I wanted to like this book, and really enjoyed the beginning. The premise is interesting- two old friends get together one night over video chat in order to reconnect, but when one woman goes upstairs to check on the kids, the other friend sees a masked man enter the home. Panicked, she tries to call her friend over and over and calls the police. After not getting a call back, she travels back to Cincinatti to see if everything is okay.

This is where I felt the book became so-so. I think I was expecting more of a thriller than a dramatic portrayal of a strained marriage and faded friendship. The themes were interesting and the writing was good, but I found myself having to force finish this one.

2.5 stars out of 5 for Forget You Know Me,

I enjoyed the setting of this book as it was set in my city, Cincinnati, OH. To be honest, I thought this was going to be a psychological thriller, but it was less about who the mystery man was and more about the marriage and friendships of the main character Molly. I enjoyed it, not as much as Jessica Strawser's first book set in Yellow Springs, OH, but I liked it. I think our book club will have a lot to discuss, chronic pain, debt, lies in a marriage, and friendship.

I enjoyed Jessica Strawser's first two novels, so I was excited to see what she would come up with next. The concept of Forget You Know Me: A Novel sounded intriguing, so I was curious to find out what would happen.

The premise of this novel is interesting. Both Liza and Molly have some stressful situations going on in their lives. Getting into a one-sided fight has even more of an impact in regards to what is currently happening for them. I could relate to what Molly was going through in some ways, but I felt more connected to Liza overall. The dialogue between the main and secondary characters was strong throughout the story and the descriptions made it easy to visualize everyone and everything.

I was hoping this novel would be a thriller, but it is more of a domestic drama with some suspenseful moments. Some of the writing felt more cryptic and made the story hard to follow, also slowing it down a bit. I wish there had been more answers in regards to what almost happened to Liza. The ending felt anticlimactic once we found out what really happened in Molly's house, but the build-up to that point kept me guessing.

Jessica is a talented writer and I look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next.

Movie casting suggestions:
Liza: Liza Weil
Molly: Danneel Ackles
Max: Max Minghella
Daniel: Matt Lanter
Henry: Chris Carmack
Rick: Wes Bentley
Toby: Matthew Goode

Unfortunately this book didn’t hit the spot for me. I loved Jessica’s book Not That I Could Tell so I was pretty excited for this one unfortunately I just felt the writing was so choppy. I couldn’t connect with either of the two women and for most of it was just confused about where the story was even going.

This is my first book by Jessica Strawser. With all suspense books, you never know where it will take you. Sometimes people are not as they seem, Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser quickly grabbed my attention during the opening scene, but turned out to be a slow read overall. A masked intruder seen during a video call, while the person whose home he is in has run upstairs for a few minutes, is an introduction with a pretty big impact. This made me feel, along with the description, that it was going to be a thriller/suspense novel, but in reality, it was more of the day-to-day life of a suburban couple and the issues they faced with health, jobs, neighbors, etc. The identity of the masked intruder was quite anti-climactic. By the point of the reveal, I did not really even care and honestly, did not understand the reasoning. Unfortunately, try as I may, I was not able to relate to or care much for any of the characters. I feel the author did a good job in giving a backstory for each and her writing flows nicely, but this story simply was not a favorite of mine.

Face paced, un-put-down-able and one that will keep you thinking about it.
Part mystery, thriller and women's fiction it will appeal to many readers. This author always keeps me thinking and I loved her last book too.
A well-written story that is quite riveting.

Whyyyyy... did I finish reading this all the way through. It’s seriously 324 pages of a suburban mom whinIng about her financial woes and only semi caring that a stranger broke into her house. I don’t get why this book was so drawn out. It could have been a short story and maybe don’t a better job of keeping my interest. I was holding out for an unexpected ending, but that was anticlimactic like the rest of the book. I give it two stars because I finished it and didn’t give up on it.

This book had some reallly good parts and some that just did not flow. There was a LOT of information to get across and I felt like some information was unnecessary and some was not flushed out enough.

The multiple narrator is one of my favorite things but this book seemed off in that the chapters did not start with who the narrator was and there were a few chapters it took me a couple paragraphs to realize who.

Molly annoyed me and I tried to like her but it was just hard. I felt bad for not liking her and that annoyed me!! Liza was more relatable. I think some of the extra information helped me not like Molly. I LOVED Henry and he was a bit character.

The end felt a bit rushed and tied together with a bow. This made Molly even more unlikable because I felt like she should have developed more and addressed more by the end.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I really enjoyed this book because of the characters. They were all well developed and unique. The story kept my interest and I liked the ending.

This was the first book I read by Jessica Strawser. It’s more a women’s fiction/family drama instead of a psychological suspense. It was good but I was slightly disappointed and bored of the story because I went in thinking it was more of a mystery, slight thriller and was waiting for the story to take that exciting turn and never did. I would definitely recommend this book and read more by the author, but I’d make sure to go in with less expectations. Thank you Netgalley and to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read work by this author.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for review based upon my honest opinion.

This book starts out really interesting, I thought I was going to be in for a thrill ride. The characters were interesting, opening chapters were really, really good, but the problem is, as the book goes on I kept my interest. It was a pretty quick read, I was excited to find out who the man in the mask was; the thing is I found the ending such a letdown. I really didn’t like the end game, I was expecting some big ending, the story was building up with all kinds of suspects, and although I was a bit surprised I was quite disappointed. It was an interesting storyline and I will probably check out another book by this author I just really didn’t care for the ending of this week.

Molly and Liza were friends since childhood, and it was as close a friendship as you could get. Or so they thought. But a video call gone wrong showed them that the years had not been kind to their connection. Molly, married with two kids, still living in their hometown, was struggling with chronic pain and the disappointment of not being able to find anything that will help. Liza, however, moved to Chicago to chase an important job and never found the right guy to settle down with.

As Liza and Molly realize just how much space as opened up between them, they struggle to decide if they want to build a bridge back to their closeness or just move on from their ravaged relationship. Molly makes her decision while seeing just how much it is she stands to lose. Liza looks at her decision though the lens of gaining a second chance at life.

Jessica Strawser’s Forget You Know Me is a deep dive into the relationships that define us, that hold us up when we feel weak, that save our lives, and that relieve our pain. It’s about friendship and marriages, and all the other connections that we choose to give our lives meaning.

Forget You Know Me is a beautifully written study of the small choices we make in every day life that have long-lasting consequences. It’s a look at the relationships we keep and the ones we have to let go of. It’s about finding our way in the dark and asking for forgiveness for keeping secrets. I liked this book for its honesty and unblinking frankness about all the hidden places in our friendships. It made me feel sad and angry and exposed, and I can’t think of a better endorsement for a novel. If you like a slow burn relationship novel, then I definitely recommend Jessica Strawser.

Galleys for Forget You Know Me were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Forget You Know Me is a lovely read. The characters are interesting and relatable. The plot line is a bit different than average; the more extreme suspense and heavy events happen earlier on, with smaller ripples throughout the rest of the story. The twists were well done and believable enough. I leave only 4 stars because there's something about the plot that makes me want a more culminating moment, as if the characters almost got off too easily. Albeit, I truly enjoyed the relationship dynamics and the concept of mutual vulnerability diffusing even the worst situations. I like having characters whose narrative is designed to make sense and be agreeable with the readers, not just calculated to push a plot.

Forget You Know Me is the latest from Jessica Strawser, author of 2017’s Almost Missed You and 2018’s Not That I Could Tell. I gave both of these a qualified five stars, so I am clearly a fan – which meant I jumped at the chance to have a copy of FYKM from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Once again, it’s described as “women’s fiction.” AARRGGHH. As I noted in one of my reviews of Ms. Strawser’s books, that is “a term I hate, and not to be confused with “chick lit,” which I hate even more.” So, let’s just accept it and move on, talking about a book that focuses on women, friendship, relationship – oh, wait! Maybe THAT is what they mean by “women’s fiction.”

Anyway, this time around, we have two female protagonists. Molly is a wife and mother, and she spends much of her time dealing with her chronic pain and her children, leaving her husband somewhat neglected. She and her kids have been getting friendly with their neighbors, a single dad with his son. She has also been growing apart from her BFF Liza, who moved from Cincinnati to Chicago two years ago – not worlds apart, but far enough that, combined with Molly’s domestic focus and Liza’s career focus, has resulted in them losing the day-to-day intimacy they had shared forever.

So, one night Molly’s husband Daniel is out of town and she and Liza are Skyping. Molly steps away from her laptop to check on the kids, leaving the laptop open. Liza sees a scary-looking figure of someone dressed in black coming in the back door. She freaks and yells at him, causing him to freak and shut the laptop, breaking the connection. Liza can’t get ahold of Molly, so she races off to check on Molly, dragging along her gay friend (think Rupert Everett and Julia Roberts in My Best Friend’s Wedding). When they arrive, Molly pretty much slams the door on them, leaving Liza to think “WTF?” obsessively, and Molly to continue with her ton of issues.

This weird event sets off a whole string of events that I, as a “never spoiler,” cannot reveal, but just know that it is COMPLICATED and suspenseful. The mystery is entertaining in itself, but the more interesting part (for me) is the way it is a deep look at how time and distance affect friendship and marriage.

PLOT and CHARACTER: Jessica Strawser has a day job as Editorial Director at Writer’s Digest, and she is a master at plot development. I also wonder whether she has a terrific imagination or has had lots of weird situations in her own life. In any case, it’s amazing how many potential suspects there are for the “who was that man?” mystery surrounding the Skype event. And the two women, despite their apparent fight, are more than one-dimensional as Liza suffers from a big dose of anxiety just as Molly deals with her physical pain.

I’m giving this one five stars, just to be consistent with my reviews of Ms. Strawser’s previous books, but admittedly have always been a somewhat easy grader! Be aware that Jessica Strawser has done it again: this is excellent ENTERTAINMENT (women’s fiction, remember?), and not literature.

I really have no idea how to process this book. Well firstly, I loved Liza. Secondly I kind of disliked Molly(?!!) and Thirdly I totally hated Daniel!! I mean!! Man!! You got to be kidding me!! :/

Despite of all these complications and frustrations Daniel (and sometimes Molly) put me into, I enjoyed the ride. Liza was a complete darling and I loved how she stood beside Molly even when she was angry at her. Will definitely try more books by this author.

I didn't like it so much. I did suspect who the intruder was, so it wasn't a surprise. I didn't like Molly much. It was fast paced, but didn't meet my expectations.

I cannot begin to imagine the terror I would feel if I was virtually chatting with my best friend and I saw a masked man walk through her house and close the computer as we are chatting. This sounded like a thrilling plot and I originally thought this would be a thriller but I would say it is more of a suspenseful domestic drama. The main characters in this novel are Molly and her husband, Daniel and Molly's best friend, Liza. Liza is the one who witnesses the masked man over Skype enter Molly's home when she knows that Daniel is not at home. This novel is more about Daniel and Molly's troubled marriage and two best friends who have grown apart. Secrets and deception are at the heart of this novel
This was a fast-paced and highly entertaining read. The characters are well developed and very believable. 4 stars!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Ok, so I’m going to go all around the world to explain my feelings about this book- just hold on 🙂

If you know me a little bit, you know that I fell in love with The Cutting Edge like a gajillion years ago, can still cite many of it’s lines, and will basically stop everything if I see it on TV (even though I have it on DVD and can watch any darn time I please). Still with me?

Let me set the scene: Remember after the first night of the Olympics when Doug, Kate, the coach and her father were arguing (after Kate and Doug argued about the button on the ice?) And then Kate’s father saying “Forget the move, we can win without the move!” (I promise I’m building up to a point!!!

When this book was pitched/promoted/etc- the description mentioned about a masked man (the description is now different so sorry if I ruined that for you!) But if you knew/when you read it- I beg of you, like Kate’s father when he said “Forget the move”, I’m saying “Forget the man. Forget him.”

Is it not important? No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that in my MANY years of reading, when something like a masked man is mentioned- it gets your mind thinking in a certain way and if you focus on that one detail, waiting on something to happen, something to move that masked man mention further…. well, you are going to miss out on the really good parts of the book. Yes, there will be a resolution to the masked man angle- but the meat and potatoes is how deep Jessica Strawser dives into the relationships between the characters.

What I Liked:

The cover. I REALLY liked that.

The overall study of how the relationships between spouses and friends can drift apart slowly and then all of a sudden you realize you are in a danger zone.



Bottom line: For me, the first chapter set my expectations one way and it took some time to right that ship of thoughts and get it all squared away. After that, the book def gave me lots to think about and I would love to see book clubs having big ole discussions about this book- because there is LOTS to unpack.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

I so, so wanted to love this book. I adored the author's previous title, "Not That I Could Tell" and had high hopes for this one based on the description. Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me. The premise --a woman spots an intruder in her best friend's home during a Skype chat -- is intriguing, but that turns out to be such a small part of the book. It felt like there were several different books happening at once, and none of the stories really came together as a cohesive whole. I also felt like some of the stories felt unfinished. Did everything turn out ok with Luke and Steph's baby? What caused the fire in Liza's apartment (it felt like we were being led to a big reveal there, and nothing happened.) What happened to Rick and little Rosie? Did Molly's debt just get paid and that was the end of it? There was so much potential here, but it really felt like the author had several ideas for different novels and just tried to cram them together. I was disappointed.