Review- Remembrance by Michelle Madow

Goodreads Summary:

Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, fighting fate isn't going to be easy. 

REVIEW:

Honestly, I have no idea what I felt about reading Michelle Madow's Remembrance. The entire storyline of Remembrance is purely spellbinding and you can see how Michelle Madow was inspired by Taylor Swift's Love Story to write the book. The coupling of a lovely contemporary set up with the mesmerising England during Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice period makes Remembrance an interesting read. Overall, however, I found the book to be extremely interesting but quite mediocre.  
Remembrance is the story of Lizzie Davenport, whose life is like that of any ordinary girl. Jeremy, the co-captain of her school's sports team is her boyfriend and Chelsea, a friendly and nice enough girl is her best friend. Lizzie's life seems absolutely fine until the arrival of Drew Carmichael. It so happens that Lizzie and Drew have been reincarnated and given a second chance to be together. Even though I haven't read Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice, I know and respect both the author and all her works and I know enough to conclude that I absolutely loved how Lizzie and Drew are reincarnates of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Lizzie and Drew feel an instant connection but keep their feelings hidden and ignored until keeping it all bottled up inside gets too suffocating. Thought not a thorough time travel book, the scenes that went back to 18th century England were amusing. 
The only problem I had while reading Remembrance was the characters. It is understandable why they act in a particular way and I'm not even an ardent cheating hater (though Remembrance has not much cheating in the literal sense of the term), but I just couldn't relate to any of the characters. I found them slipping in and out, like they weren't sure of themselves. Lizzie was a great girl, but she seemed a little confused to me. Chelsea, on the other hand, was not what I expected. Jeremy was a really jerky yet kind guy and Drew was completely average. I hate to say that I just couldn't relate to any of the characters, the way they behaved and the way they kept pushing stuff away. They build a sort of a whirlwind circle around themselves which got a little frustrating. They were all ordinary guys , and honestly, I'm not looking for extraordinary, but there should be some sort of connection or liking you can feel towards the characters with whom you are journeying. It didn't happen with Remembrance.
It's not that I didn't like the story of Remembrance, because really, I did. I wanted to love the book, but my liking didn't go as far as love, but whatever it was, it was great. It was just the characters that didn't sit quite well with me, and as captivating a plot as the book had, it really gets a little hard when you can't seem to get along with the characters. 
Author Michelle Madow has written a rather mesmerising book. Her writing has a lovely, simple and very genuine flow which was easy to comprehend. I really admire Michelle because from what I've seen, read and heard, she is a super kind author and she has truly written a great book.
Like I've said before, just because the characters didn't sit quite well with me doesn't mean the plot didn't and just because the end was really fine doesn't mean there isn't more and because I hate leaving a series halfway, I'd definitely like to continue with the different and mildly captivating Transcend Time Saga. 

RATING:

X 2.5

Sarika