Book Review – Remember When by T. Torrest

Remember When (Remember Trilogy #1)
<—HOT A-LIST ACTOR GUY/NORMAL GIRL ALERT!!!! This one’s gonna be short ‘n sweet ’cause I CAN’T WAIT to get back to reading book #2!!! I started it, and I left at an *oomph* moment to come here and release this one out of my system!

Okay, so book #1 (this one) has been recommended quite a bit, and of course, because the series involves an A-list hunk of an actor and a “sweet normal girl” that he knew from way back when, I knew it would be RIGHT UP my alley!!! I mean, this many adamant recommendations couldn’t be wrong, right?

Sally: Maryse, I just read Remember When By T. Torrest (bargain priced)+, which I think was recommended by someone on your facebook page, and I can’t stress enough how much you should read it. It was so so so good, and so exactly your kind of book. Please read and review it. It made me FEEL like beautiful disaster, and part 2 is out in a few days.

Tori: Loved these books and I must say I cried forever read both books. Definitely a 5 star for me. Heartbreakingly beautiful x

Kay: Remember When by T Torrest! Such a great read! This is book one of a trilogy, with the third book due late September. I dare you not to fall in love with Trip &amp; Layla’s story!

Heather: OMG  The Remember When Series is one of my favorites EVER!  I don’t know what I will do with myself after #3! You absolutely need to read these.  T. Torrest does not get nearly enough credit for these books.  They are unlike anything else out there.  I just love them!  I can’t wait to hear what you think!!!

You know what you guys? So far? Sooooooo good!!!!! But alas… the “YA” feel of book #1 held me somewhat at bay, and so I missed out for awhile. No no… wait. I intended to read it, because I enjoy YA (some of my favs are YA, after all), but it’s just one of those things, you know? That, and the fact that book #2 ends on an extreme cliffhanger. But you know what? Book #3 will be out in just a week or so, and I couldn’t resist anymore. I jumped in, and I’m so happy that I did!

The story is heartwarming and a touch emotional (at times melancholy, at times angry), but not too serious (or dark). Sweet, but not too sticky. Angsty, but not too melodramatic. Do you see where I’m coming from? Even though they are in their last year of high school, there’s a mature quality to it. It feels like my friends and I from way back when…

I dunno, it’s just got the whole package (with the great writing, to boot!) but it doesn’t go overboard on any front.

So what’s it about? Well… this is just the start. The intro, and yes… it takes place in high school, but, in the end, I’m already thinking it’ll be so worth the bit of YA sweetness (for those that don’t normally jump into YA reads), to get us to the BIG adult, slightly crazier stuff coming.

Okay so Layla is part of the “it” crowd in high school. Not a huge dark past to her so far, other than her mother left them (her and her brother and father) when she was fairly young.

Sometimes, like at that moment, it was easier to make believe that my mother had died. It gave me permission to mourn her loss, appreciate the person she was while still allowing myself to be sad that she was gone. Because how was a person supposed to feel when their mother chose to leave? Was I supposed to love her less because of it?

Yep… but! While she’s got issues and insecurities, her father’s support has been outstanding and she’s… freakin’ fantastic! Best friends with one of the prettiest girls in school (and has been since they’ve been little). She’s pretty too, but she’s always been more of the tom boy/sporty-spice, hangin’ with the guys as a kid, and that reputation seems to have followed her into her late teens, too. But either way, there’s a certain stability and confidence to her (and her crew) as a whole.

That’s the thing about popularity that no one ever tells you about. It’s all about confidence. That’s it. That’s the magic formula, boys and girls. Speaking as a person with experience on both sides of popularity, I can tell you that’s all it takes.

They’ve grown up together, and their confidence and scholastic success is second to none. They are all pretty much excelling in life, in each their own way. And I liked that.

And then “Trip” comes into the picture. The “new kid” (aka HOT GUY) that has that confidence and friendly and sincere demeanor that can’t be resisted.

… he also had this way about him. He just had this way of making people around him want him more. Want to know him, figure him out, be around him. I couldn’t describe it at the time, but I suppose what I was recognizing, even way back then, was his Star Quality.

If such a thing exists, then Trip Wilmington had it in spades.

And he quickly becomes a part of their crew, bonding the most with Layla. While we can sort of tell he MUST “like her“, like her (there are moments…) but then again… there are hints to otherwise.

I knew it was really stupid to develop a crush on a guy that nine hundred other girls were practically in love with, too.

Maybe she’s just his “bud”. He doesn’t put the moves on her so much as chuck skittles at her and occasionally give her noogie-like affection.

… it would have been nice to be more to him than just a “buddy”.

But the way I saw it, I was happy enough that Trip and I kind of had this unspoken thing. I don’t mean like boyfriend/girlfriend, but when we were together, we were just… us. He was a different guy with me than the one he was at school or at parties, and I knew I was the only one to see that side of him. And he knew that I knew.

And they are ALWAYS together. Until her best friend steps in and forces her to face reality.

*oooph* sometimes… I tell ya!!!! 

Not too much crazy stuff YET, but still… it gives you butterflies, and a mini-stomach punch, too. I’m thinking the big punch comes with book #2, (which is the one I’m reading now) considering THIS recommendation:

Mindy: I literally fell in love with Trip. It brought out every emotion I have and it spans multiple age ranges over the course of the story. Such a different twist on the falling in love with a famous movie star… mostly because she loved him before he was famous…. It is really a good read. I absolutely loved the tension and chase in the first two books. Wicked cliff hanger after the 2nd … So naturally I cannot wait until the next one is out. Reminds me the most of the opportunist trilogy, which I also loved. Just a bit of a different story line.

There’s what appears to be “love”, but how seriously can we take high school sweethearts when we prepare for college? When many from her high school clique are planning on going their separate ways in the end. And yet… some high school sweethearts stand the test of time (and maybe even distance). Will it apply to Trip and Layla? I dunno!!! Only book #2 will tell.

Er…. or should I say, upcoming book #3, since I hear book #2 ends on a serious cliffhanger?

Either way? I’m in for the long haul!

4 stars!

P.S. Thank you to the author for the review copy!!! I’m having fun so far!!

Tagged as: contemporary romance, ya