Forget Me Not

Author: Sarah M. Eden
Genre: Regency Romance
Series: The Gents #1
Release Day: September 7, 2020

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, 1785

Julia Cummings has long been acquainted with loss—her mother, her brother, her sister, her friend, all gone too soon. But the loss that pushed her grief to the limit as a young girl was that of her best friend, Lucas Jonquil, who abandoned her without looking back. Now, eight years later, Lucas has returned to Lampton Park, and Julia has steeled herself—she will never forgive the man who broke her heart.

After losing too many of his friends and family to early deaths, Lucas vowed to live life to the fullest. And after traversing the world, he has returned from his adventures to find his family and home much as he left them—except for Julia. The little girl he left behind has blossomed into a captivating lady, a lady who makes it clear she despises him. With little hope of reconciliation, the former friends are blindsided when their parents make a shocking announcement. Lucas and Julia have been betrothed without their knowledge and are to marry immediately. Now Lucas must rely on the help of his closest friends to win the heart of a lady who loathes him—a lady he’s coming to love more deeply every day.

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Reviewer: Winnie Thomas

“You are building a new life; don’t forget to live it.”

With plenty of wit and delightful charm, Sarah M. Eden’s long-awaited story of Julia Cummings and Lucas Jonquil begins a new Eden series, The Gents. After meeting The Gents, I can say that I’m eager for the rest of their stories.

Forget Me Not started off a bit slow for me, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like the main characters, especially Lucas. There were several parts of the story where I wanted to cuff him on the side of the head. However, luckily, they both grew on me as they tried to navigate their family-arranged marriage. The addition of Lucas’s friends, The Gents, is pure Eden genius, as they added so much levity and fun to the tale. I loved their different personalities and getting to know a bit about their backgrounds. I can see why Lucas enjoyed traveling with them and being with them.

Although there are many twists and turns and misunderstandings, the tale wraps up nicely with some very sigh-worthy moments and a satisfying end. I was delighted to see a few of the characters from previous stories pop up in this book.

I’ve read most of the Jonquil brothers’ stories, since I’m a huge Sarah M. Eden fan. You can’t go wrong with any of her books. Forget Me Not is bound for my keeper shelf.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from the author and Covenant Communications. All opinions are my own.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

I have been finding many "new author's to me" lately, and I am delighted to have found Sarah Eden, author of Forget Me Not, the first book in The Gents series.

Julia Cummings has known a great deal of loss, and so has her childhood friend Lucas Jonquil. However, they both dealt with their losses quite differently. With a nine-year age gap between them, Lucas vows to enjoy life to the fullest to honour the loss of his friend Stanley, Julia's brother. And so he leaves home to travel to all the places Stanley will never see and to enjoy all the adventures Stanley will never have.

While Lucas views his departure from home as a great adventure, Julia views it as abandonment. Everyone she loves has died and leaves her alone, but she looks forward to the promise of Lucas' letters. Unfortunately, Lucas never writes. So she deals with her grief and her loss by isolating herself in her home and stepping away from society. Her heart grows cold toward Lucas, and when he suddenly returns home, he is stumped as to why she appears to hate him.

If this book is anything, it is a lesson for men everywhere to pay attention to their words and actions. Sadly, Lucas did neither where Julia was concerned. When their parents sprang their betrothal on them at a very public event, it worsened their situation.

Thank goodness for the gents! I can't wait to hear their stories in future books to come. With their help, both Julia and Lucas learn how to be friends again, and more importantly, they learn to love.

The only thing disappointing about this book was its total lack of Christian content. Not one word. And yet it is listed as Christian fiction. The themes of trust and forgiveness, which are in the book, would have been amplified if Jesus had been brought into the mix. Sadly, he wasn't. Hence the four stars.

Knowing this, I will still be reading the rest of this series. Ms. Eden is a fine writer and crafts a fascinating tale of clean historical fiction. I look forward to her next book!

This book was provided courtesy of Covenant Communications through NetGalley.

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