Have you ever read a stellar book (or a semi dud—we don’t judge!) and then completely forget everything that you read the next day or a week later? Welp, after going through my authors I own but haven’t read list, I thought it would be fun to go through my read list on Goodreads–you know, for a nice little walk down memory lane. But that backfired, because I realized that I don’t remember much—if nothing at all—about the books that shaped my reading journey and a better part of myself.
Like…zilch, nada, nothing, zero.

Its like this huge empty chasm that should be filled with fun memories of scenes and character swoonages; but alas, if you peer into said chasm you will just find the cover of the book, a vague memory of reading the book, and some tumbleweeds drifting into the wind as some good ol’ wild west orchestral music plays in the distance softly.
So I thought it would be fun to walk down this memory lane with you storytellers and see just how much I remember…or forgot (like I said we don’t judge), about some of these books! Grab some popcorn, maybe a soft blanket since the weather is getting a bit colder now, and lets try to see if I can’t jog some memories!
#Nerd by Cambria Herbert
Honestly, all I remember from this one was the fact that this was my first taste of New Adult fiction while I was in college. But I read this while heavily sleep deprived during tech week (if you are a theatre person or ever been in a theatre production, you know how Tech week is!), so this could have definitely played into the reason behind the “I have no clue what I read” factor.
I know without looking at the synopsis that this shindig is a tutor/jock romance…the jock (I don’t even remember this dudes name wow) was an ass hat or at least tutor chick (yeah I don’t know hers either) thinks so because I think she tries to get out of tutoring him but whoever is in charge of making her schedule gave her a big sike moment and told her she couldn’t or her…scholarship? Would disappear? Maybe?
That’s really all I got.
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*Available on Kindle Unlimited!

In more ways than one.
She wants to keep her scholarship. He wants to stay on the team. An awkward alliance doesn’t even begin to cover Rimmel and Romeo’s relationship.
But that’s about to change.
It starts with a dare. An initiation. A challenge.
Quickly, it turns into more. But when you’re a victim of your status, there is no room for anything real. The rules are clear and simple.
Stick to your circle.
And never fall in love with anyone on the outside.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
This one probably hurts me the most, because I own multiple copies of this book, and the original one I read back in high school is annotated and battered because I loved this book so much. I just don’t remember jack shit about it—which sucks.
Things I do remember: Moby Dick references, definitely needed a suicide trigger warning, Alaska loved books, one big ol’ school prank, a dude named pudge.
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After. Nothing is ever the same.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Four aka Tobias is all I remember…but even then I remember more of the movie Tobias than I do the book Tobias and that means I can’t even remember book Tobias because they were starkly different. I do remember hating the shit out of Caleb though—both in the film and in the book.
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During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
Literally Every Sarah Dessen Novel
I was such a Sarah Dessen fan growing up, if you asked me what my favorite novel from her was I would tell you immediately that its a toss up between Along For The Ride, and Just Listen. But truth be told, I remember nothing about any of them. Plot? Nope. Character Names? Nada. Moments that stick out? Ha! You are funny!
I own almost all of her books, but I’ve been sitting here staring at them for the past ten minutes trying to remember a single thing about them to put here but for the life of me all I remember is that the covers are super cute and scream contemporary YA fiction, and that I simply adored these books (even though I remember jack shit about them) and don’t want to get rid of them from my shelves…
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A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.
In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Lightening bolts and different colored blood. That’s all. Yup.
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Beautiful Bastards by Christina Lauren
I read this one when I first started unashamedly getting into the romance genre and at the height of my book tube channel. I was fresh out of university and looking for a job, I just realized what New Adult fiction was and that there was this whole other side of romance that wasn’t the Harlequin Presents my mom always bought at Walmart. I was obsessed, and I remember reading this one in one sitting in the middle of the night (because what is time when unemployed?) And giggling/blushing like a mad woman for most of it.
But that is all I remember of it. If I stare at the book long enough I can vaguely remember it being about a girl who shagged her boss from the get go, some shit hits the fan and she gets fired; but, then there is this important meeting and he is there? And she is presenting? Also, I remember clearly there was a lot of steamy horizontal tango action happening throughout the story if you catch what I’m throwing.
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Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.
Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.
As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other.
Originally only available online as The Office by tby789 — and garnering over 2 million reads on fanfiction sites — Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.
What books have you read but don’t remember a thing about? Let me know!
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I also read Red Queen a while back and now can remember nothing about it haha
I’m usually good at remembering things that happen in books but I can not for the life of me tell you what goes down in all/any of the Cassandra Clare books. I also barely remember Harry Potter and what I do is from the movies.
DUDE YES!!!!! I was tempted to stick the Mortal Instruments Series in here, but I was like “this list is getting way too long!” LOL. I honestly only remember certain characters and fake incest from TMI, everything else is a one big empty box. lolololol.
Ugh the amount of times I’ve reread Red Queen in an attempt to finish the series and just haven’t is laughable at this point. I agree with you on Sarah Dessen books though, I read so many of them back in the day and honestly don’t remember much about them. I think for me the worst thing is when I start books in a series and just don’t continue with the series OR I go the other way and read all the books in a series in close succession and then everything is a blurred mess.
mmmm that blurred mess would be me. I think that is one of the downsides of binging–you never really know what happened in what book. Unless it’s like ACOMAF where the books are so very distinctly different that you can differentiate even after binging.
HA but movie Tobias is hotter so 😏 Not gonna lie, I just remember Tris jumping off a building for initiation, a very annoying Caleb and well… Tobias. Especially the knife scene, but maybe that’s just the movie version…
I’m the SAME with Red Queen. I remember liking it? But never continued the series? Also I think I remember the end but I’m not even sure at this point. Whoops.
If I’m being bluntly honest–movie tobias is really the only tobias that matters, because he’s the only one with character development 🙈
I think no one so far remembers red queen, which phew! I’m not alone! Maybe I’ll waddle to a reread (or would it be a read since I don’t remember anything? hmmm) of it in the near future…