Pictures of You by Emma Grey

 

When Evie wakes up from a coma after having a serious car accident she is very surprised that neither her parents or her best friend Bree are by her side. She is shocked when she is given the news that her husband, Oliver, died in that same car accident. The problem is Evie doesn't remember him at all. In her mind, she is still 16 years old!

At Oliver's funeral, it all becomes too much and she asks the guy she thinks is her Uber driver to help her get away from the event. However, photographer Drew isn't there randomly or as her driver. He met Evie around the same time as Oliver did, and their paths have intertwined throughout their lives. 

We follow Evie as she tries to discover who she is now, who Oliver was, and who they were together. And to be honest, the story she learns isn't the fairy tale that 16 year old Evie expected. Evie met wealthy and handsome Oliver at a party and they were pretty much inseparable from that point on. Certainly Oliver ingratiated himself into Evie's life until he was the centre of her life, pushing all others out in due course. Drew was one of those whose friendship was affected, not helped by the fact that Oliver hated him. Drew has no idea why Oliver hated him so much, but he did.

The amnesia story line is done so well in this book! As a reader we watch as Evie uncovers her own story piece by piece.I had a fair idea of what was going to be unveiled, but the suspense leading up to the reveal was really well paced. We also get some of the story from Drew's perspective, although he is very careful about how much he reveals to Evie. He wants her to learn her story in her own time and way. He is taking a risk with that approach though. Will Evie see it that way or will she think that he is keeping secrets from her.

One of the things that I loved about this book was that there was nuance even in the worst of characters. I have read a few books this year where there are some similar themes explored. The bad guys are all very bad and the good guys are all very good, but in this case the author was careful to give a back story to all of the characters which showed where their own issues came from. Importantly,  this back story doesn't excuse their behaviour and actions, but does gives it some context. 

The title of this book comes from when they first met. Evie joined a photography club dominated by the boys from the private school that both Drew and Oliver attended. When they are looking for a subject for a photography exhibition, Evie suggests that it be girls in order to combat some of the ways that the boys see the girls, and Drew chose Evie as his muse.  I loved young Evie. She was feisty and optimistic, and so it is a shame to see how the influence of Oliver, and I guess ageing in general, robs her of that. 

Emma Grey was one of the authors who was at the Rachael Johns Readers Retreat last year, and she talked about both of her books. I had already bought The Last Love Note but I haven't read it yet. I saw this on the shelf at the library and borrowed it. I am so glad I did. I really, really loved this book! I started reading it and just couldn't put it down and so I finished it that same day! That doesn't usually happen for me anymore. Other things get in the way, but not with this book. I am also very happy to hear that this book has been optioned to be adapted for the screen. Now I am going to have to read Grey's earlier book and, of course, anything new that she comes up with!

The good news is that this book has been released in the US and so should be easy-ish to find. It isn't always the case with some of the great Australian books that I talked about on my blog!

This was a standout read for me and will absolutely be on my list of best reads of 2025. 

Rating 5/5