Title: Remembrance (The Transcend Time Saga #1)

Author: Michelle Madow

Pub. Date: July 27, 2011

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lizzie can’t understand her deep attraction to mysterious transfer student Drew. Are they connected by their past lives? This enthralling tale of love and fate has over 100 five-star reviews on Amazon!

Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, but fighting fate isn’t easy, and she’s determined to unravel the mysteries of the past.

This will be a spoiler free review.

High school me would have raved and loved this book. High school me would have tried endlessly to get all my friends to read it. This book reminded me of the Twilight Era of YA. The way it was written, the tone, the images – they all just felt reminiscent of that time.

Look at me talking about the Twilight Era as if it was eons ago and not only a decade or so.

Overall, I enjoyed this book – definitely more than I anticipated. This book has been sitting on my shelf for years, and I figured it was high time that I read it. I was also in the mood for a reincarnation story, and this was one I had lying around.

I do think the pacing was a little wonky – a little slow in the beginning with a lot of information, and then it picked up somewhere in the middle and it was full steam ahead. I also felt like the ‘reveal’ was a little strange and rushed. I don’t think it had the impact it should’ve, and I honestly thought the whole thing was a bit odd. It almost felt forced? Like I didn’t care enough about Lizzie and Drew and there past to truly root for them in the present.

Another reason this book reminds me of the Twilight Era is bad boy Drew and his hot and cold presence of ‘I’m not good for you so let me treat you like crap and then give you whiplash when I’m nice to you because the bond we share is too strong to ignore’…remind you of a certain couple?

Not that I’m truly complaining about that, because, comparatively to his hot and cold feelings, Lizzie’s boyfriend for most of the book – Jeremy – was a freaking Grade A asshole. He legitimately made me rage-y and I wanted to nut punch him at almost every moment. He was awful to her, constantly ‘teasing’ in that underhanded mean way, only to be like “I meant it as a compliment”. He constantly tore her down and tried to make her feel bad for getting better grades than him or pointing out that maybe he shouldn’t drive like a maniac and take turns at 60mph in rain and ice. He would demand all of her attention, and if she lost focus for a moment, he would give her crap for not caring about him and his accomplishments.

He constantly needed his ego boosted, but honestly, the boy needed to be knocked so many pegs.

Even Lizzie’s ‘best friend’ was kind of horrible to her – always going on about her feelings but ignoring Lizzie’s. It’s particularly clear when Lizzie makes a choice and doesn’t confront Chelsea about it and Chelsea gets butt-hurt about not being told beforehand, because she could have ‘talked her out of making an impulsive decision that wasn’t in her best interests and that she needed to go apologize and make things right’…let me tell you, the choice Lizzie makes is for the sake of her sanity, mental health, and why do all the people in Lizzie’s life think she is incapable of making sound choices? Why do they all think that they know what’s best, and that she should go back to the way things were even if she was completely unhappy? I kind of lowkey disliked everyone in Lizzie’s life.

Even with all the things that irked me with this book, I still really enjoyed it. It was like comfort food…in book form. It was like taking a step back in time, and I loved the feeling. If you’re looking for a relatively quick, enjoyable read, featuring Pride & Prejudice, moody teen boys with a mysterious past and reincarnated romance, you might want to check this out.

Let me know what your favorite reincarnation stories are. Do you have any? I’ve read a few, and now I kind of want to read some more. Young Adult, New Adult, etc. doesn’t matter, if you have a title, drop it in the comments below!