A Temporary Memory by Marie Johnston
POV: Dual 1st Person
Put out percentage: 63%
Tropes: Slow Burn; Single Dad; Small Town; Nanny; Heroine on the Run; Widower; Stern Milk Daddy (IYKYK)
Series: Oil Knights book 2
Type of Series: Series of Standalones
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
Release Date: November 16, 2023
Is there a 3rd act break up: I would call it a third act pause.
In A Temporary Memory we return to the Knight Family with Alcott’s story. He is a widower and a single dad, and we learn he is struggling with managing his kids along with the expectations and responsibilities that are set unto him from the family companies. Barns, the Knight’s deceased father, was a man that created chaos in his passing and all of the kids are floundering a little bit in the aftermath. Tova is a woman that realizes she has fallen into a toxic space in her relationship and gets out ASAP. The opening scene shows just how much. Tova struggles thoughout the book with the idea of who she is, what she is worth, and what she needs in life.
Marie Johnston creates A Temporary Memory as a book of growth and self-actualization.
The truth that while Alcott loved his late wife, perhaps they weren’t the best fit for each other. The fact that the choices that he is making might not necessarily be the best ones for his kids. Tova realizes—with some hard truths from Thelma—that some of her choices have been detrimental to her happiness. The cast of side characters in Alcott’s siblings, Thelma, the kids, and the friends that are created is perfect for this story. Johnston never fails to make me refuse to put down my kindle. There is such care in the way she treats these characters and their backstories. You do not want to miss it.
Tomorrow, we’d go back to single dad and nanny, and if we never broke out of those roles again, at least I had tonight.
