The Memory of You

The Memory of You by Laurie Kellogg tells us the story of 'Mac'.  Mac was in the Vietnam War and ended up being taken prisoner.  He is a POW for years, one day waking up with absolutely no memory of himself or his past.  He doesn't know who he is or where he came from.  He remembers things like math and everything to do with his Engineering degree, but the personal stuff?  Nothing.

When Mac is finally back in the USA and in the hospital, he is identified as Lieutenant Matthew 'Matt' Foster.  He was also married to Abby.  He remembers her name, but nothing else.  When his dog tags were found in rubble, he was presumed and declared dead.  But now Mac is back.  He is relieved to have an identity, even if it's one he can't remember, and he doesn't even look like his old photo.  He does know that the man he is now can be nothing like the boy he was.

Not remembering Abby, Mac still feels the need to find her and check on her.  He's convinced by now she'll have moved on with her life, and he has no intention of disrupting it.  That changes though, when he realized that Abby has a child.  His child.  Without telling Abby who he is, because she doesn't recognize him, Mac manages to integrate himself into her life and the child's life, slowly getting to know them.  Abby must be very trusting and have a heart of gold, because soon Mac is doing work for her and living in her guest room.  Mac has decided he wants to see if there's any chance they are still compatable and can fall in love before he tells her who he is, if he even will - he still doesn't remember much.  To complicate matters, Abby has recently become engaged to Rob, a dentist.

Engaged or not though, Abby finds herself drawn to Mac and reacting to him physically in a way that she never does with Rob.  She also sees, and sometimes envies, the bond that Mac has made so quickly with her son - something Rob has not managed to do.  But Abby is determined to have stability and compatability - something she's sure she'll get with Rob despite the lack of sparks.  She's not too sure anything she has with Mac can last, when she really doesn't know him and he can't remember anything.  When the sparks start though, fire is sure to follow!  Will Abby take the chance on a man she hardly knows?  Or will she stick with what she knows, even with the lack of excitement?

I loved The Memory of You by Laurie Kellogg.  I was really intrigued with the plot, wondering when and if Mac would admit to who he really was, wondering if he's ever remember anything.  Some things you should be able to forget, such as being a POW...but there's always the hope he'll remember his love and time with Abby.  Laurie kept me engrossed in The Memory of You with her smoothly flowing writing, the emotional journey of Mac and Abby, and the hope that Mac and Abby can have their happily ever after.  I really liked Abby despite the fact that she opened her home to a virtual stranger.  Otherwise I found her to be a strong, independent woman who has managed to move on with her life after the death of her husband in war.  Even though she was engaged to Rob, I loved that she stood up to him when she needed to, and did what she thought was best, not what anyone else thought she should do.  I loved Mac!  I can only imagine the horror that he went through.  Even though in The Memory of You it's a fictional account, everyone knows things like this happen in war and it's awful.  He's trying his hardest to move on from that and even though I felt he shouldn't keep such a big secret from Abby, I think he's going to be ok.

This is the first book I've read by Laurie Kellogg, but it definitely won't be the last!  I loved her style of writing and I loved this story.  Highly recommend for all romance readers!

5/5 stars