(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
The blurb of this book was one that really intrigued me. The idea of trying to deal with a loved one losing any kind of memory, let alone three years’ worth, is one that I find particularly scary. But I felt particularly sorry for Zach, even if I did feel he made quite a few mistakes in the way he handled things.
I was really able to empathise with Leith as a character. The confusion he had to go through must have been awful, as well as knowing that his loss of memories was affecting the people around him… whether or not he remembered them.
One of the things I particularly liked about this book was the way various things linked to… body memory for Leith. (I’m not sure that makes a lot of sense – I mean the way scent or touch triggered reactions from Leith). It was also interesting to see the meanings of their names… though that didn’t really have much to do with the story itself.
I would have liked to see more of the other characters. The only other relationship (apart from with Zach) that I saw with Leith was with his brother, Arthur. I also would have liked to see more of Leith’s interactions with the other patients in the hospital who had memory problems.
I did think that there was clearly a lot of research about memory and brain damage that went into this book. Although the main focus of the story was on the romance, it was also interesting to read about the different types of memory loss, for instance.
It was really good to see Zach’s vlogging posts, but I felt that he came across differently in those to how he interacted with Leith and the other characters. Still, I could understand how he felt it so easy to talk to people online (who didn’t know him personally).
It was good to see that it was made clear that Leith was a new person than the others were used to and that the relationship with Zach had to kind of reform. I liked that things weren’t perfect straight away and I also quite liked the ending. I would probably be interested in reading more books by this author in the future.
Ink of Blood 