Forget Me Not by Julie Soto is my favorite read for this month so far. The story follows Ama Torres, a wedding planner who is running her own business after working for one of the most famous wedding planners in her area. She keeps a steady stream of business with small weddings until she’s contacted by an influencer who wants to book her. This is a big opportunity for Ama as its an upscale event with a huge budget and even bigger exposure for her – it could mean everything for her business’ success. The catch? She will have to work with florist Elliot Bloom, the guy whose heart she broke a couple of years ago.
There are two things worth pointing out in this story, one of which is Ama’s fear of commitment. After seeing her mother marry and divorce man after man, her image of a healthy relationship and a healthy marriage is tarnished. She believes relationships end and that weddings are just a party. Which is odd coming from a wedding planner, but based on her perspective, she plans couples’ weddings believing that the odds that they’ll last are low. Mighty pessimistic of her but considering her mom’s commitment issues that shadow her own, it’s not all that surprising. It’s actually quite sad that she thinks every relationship will end without considering that her mother’s failed relationships may be because neither of them wanted to do the work to make the relationship function properly. We don’t get much background into her mother’s marriages but based on the reasonings she gives for the breakups, one can assume that’s the case.
The other thing worth mentioning, which is invariably connected to the first, are Ama’s boundaries. Firm in her belief that all relationships end, she does not date with intention of anything going past casual – by definition, she is not a relationship kind of girl. She stands firm in this boundary and makes it clear to Elliot. Elliot reluctantly accepts her terms, as he wants Ama in whatever way/shape/form he can get her. Knowing this, he accepts and throughout their relationship (for lack of better terms), he’s seemingly walking on eggshells just waiting for the other shoe to drop; for Ama to decide she’s done and walk out of his life. I felt for Elliot because this perspective is almost always from the female main character, so right off the bat, I know he’s in for a heartbreak.
The issue with Ama’s boundary was that she blurred her own lines; she found herself falling for Elliot though she was still adamant that they weren’t together like that and refused to label their relationship though they were technically a couple. Confusion arose which made things infinitely complicated.
Overall, I did enjoy Ama and Elliot’s story. While he is grumpy in nature, he’s actually a big softy romantic. Ama on the other hand, she’s a firecracker and badass businesswoman. I loved seeing her grow her small business and make it a success on her own. Though I do kind of agree with her former boss’s comments about Ama lacking professionalism but only in the lens of her hooking up with Elliot at various weddings they were both working at – like y’all keep it in your pants until AFTER the events! Regardless, I devoured Forget Me Not and am looking forward to Julie Soto’s next book.
