Forgive & Forget

The Space Between, Filled With Memory

By: Swantje Oppermann, Catherine Venner - translator

Narrated by: Chase Brown, Georgia Maguire

Marlie's life in Santa Barbara is the epitome of perfection: the ocean sparkles under the California sun, her studies are going brilliantly, and in Tristan, she has found her soulmate. But this idyllic existence begins to crack when a stranger appears at her door one evening, claiming to be Tristan's twin brother, Callan—someone whose existence Tristan never mentioned. Shortly after this revelation, Tristan vanishes without a trace.

Desperate for answers, Marlie reluctantly accepts Callan's help, and together they journey across Southern California searching not only for Tristan but for the truth. With each passing day, an unwanted attraction grows between them, along with Marlie's tormenting doubts. As she delves deeper into the brothers' past, her own memories and certainties begin to blur. The twins share more than just their appearance—a secret that defies the boundaries of possibility and threatens to plunge Marlie into an abyss between love and betrayal.

A captivating romantic urban fantasy about hidden truths, deceptive certainties, and the ultimate question: Who can you trust when even your own memories might be lying?

©2025 Swantje Oppermann (P)2025 Audible GmbH

Forgettable

This story was bizarre and did not flow well at all. The narrator was great but had a British accent when the main character speaking in first person was German. There were references to things using British references and made by American characters. An American shop owner calling a hood of a car a “bonnet” for example. An editor who could catch these things would have been money well spent.

The overall story was weak and could have been much better by events that actually made sense. Just poorly executed.

suspense

to short, need further story background for parents maybe for both main characters and maybe Jordan's mother too.

Importance of Memory

Nice touch! Story moves from incidents and perspectives through time - Then and Now. it also shows how memory, or the lack their, influence perception.

The current events timeline of the characters were unrealistic to me. what happened in 2 or 3 days should have taken longer. Then there's the question of Marley's coursework and exams. They were important to her. The author seems to have dropped that point.

All in all a good read, except for the unrealistic timeline part.

Memory manipulation

The memory manipulation by twin brothers seems unbelievable, but it does make for an interesting story

Nothing much

Three stars overall because it was free.

The characters were not believable or people you want to root for. The story is more like young adult fantasy with a lot of fighting over girls and shallow motivations. No real adult resolution, just wish fulfillment.

Also the narration was silly and word choices really take you out of the moment as other people have noted.

in all honesty if I paid for this book I would be pretty mad.