So the 21st book in my Goodreads Reading Challenge (and book number 2 on my Summer holidays) was Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie.

‘Emma Tupper is a dedicated lawyer with a bright future. But, shattered by her mother’s death, she fulfills her dying wish by embarking on a month-long trip to Africa. There she falls ill, and spends six months trapped in a remote village thanks to a devastating earthquake. On her eventual return home Emma discovers that her friends, boyfriend, and colleagues thought she was dead and that life has moved on without her.

As she struggles to recreate her old life, throwing herself into solving a big case for a client and trying to reclaim her beloved apartment from the handsome photographer who’s taken over her lease, everyone around her thinks she should take the opportunity to change. But is she willing to sacrifice the job, relationships and everything else she worked so hard to build?

Forgotten is the story of one young women’s life, broken down, reconstructed, and forever altered – a modern twist on the classic tale of discovering who we really are when everything that brings meaning to our lives is lost.’ (Synopsis provided by Amazon)

Emma Tupper is a successful lawyer who has worked hard to be within touching distance of a partnership at her law firm and she has the perfect boyfriend in Craig.  However, her world is crushed when she loses her mother, who has always been her rock.  Her mothers one dream was to travel to Africa, something she was unable to achieve.  She therefore leaves an Africa trip to Emma in her will, something that leaves her a little bewildered as she had never actually asked her mother why this was a dream of hers.  The story that follows is one of self discovery as Emma finds herself stranded in Africa and cut off from her friends, job and life.

This is a chick lit, but not a light and fluffy one as you might expect.  It explores what can happen if you go off the grid and disappear, just to re-emerge expecting life to be as it was when you left.

‘if everything in your life is fucked up, you can change whatever you want.’

Whilst elements of the novel are predictable as you might expect, I liked that not all of Emma’s choices were ones that I had anticipated.  This removed some of the predictability.  There is obviously a love story as you would expect, with both characters having their own issues to deal with before they can be together.

I had expected this book to be a little darker than it actually was.  I would not, however, say that I am disappointed that wasn’t having now read it.  It was a great holiday read that I am more than happy to recommend.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars