Remember Me is the second book in a series about the Ware siblings, who had their lives interrupted by a family scandal, changing their family forever. I enjoyed the first book (Remember Love), so I was really excited to get my hands on this one. Sadly, however, I was very disappointed.


Philippa is the oldest Ware daughter, she was only fifteen the revelation of her father’s many indiscretions fractured her family. That, however, isn’t the reason she has remained single and not had a season in London: Philippa once heard herself described as “soiled goods” and knew she could not stomach the rejection of the ton. It is only years later, once her older brother has returned from exile, that Philippa agrees to enter society,


Lucas Arden is the heir to his grandfather, the elderly Duke of Wilby. Despite being only in his late twenties, his grandparents decide he should marry and fill his nursery, as soon as possible, because the Duke is not in good health, and the succession must be assured. Lucas resolves to find a bride, but he knows the choice is only nominally his. His grandparents insist on high standards, and their list of eligible ladies will be short. Little does he know how very, very short it will end up being.


When Lucas and Philippa meet, he is charmed by her, and she hates him. He does not recognize her, but it was he who insulted Philippa all those years ago, because of her father’s reputation. Philippa confronts him, but Lucas is unable to give her a satisfactory explanation for his behavior. Unfortunately, they are unable to avoid each other’s company. Philippa has unknowingly befriended Lucas’ younger sister, and the pair is forced into proximity with alarming frequency. Once they have come to an uncomfortable truce, Lucas’ grandparents throw a wrench into matters by putting Philippa at the top of their list of potential wives.


There are some things I did genuinely enjoy about this book. I liked Philippa, and I enjoyed seeing more of the Ware family. Their dynamic is one of the things I loved so much about the first book, and I am still interested to see where the other stories will go. I also appreciated the disability representation; Lucas’ little sister Jenny uses a wheelchair owing to a weakness in the legs as the result of a childhood illness and I liked that her family treats her like any other eligible young lady, and that Jenny enjoys the season and has a full life outside of her disability.


My primary issue with the book is the love story: I just didn’t buy that Lucas and Philippa loved each other. The pacing is a huge problem, and it’s not helped by the repetitiveness in the writing. I also could not suspend disbelief at Philippa’s choices. Families are frequently skeptical about the partners their relatives have chosen, but in this book I was fully with them, because Lucas and Philippa married at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. Of course, the reader knows that Lucas isn’t a bad person, but I really didn’t see any reason for Philippa to fall in love with him. It seemed like most of their scenes together included family members’ unsubtle matchmaking.


I did not fully realize how little content there is in this book until I got to the end. The pacing is problematic - and then there’s a plot twist in the epilogue. That’s not what the epilogue is for! I also disliked the other plot twist in one of the final chapters, which feels completely unnecessary. Even if you enjoyed Remember Love, you can just skip Remember Me. It hasn’t got much substance.

Hmmm. It’s ok but not great, at least for me. I wasn’t a fan of the last book either though so perhaps this series just isn’t my cup of tea. I my just seems like about 40% of Balogh’s books are comprised of… well nothing but endless listings of names of the extended family members of the main characters & everyone they meet. Ad naseum. And then it’s repeated several times, each time someone is reintroduced. And then another 20% is just characters verbally explaining to each other a scene that we literally just read. It honestly feels like maybe the author doesn’t have that much to say about each couple or much character development or relationship development to provide us, because most of the book doesn’t focus on their interactions w each other but rather instead focuses on describing every family member who is in attendance at every party & why those family members would be happy if the main characters just got married already. Very few actual interactions occurred between these two characters at their intentional choice, they were just kind of swept along at the whims of their manipulative families as well as their own ambivalent attraction to each other and lack of wills.

It kind of blows my mind that this is the same author who wrote the strong willed, colorful, & memorable Bedawyn series. This series feels like a Homer-esque epic poem with its use of constant repetitive listing out of family lineages. I noticed Balogh started this trend in Ernest during the westcotts series but still at least half of those books were still pretty good & still focused more on their main characters but this series seems to have really gone even further w the trend of being scene setting & listing of family members, with very little character or relationship development.

Philippa's life has been impacted by hurtful words she overheard Lucas say years ago. In Remember this appealing heroine finds the courage to be honest about her past and in doing so assure future happiness with the very much rehabilitated Lucas. As they discover the healing power of love, both main characters grow and find their much deserved happily ever after.