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(More customer reviews)Wanting a light read to help pass the time on 5 hour airplane flight, I picked up Melton's FORGET ME NOT because a reviewer here compared it to Suzanne Brockman's navy SEALs books. Melton's plot is interesting: A navy SEAL escapes captivity and returns home with PTSD-induced amnesia after a year-long bout of brutal torture, but the SEAL's amnesia renders him vulnerable to the treasonous military who sold him out in the first place. Meanwhile, the SEAL's relationship with a wife he doesn't remember is turned upside-down when this once macho and emotionally distant man returns home emotionally vulnerable and in touch with what really matters in life. The problem with FORGET ME NOT, unfortunatley, is shoddy writing and unforgiveably poor research. Melton spends the entire book telling the reader how her characters feel, rather than showing us with action and dialogue. Also, Melton's phobic-like avoidance of the word "said" became annoying quite quickly. For example, in the span of
2 pages, her characters
"drawled," "muttered," "inquired," "interrupted," "encouraged," "asked, "prompted," "gasped," "agreed" - rather than "said." And her lack of research was way beyond lazy. For example, one character is introduced as a psychologist, then for a few chapters he's referred to as a psychiatrist, then he's referred to as a psychologist again. Does the author really not know the two professions are entirely different?
Where was Melton's editor???
Which brings me to another point: Why is it so difficult to find a well-written romance novel? It's books like this, published in draft form (by major publishing houses!), that give the romance genre a bad name. This is entirely the fault of the publishers. Rather than churning out a glut of unpolished, unedited novels, I wish they'd get themselves back into the business of publishing quality fiction.
That said, if it's a well-written romance with a military backdrop you're after, stick with Suzanne Brockman. (She probably edits her own work!)
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