Pro: A cozy read
Con: Too long, not really my cup of tea.
The Bottom Line: If you want a Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan-esque type of story, then this could be for you.
I quickly realized, as Christmas was coming up, that there was a slot in the Reading Challenge for a book that takes place during Christmas. So after digging around I decided since I'd never read a Christmas romance book, I'd do that. But then I couldn't decide which I wanted, so I ended picking up two. Surprise.
A Gift to Remember by Melissa Hill sounded cute and fun. Darcy Archer works a bookstore, is a bit of a dreamer, and has a pretty cozy little life - until she runs over some poor guy out walking his dog. When he wakes up, he has amnesia, and Darcy takes it upon herself to help him remember who he is - and the possibility is pretty impressive. Is Darcy right? And moreover - is he Mr. Right?
I liked the premise - let's face it, Darcy sounds like me. And her customers definitely sound like some of the idiot customers we get. And it also reminded me of While You Were Sleeping. After a large chunk of Darcy narration, you suddenly split off into first person with Aidan (the memory loss guy), so you get a chance to try and piece things together along with Darcy. It had it's cute moments (though most of those were dog-related) and the atmosphere was lovely...but ultimately this wasn't the book for me.
It went on for far too long. Darcy spends the vast majority of the book musing about everything. From wondering about Aidan's apartment acroutrements to watching all the storefronts fly by while she rides her bike. For a 405 page book about figuring out who a guy with amnesia is, there's not enough actual meat to make it interesting. Darcy goes and does things for Aidan. Darcy goes home and muses about things. Darcy goes and does other stuff. Darcy eventually sees Aiden for a few pages. Darcy leaves to go do more stuff. I was beginning to get impatient. Because she's busy off doing all sorts of other things for him, there's rarely any interaction between the two. And given how giant the leap was from the end chapter to the epilogue, I was disappointed.
I guess I should have known better as on the book it says, "a novel" which in my brain typically means the book is shelved in fiction rather than romance, so the romance is going to be at a minimum, but I've read other non-romance books with more romance in them. Still, I know that this is the sort of novel that plenty of people love, and though there were other elements involved that made me kind of twitch, but it was a matter of suspending disbelief and moving on. In terms of figuring out who Aiden really is, it's predictable, but only if you're already used to looking at the least common denominator, which after years of R.L. Stine, I am. So the surprise wasn't really a surprise to me at all. Still, points awarded for doing a very good red herring job that I'm sure many other people have and will fall for, and there's no shame in that at all.
For a cozy, read-by-the-fire book with a cup of cocoa an dnothing better to do, go for it. But if you want more kissing and more interaction between your leading lady and gentleman, you may want to look elsewhere.
NT
P.S. Er, can we also stop with the obsession with Jane Austin? Yes, that's Darcy's namesake, and yes, she wishes for that kind of romance too - just like so many other romance characters. There are other people to choose from, you know. Just saying.
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