I wanted to love this book so much because absolutely loved The Last One. The concept was super intriguing and not a little messed up. I was hoping for some of the same from Forget Me Not, but it just didn't get to me like her other one. Not a bad book by any means, just not what I was hoping for.

Forget Me Not is a thriller mixed with science fiction in the most unique way. It follows Linda, a woman now, who grew up basically raising herself on an isolated property with her mother. Until one day she escapes and becomes headline news. Now she's just trying to survive in a world so different from the one in which she grew up. As she plays a new VR game she begins remembering things from her past and a sister she never met.
This one will keep you reading to find out exactly what happened to Linda when she was a child, and where her mother is now,
Thank you to Ballentine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

2 1/2 ⭐️‘s
I struggled all the way through this one hoping I would find something to connect with, unfortunately, I did not. Set in the near distant future, this book had a big gaming presence, something I have zero interest in. I found the overall book to be quite slow and frankly on the boring side. The best part of the book for me was that we were on the other side of the pandemic!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The premise of this book instantly had me hooked. me. A clone who was raised in isolation now in the "real world". I always love to read books that are set in the PNW since that's where I live, and because it's interesting to see what places the author decides to use. I liked the premise but it was fairly slow moving up until it got nearer to the end. I was wondering the whole book if the narrator was unreliable because half of what she said just didn't make sense to me. I wish this book explored the morality of cloning more instead of becoming a typical thriller. Still, it was fairly good but not as different than the average book in the thriller genre as I was hoping.

The author is excellent at creating stark dread & terror. This was a disturbing tale that I will confess could not get through but feel the author should get all accolades for paralyzing me to the point that by the time I was ready to go further it already was knocked out of my reading queue

The writing was well done. I enjoyed the Twists and turns of this story. The near future setting was nicely fleshed out.

this was a interesting take on the scifi genre, the characters were what I was looking for and the plot worked out great. I had a fun time reading this book.

Forget Me Not has a great premise and I have seen some reader friends really enjoy it. Unfortunately it just didn't click with me. I wasn't very interested in the gaming aspect and the writing, while it was done well enough, did not ultimately work for me. I found it difficult to pick back up after I walked away and as a busy mom and teacher, this is usually a sign that something isn't jiving.

I really enjoyed Alexandra Oliva's debut novel, The Last One. Oliva isn't afraid to go new ways and use recent technology in her stories. This time, she uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology for the main character, the hermit Linda Russell, to dive into her past. But her past is not a super healthy place for her to go back to, as her mom used her to replace her dead sister. Her getting to know Anvi - a newcomer to her apartment building - opens new ways to discover her past.
Oliva's storytelling is so interesting, and the reader never really knows whether or not to trust the narrator, which is quite unsettling - at least it was for me. The story is well crafted, and Oliva adds layer upon layer to the story and Linda's recollections, ending up in an exciting climax. Four big stars.

This was really good. I was hesitant about the virtual reality aspect but I did enjoy it.

It held my attention throughout and I was thoroughly entertained. Linda was a great character that went through A LOT!

It was fast-paced and I would recommend it.

Setting: Urban Seattle, sometime during the next ten years.

Superficially, the future looks pretty much the same as today—same clothes, hair, pastimes. However, zooming in shows that technology has become even more integrated into daily life. Driverless cars transport people from here to there; smartphones have been replaced by even smarter phones (an audio ear cuff combined with a flexible screen that straps to your forearm); and the wealthy wear “augments,” eyeglasses or contacts that provide contextual information about the area.

On the street there is a moving pod, which I figured was an ultra cool podular vehicle. Nope, it’s just one of those gigantic boxes you pack your stuff into when you move. I am overly literal and get easily confused without context: It’s for Anvi, a cosmopolitan young adult moving her stuff into an apartment building while a chaotic frenzy of people streams past her.

We discover someone else has disrupted the flow. There’s another young woman living in this apartment building. Yes, she has this updated phone and knows how to use it, but even menial aspects of civilization are utterly foreign to her—like <i>shoes</i>! (And like me, she probably was initially confused by the moving pod, too, but for hopefully for different reasons.)

This super uncomfortable young woman doesn’t fit in. She’s lonely, depressed, agoraphobiac, paranoid about multiple people seeking her online, (I just learned the name for this phenomenon is “gang stalking”) and even her name doesn’t feel comfortable to her. Her background is a bit of a mystery, but we discover she grew up in a old house, isolated in the woods. With short cryptic glimpses into her background, we can start piecing together where she’s been.

The view we see shows her odd, maladaptive behavior in her apartment. She lives, eats, sleeps in a nest she made in a living room chair. We watch her intentionally allow a succulent plant to die—a mysterious murderous behavior that pains my heart. No explanation, no animosity towards the plant. By choice, she survives on instant cup-a-soup ramen crap, which also pains my heart. Girl, you need some nutritional, tasty food for your brain and body to work right! Take care of yourself!

So how did she manage to grow up in wooded isolation? How did she end up in town, and who is helping her? Does she have friends or family? How does she fit into this environment? What does she remember of her past?

To help us fill in her place in this world, the author slowly weaves in information about her “social network.” Her style is as opposite of info dumping as I’ve ever seen. In bits and pieces, we gradually learn about her father, Arthur, an <<i>n</i>>illionaire, living somewhere else in the city who oversees all of her financial needs … from afar. We learn her mother Lorali has abandoned her but not how, why, or when. Emmer, her sister and only childhood friend, the darling daughter with whom her her mother has been obsessed—to the detriment and neglect of our main character—has gone missing. Then there’s Dr Tambour overseeing her mental health and has been serving as her filter of objectivity. Can we use Dr Tambours observations to sift out which of the MC’s memories are fiction and which are real? And finally, and most importantly, there’s Anvi, her friend-to-be new neighbor, who along with her dog Nibbler is moving in at the novel’s beginning.

The story kicks into gear when Anvi introduces the girl to virtual reality where ironically, she can conjure up the woods and nature she misses. Throughout the story (just like in real life) news feeds incessantly interrupt Anvi with interesting tidbits, and in particular there is news about a super intelligence singularity. Like Edwin Abbott Abbott’s <i>Flatland</i>, that old, old classic SF social satire of victorian life, this book cleverly works on two levels, which I won’t spoil with hints.

The story about the girl is grim. The technology is cool. The title, well that’s just perfection. The writing is clever and compelling, smoothly playing on emotion without becoming maudlin. It spans experiences—from the visceral, tangible of isolation in the woods, muddy bare feet, climbing trees—to the mediated flood of social media, social engineering, uncanny valley of virtual reality, science, and technology. The story engenders philosophic thought without feeling clunky or preachy.

I definitely want to read this again, and I see I had already added this author’s first novel to my TBR list.

Thank you NetGalley. I want this book.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what happened. The author has a good writing style. The pacing of this book is good. This is the first book by this author that I have read and guys I will read more books by this author. I enjoyed Linda's characters. I would recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone. It is in stores now for $28.00 (USD).

Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva is part mystery/thriller, but also touted as and part Sci-Fi/Fantasy...which I don't really agree with, other than the fact that it took place in a near-distant time-frame where technology is a little more advanced.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Ballantine Books (Random House) - particularly Kathleen Quinlan for sending me a widget, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Linda Russell was raised in a rather strange environment.  No father around, and a mother who only wanted Linda to replace another daughter who died in an accident years before.  Unfortunately, Linda was not anything like the sister she was meant to replace.  Once her mother figured that out, Linda basically ran wild in the woods within their walled-off property.  Her mother did not show her much attention.

When she is twelve, her mother totally abandons her, and Linda climbs the wall and escapes her prison.  Unfortunately, she is ill-prepared for life outside the wall.  Her father (who up til this point was unaware of Linda's existence) steps up,  and raises her as best he can.  But the stigma of having lived that other life follows her.  Publicity over the poor child who was born under strange circumstances goes viral, and even though it is untrue, people call her the Clone Girl.

Linda is now 24,  living on her own, but rarely leaving her apartment.  She is closely monitored by her father.  When she meets a new neighbour, Linda sees the possibility of having her first friend.  So, when a fire starts at her infamous childhood home, she asks Anvi if she will take her to see it.  From this point on, a chain of events starts Linda on a roller-coaster ride that has her learn the truth about her childhood.


My Opinions:
This was a lot better than I thought it would be.  It started a little slow, and took me a little bit to get into the story.  I wasn't that fond of the Virtual Reality segments in the book, but overall, the plot was quite interesting, and the suspense build-up was good.

I really liked the characters. Linda was a very shy, introverted young woman, who is just learning to trust in herself.  From her background, the character rang true.  As did that of Anvi, who came across as rather "loud", but she too, was just learning her way in a new place, away from family and friends.  I loved their friendship, and the fact that Anvi was not trying to take advantage of Linda, even though her new job would lend itself to that quite easily.

Overall, it was an entertaining read!

Being a replacement is a interesting concept in this book. I think this book was very written and I enjoyed it. I wanted this book to grab me in right away but for me, it was a slow grab. Linda was a likable character and futuristic aspect of the book was great. I am not much of a sci-fi reader but I do like it once in a while and this book caught my eye. I am glad I tried it! *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

This book starts out very slow and scattered but stick with it because the pay off is GOOOOD. I enjoyed the novel over all once the plot started moving. There are quite a few twists that I did not see coming, which is all we can ask for in terms of a thriller/mystery/suspense novel. There is a scienc-y edge to this that I found very interesting, but its not large enough that it will confuse anyone who is not interested in science.

I know it's more personal preference than writing ability but I could not get interested in this story. I play video games, I like the idea of alternate realities but I felt lost from the first page. More like I walked into a movie that had already begun. Just not my cup of tea. Thanks to @Netgalley for the chance to read this and five my honest and unbiased opinion.

As a child, Linda Russell was left to raise herself in a twenty-acre walled-off property in rural Washington. The woods were her home, and for twelve years she lived oblivious to a stark and terrible truth: Her mother had birthed her only to replace another daughter who died in a tragic accident years before.

Then one day Linda witnesses something she wasn’t meant to see. Terrified and alone, she climbs the wall and abandons her home, but her escape becomes a different kind of trap when she is thrust into the modern world—a world for which she is not only entirely unprepared, but which is unprepared to accept her.


The book for me was slow to start. I had a very hard time connecting with the characters. I think it’s a good book for a dark psychological thriller / suspense book. I wouldn’t recommend it to my reading group. But I’d recommend it to a friend.

Suspense with a layer of sci-fi built in. Enjoyable unique read!
Linda raised herself in the woods outside her family’s mansion after her mother abandoned her. She was created for the sole purpose of replicating her deceased sister but no two people are alike and her mother soon realizes this and leaves her on her own. She is rescued and brought into a new world
with her father, living in secret as those who don’t understand or agree with her existence continue to try and track her down. She takes time to adjust to the outside world and it’s new technology. As a young adult, she soon meets her neighbor who introduces her to a whole new virtual online world where she can be anything she wants,
She lives alone but is supported by her famous wealthy father who was not immediately aware of her existence and who is still unsure about her. He is, however very protective of her and her secret. He tracks her on a device called a sheath, which everyone has in this time, it seems to resemble a wearable cell phone with all the technology and information at your fingertips.
When a fire is set at the mansion that she calls home, she is insistent on returning and seeing what remains. This puts her in danger and unlocks long held secrets and has her fighting to survive.
Linda is naive and I wanted nothing more than for her to find her way and become accepted. It was difficult to understand why so many people were against her existence by way of cloning. She was her own person and despite her mother‘s insistence, she was not like her sister.
Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva is a science fiction thriller set in the near future. The main character in the story is an unreliable narrator who as a child knew she was only meant to replace her sister.

Linda Russell practically raised herself in rural Washington on a property with no modern conveniences. The woods were more Linda’s home as her mother ignored her and letting her know she was not a suitable replacement for the daughter she had lost.

At twelve Linda escaped her woodsy imprisonment and now as an adult is living in Seattle mostly in fear of the modern world around her. One day Linda meets a new neighbor who introduces her to virtual reality where Linda finds herself more at ease but then Linda finds that there was a fire at the place she spent her childhood so she begins to seek answers about herself and her past.

Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva was a book that seemed to get off to a slow start for me and had it’s ups and downs along the way. I think that the world building could have been a little bit better in the story to better help navigate this future world. The main character was also one that was a bit hard to connect to but the story inside was one I wanted to know more about as it went along. In the end I’d say this one landed in the middle of the road overall leaving me at three stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Slightly futuristic, this story is compulsively readable. I kept turning pages way into the night.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.