Unforgettable by Elise K Ackers

Connor and Emma have a history, first as friends and then as lovers, but when he awakens from a coma following an accident he has lost 3 years of memory, and he has no clue who the two women waiting by his bedside are. One is his girlfriend, Asha, and the other is Emma. Emma knows that no one knows Connor as well as she does, especially not his high maintenance 'girlfriend'.

Emma is determined to help Connor with his return to normal life, including back to work, as soon as possible, partially because of her strong connection to him but also from a sense of guilt.

While Connor doesn't remember Emma, he does know that he is instantly drawn to her and that he intrinsically trusts her. He also knows that she was important to him in the past, because otherwise how come she would have have a key to his house or she would know so much about him.

Emma agrees to help Connor as much as she can, but she is also aware that one of the issues that they faced previously is that they worked closely together. While all the co-workers on the building site they work on knew that Emma and Connor were really good friends, no one knew that they were romantically involved and it needs to stay that way, mainly to keep their professional reputations intact.

While he has been off work due to the injuries he suffered in his car accident, he has been temporarily replaced and while everyone loves Connor thanks to his abilities in the workplace and his friendly manner, his replacement Mark is someone who gets on Connor's nerves, and everyone else's as well. Mark, Emma and Connor need to work closely together to bring Connor up to speed on the project as soon as possible.

The more time that Emma and Connor spend together, the more he realises that while he may not remember why they weren't together anymore, he does value Emma for more than just her friendship. He is falling in love again. For Emma though, there are two things that are stopping her from taking her second chance at love. The first thing is that she knows that he can't remember why they broke up the first time and the second is that she was there the night of the accident, and she knows exactly what happened. As Connor starts to remember more and more of his forgotten years, it is only a matter of time before he remembers more and Emma has a fairly strong idea of how he will react when he does.

While I really enjoyed the setting and somewhat surprisingly the premise (I am not usually a huge fan of the whole amnesia thing) there was element to the plot that I didn't think was particularly strong, and that is the big secret that Emma is hiding. It really felt like the need for the secret to be so secret was a bit odd, and then Connor's reaction to said secret seemed to be quite over the top.

One of the pleasures of the new digital romances that are currently being published in Australia (in this case for Escape Publishing) are that we get to read romances that feature Australian characters in Australian settings and this is no exception. The building site that Emma and Connor are working at is the refurbishment of Hamer Hall, one of Melbourne's premier concert venues. This is a refurbishment that was recently completed, with new interiors being installed and a whole heap of new spaces opened up along the riverside, which now house restaurants and cafes. It was very interesting to read about this because I can walk past the Hall on an given day. In fact I did that just a couple of days ago, just to take a couple of photos.

With the exception of the conflict which wasn't as strong as it could have been, I did enjoy this quite a bit. I look forward to reading more from this author in future.

Rating 4/5

In hospital following a near-fatal accident, Connor has temporary retrograde amnesia, and there's a blank slate where the last three years of his life should be. It's a woman with haunted eyes and secrets who offers to help him rediscover his past.

Colleague, friend and ex-lover, Emma warns Connor they must be discreet. No one knows about their past relationship, and for the sake of their jobs, no one can. She reintroduces him to his life and the fascinating redevelopment project they are working on, and the more time Connor spends with her, the more he wants a future with her in it.

But Emma blames herself for Connor's accident and she won't confess to what broke their relationship in the past. Now Connor is fighting for love, for his job, and for another chance.

A story about second chances, a second look, and the futility of fighting fate, Unforgettable explores the concept of walking a path already travelled and learning from your mistakes.

I read this book for the following challenges: