he is an infamous flirt who has a thing for Aimi (which was such a fun side story that I am so ready to explore more). He isn't the most likable from the start, but he grows on you. 

Honestly, the only character I truly disliked is Gunther. And he's a creepy creep, so we're supposed to dislike him. He has an obvious thing for Syve and he tries to be very controlling of her, which again, creepy and plain gross. Within the first three pages of meeting him, I think he checked off all the red flags in my book. And don't worry, he gets worse as the book progresses. 

I want to take a moment to talk about grief. Grief is a major theme and plot device in this book, and I want to take a moment to really dive into it. There will be slight spoilers in this paragraph, but nothing you wouldn't know within the first few chapters. Syve lost her son and her husband in a terrible accident. I won't go into details, because this reveal has a shock factor to it, but man, this situation is so tragic and my heart goes out to anyone that has experienced a similar situation. Syve suffers from survivor's guilt and often wishes she would have been with Erhard and Noah when they died. Bastion lost his twin brother, Desiderio, three years ago to a poacher. This is devasting and really made me think about the tragedy that is poaching. I know that most animals aren't people, but it's still so sad regardless. Syve and Bastion obviously bond over their shared loss which is such a wholsome part of their relationship. It is so easy for them to relate to one another, so it's a lot easier for them to help each other through their struggles when personal triggers pop up in their lives. 

Some of the scenes in this book are penned so beautifully that they had me actively crying. I was especially torn up by the scene in which Syve visits her son's grave on his birthday. There are several other highly emotionally scenes that got to me on a personal level, but man, that scene. 

I want to now talk about the romance between Syve and Bastion. I've really been digging shifter romances later, and I think that one of them is a classic predator whereas the other is an example of their prey was really fun. Most are both predators, so this shook things up nicely. It added an element to their chases that felt very animalistic, but still very hot. This romance is truly a slow burn, as Syve and Bastion are nothing but friends and it takes them almost one hundred pages to even meet one another. Their friendly banter is so entertaining, and it swiftly shifts into seductive flirting before long. These two help each other through so much emotionally and their physical chemistry is also pretty peak. I am a huge fan of these two together and I ate up every spark between them. 

The ending of this book actually gets to be pretty intense. There is a pinnacle scene which leads to Bastion being injured and Syve valiantly stays by his side the entire time, consequences be damned. This was so cute and made me ship these two even harder. The actual scenario itself had my heart pounding, and I found my mouth filling with bile as we learned more about the circumstances. No spoilers, but grr. 

I think that I've talked about this book enough to show that I absolutely loved this one. I am absolutely honored that Sharpe was willing to gift me a copy of her book to read. I fell in love with this world and these characters so heavily; it's not even a question that I will be returning to Timberfall to read Cyrus' story when Sharpe releases it. 

Overall, "Forget Me Not" is a book that I won't be soon forgetting. It has been a long time since I've felt so giddy while reading a romance. The humor was also so good and it had me laughing constantly, despite the somber tone of the majority of this book. Sharpe blended humor and sadness so masterfully, and I seriously haven't read a book this beautifully penned in a while. I am addicted to this story, these characters, and the world they inhabit. I can't wait until the next book to come out, so I have an excuse to reread this one again!