This the first of the St Caroline series I have read and I believe there are three before this, but I'm not convinced I shall ever seek them out.

I wasn't terribly impressed with the start as I felt it had a slight 'teenage novel' feel to it. However, I persevered and finished the story. Some parts didn't really ring true, and I felt the author hadn't really done enough research into recovery from what was a pretty serious accident leading to amnesia, Why Oliver thought Serena had an affair is beyond me. I felt this was a ploy just to give the story some substance. Constant references to his 'hotness' were just boring, and he came over as boring too.

Serena being welcomed back into the family fold with a suddenly understanding and loving mother - nope, don't get that either.

Two stars for actually getting the book published.

I did not know what I was expecting when I first started reading this book but I know by the time I ended I was having warm fuzzies. This was that kind of book for me. Not the best warm fuzzies but the kind that was glad that all the misunderstandings were figured out. Hell there were a lot. The whole context of the book was nice. I will admit it was the blurb that totally attracted me but the somewhere in the middle I just got really really mad at Oliver. I just wished he would stop accusing of wife of things he was not sure of even. She was recovering and his accusations were not helping the situation was not helping at all. At times I felt that their Older son was more mature than him.

The only problem I had was the whole grandmother's voice thing. I suddenly for a second thought I picked up a Christian book also when it came up (not to be prejudiced). That kinda overthrew me. Other than that story managed to nicely flow whilst faltering a little in the middle.

A beautiful romance
Oliver and Serena's marriage is put to the ultimate test, Serena was in a coma for 4 months, which causes amnesia. She cannot remember many key moments in her life, including her children. Yet its what she does remember that causes the most problems for her family.

The characters and the storylines in this book are well written. I wanted to smack Oliver at some points, but then again I could understand where he was coming from.

I definitely recommend this book.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and all opinions are my own.

Luanna

This Reminds Me of Us is a beautifully written book. Great plot and believable characters. I must backtrack and check out the other books in this series. I highly recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

I requested this book from NetGalley because I read and really enjoyed a previous book in this series, and I was really hopeful for this one. I’m a sucker for hurt/comfort, angst and couples finding each other again. The blurb sounded like this one was going to have a lot of things I enjoy… And it did. But I discovered it had something else that brought the rating back down.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Both in this book and in Hearts on Fire, Oliver is described as being set in his ways and known for being a stick in the mud type, a loyal and dedicated public servant and family man. In the previous book, these traits were played as likeable, but also a point of good-natured ribbing in a close-knit family. Here, this somehow shifts in the space of a chapter or two from admirable and likeable into stubborn, judgmental and abrasive. Oliver jumps to the worst possible conclusion with the least information he could have. He’s also resistant to Serena reforming relationships with anyone or making any major decisions after her accident.

Serena is the saving grace of the book. For a woman whose life has just been upended, she’s a solid center and narrator, navigating her life one day and one new face at a time. I loved her and her boys, and wish Ms. Gabriel hadn’t saddled her with Oliver as a husband – or had split them to give her a different ending. Oliver seemed to have an epiphany at the end of this book, but it was abrupt and unconvincing. My headcanon is this is a HFN, not a HEA.

This Reminds Me of Us by Julia Gabriel. Waking up and not being able to remember things such as your own children or how you got into the accident in the first place must be an awful feeling. Loved the plot of the story is a tear jerker at many times in the story. I am so glad the story has a happy ending.

2.5 stars
I struggled with this one. My main struggle was how the poor wife is accused of things the husband "thought" he knew. There was enough stress on their relationship. I felt awful for her. She had enough going .

Her childhood sounds stressful.

Ollie is sweet.

Back to reality.

She didn't get her trust fund? Is that legal?

Goodness gracious. At least she remembers her husband.

Cam has my sister's birthday.

I can control my dreams like that.

If he had cheated, I'd have to kill him.

He could have brought the gifts to the hospital so she could wrap some.

He's jealous of a dead man.

Memories are tricky, even if you don't have amnesia.

I did not know the bomber had a name.

I hope Cassidy is alright.

Ben didn't seem the type, but what, Serena did?

His self-esteem is really low.

It would serve him right if she did leave him.

Fancy!

Nana is just haunting people left and right.

Such an idiot.

Attaboy, Cam!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable read, first I’ve read by the author it was a nice book, bit formulaic at times, wasn’t keen on Ollie a few times, but it’s entertaining and a nice story.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Oliver Wolfe was one hardheaded man. Once he got something in his head he would not cut loose from that idea. In this secret that he thought she was carrying he was accusing her of being untrustworthy. Making you unsure of his faithfulness, to their vows.

Yet, Serena had done nothing to earn his mistrust. All except end up in a car accident. Her bad! But really, Serena had given up a sizeable trust fund to be with Ollie. So, if she did that why would she push off and say, “Let me do x, y, and z. Now please, the man is delusional. Really lack of sleep and worry will do that to a person. But you couldn’t get him to see that.

All it took was three simple obscure things for this usually very levelheaded, nice, salt of the earth, hard-working father and loving husband to turn on his wife. Yet, not in an overt way no in a passive-aggressive way.

Until that day he calls her out and accuses her causing and their marriage to suffer. The worst part when she denies it, he uses her memory loss suffered in the accident against her. Saying how would she know.

Never once looking at her character or at the fact he loves her, or she has never once given him a reason to mistrust her. He withholds affection, stays at the fire station more, and then is jealous when the boys give her more affection than him and things don’t fall apart without him. When for four months he carried the load. Wow, he had to do his job be a father.

Although, I spent most of this book disliking Ollie I totally get where grief can be a game-changer. The makeup of how your brain works to cope with the loss is touchy. Losing his mom at the same time his wife is in a traumatic accident take its toll. He really treated his wife like poo during this whole book. A spoiled child really is how he acted. Mason acted older than he did.

What I did get is that Serena was safe for him to be angry with. He was secure deep down in their love that they could work things out. Yet, several times when she had made up with her parents and they said they would give her back her trust, that she would wise up and leave. Because he knew deep down he was never enough.

Yet, when just going for a week vacation to her parents due to forced closure because of the weather. Causes him to doubt. He’s grouchy. He’s not so sure of himself anymore. Reality and communication with your wife seem to become more important than those he carries on in his head. The humor, reality, and ability to love during tragedy and pain is what makes this book. I give this: 5 stars. Provided by netgalley.com.

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I'm normally only a romance reader. Ocassionaly something else catches my eye and this was one of them. This book was so interesting. All along I had no idea how it was going to end, or if it would even have a happy ending! I don't want to give any spoilers in case you're like me, the less you know, the better! It did make me think a lot about my marriage. How we would have managed in these dramatic circumstances. . And honestly, you just never know! This is one of those that will keep you thinking, even after you've finished. This is my first by this author, so I admit there was a little confusion on some of the other characters mentioned and their back stories. Not enough to take away from the primary story though

I really enjoyed this story and how it unfolded after Serena’s car accident, the only thing that left a particularly bad taste in my mouth was Ollie! He seemed so stuck in his ways that his parts were frustrating to read at times

The blurb on this one had me making grabby hands at this book. It sounded awesome! And it started pretty good. The concept of the story was the best part.
And then I got to around 17% and the story seemed to slow down. Too much for me. So I started skipping some. Reading some. Skipping more.
Wash and repeat. (If you know what I mean.)
This story was okay overall. I just think it needs some tweaking or something. Worth a shot though.

This is the first book in this series that I have read. It did feel a bit as if I was missing some info, but soon I was engrossed in the story. What if your wife has an accident and is in a coma for 4 months, only to awake without most of her memories of your family life together? This story tackles the difficult situation of the main couple when Serena does remember Oliver but not their little boys and everything from just after their honeymoon.
I enjoyed the writing style and the way they got their HEA!

- Received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review -
4.5 stars.
An original love story between a married couple, parents to two little boys, “This Reminds Me of Us”, by Julia Gabriel (Serif Books), is an emotional, heartfelt read, featuring a hero who feels he’s just an ordinary guy, unworthy of his wife and terrified of losing this very special lady.
Brave in different ways, Oliver and Serena are amazing, beautiful characters. I admit I was not that fond of Oliver’s fears, suspicion and jealousy, indeed I found myself often annoyed with the tendency to doubt his wife’s faithfulness. But he has been through so much pain and loss recently, it’s normal to feel that way. And it was refreshing to have a hot firefighter hero, who is also solid, steady and reliable, loves being a family man and sees himself as a bit boring (but people and life aren’t always exciting, after all).
I also liked how the author handled the amnesia and how Serena dealt with it.
The family dynamics and the two boys, who are amazing characters (loved having Mason’s point of view!) are fabulous to read, too. Even the dead characters are believable and the grief over their deaths seamlessly interwoven throughout the story
And then, meeting again the fabulous hero from “Two of Hearts”, Matt, and revisiting St. Caroline was also great - I just wish Matt gets more attention in future stories; he deserves so much more.

I enjoyed revisiting St. Caroline and its characters.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: St. Caroline
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.