The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin | #BookReview @suefortin1 @Aria_Fiction #NetGalley #HistoricalFiction

Not even Alzheimer’s could make Arthur forget his true love.

The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger is a beautiful story of ever-lasting love, heroism, and living the best life one possibly can, even when one’s mind is assaulted by Alzheimer’s.

Our thanks to Aria Fiction and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy.

Book Details

Title: The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin
Publisher: Aria (March 4, 2021)
Print Lenght: 379 pages
Language: English
ASIN : B08GV8SSLC

Book Description

Sometimes the past won’t stay hidden, it demands to be uncovered…

Arthur Pettinger’s memory isn’t what it used to be. He can’t always remember the names of his grandchildren, where he lives or which way round his slippers go. He does remember Maryse though, a woman he hasn’t seen for decades, but whose face he will never forget.

When Arthur’s granddaughter, Maddy moves in along with her daughter Esther, it’s her first step towards pulling her life back together. But when Esther makes a video with Arthur, the hunt for the mysterious Maryse goes viral.

There’s only one person who can help Maddy track down this woman – the one that got away, Joe. Their quest takes them to France, and into the heart of the French Resistance.

When the only way to move forwards is to look back, will this family finally be able to?

From the Publisher’s Blurb

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Review

Arthur’s memories were a blur, but he still felt a never-ending love for Maryse and a deep fear for the children’s future.

He knew he had to go back, but his old man’s mind kept playing tricks on him. Past and present mingled in his consciousness, and sometimes fog covered it all.

When his great-granddaughter Esther came to live with him, they instantly bonded, and perusing old pictures with her took his thoughts more and more to the past and the woman he loved.

The story is bittersweet but very inspiring. It was hard to witness Arthur’s struggles with his mind and body, but the love and patience of his family were a balm to the soul.

The side characters were adorable—the kind of people one wants around in their time of need.

Romance permeates the whole narrative, and although I shed a few tears, there was a satisfying happy ending.

What I loved most about this story is how serious subjects were explored in a light and optimistic manner. Despite all the sadness, my heart was full of love and peace when I turned the last page.

The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger was my first book by this author but will not be my last.

Great read!

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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About the Author

Suzanne Fortin writes women’s fiction dual-timeline and her first novel The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger is due for release March 4th 2021.

Suzanne also writes mystery and suspense as Sue Fortin where she is a USA Today bestseller and Amazon UK #1 and Amazon US #3 bestseller. She has sold over a million copies of her books and been translated into multiple languages.

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