Second chances come in many different shapes and sizes, but the one in this novel must be one of the hardest-won I have ever read about. Just imagine what it would be like to wake up in a hospital, wanting nothing more than your lover by your side, only to find a stranger sitting there and everyone looking at you funny for asking after the one person whose support you need to recover from being trampled by a bull. That is the situation Thaine faces when he wakes up after a severe bull-riding injury and is told, eventually, that he has lost the memories of five years of his life. Of course he is not the only man affected – his current lover, Drew, is devastated, his former lover, Jerry, has made a separate life for himself, and his best friend, Jesse, is angry at him for casting Drew aside – especially since Jesse has been secretly in love with Drew for years. There is more than enough tragedy to go around in this situation, and the story of how these four men deal with the situation is deeply emotional and had me enthralled from the very start.

Thaine is one stubborn cowboy! It is what cost him his volatile relationship with Jerry five years ago, despite the fact that he still loves the man. But now, with the memories of the final fight and him walking away gone, all Thaine knows is that he loves Jerry and wants him back. Drew is devastated, but Thaine can’t remember him, or falling in love with him, so what is he supposed to do? He understands that five years have passed, and he can see the evidence, but his heart and feelings aren’t on the same page. And Thaine tends to follow his heart more than his brain.

When Jerry does finally turn up, thanks to a call from Thaine’s best friend, Jesse, he is as confused by the situation as everyone else. The thing is that he never stopped loving Thaine, he just stopped running after him when he walked out. They fight just as much as ever, but the underlying love and Jerry’s determination never to let Thaine walk away again go a long way toward them rebuilding their relationship. There are things Jerry knows will have to change, and he works very hard to make sure they stand a better chance this time around.

Drew is the one who suffers most by suddenly having Thaine drop him like a hot potato – which it what it feels like to him. After three years together, I can’t imagine what that feels like. If it weren’t for Jesse taking him in, I think Drew might have lost it even more than he did. It was heartbreaking to see Drew deal with the loss, and fascinating to watch how he slowly began to realize that his feelings for Thaine, while real, were not as deep as he had thought.

Jesse is as devastated as Drew, but for different reasons. He has loved Drew since before Drew and Thaine got together, but always figured he was too old for the much younger man. Jesse never so much as hinted at his feelings while Drew was with Thaine, but now? Everything is different and when it becomes clear that Thaine’s memories are not returning and that Thaine wants to be with Jerry again, Jesse no longer hides how he feels. And with Drew being around all the time and needing his support, one thing leads to another – and the two become a couple.

Wow! These are not easy issues to deal with, and with four men involved in different ways this was one heck of an emotional ride. It was also very hot - what with Thaine and Jerry reacquainting themselves with each other’s bodies and making up for five years of separation, and with Jesse and Drew discovering that they fit as well physically as they did emotionally. As difficult as the situation was, and with the way the men dealt with it not always as mature as you might hope, ‘Amnesia’ is full of anger, aggression, passion, heat, and scorching loving.

If you want to read about cowboy drama with a capital D, if four stubborn and determined men figuring out what’s what between them is your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that is as emotionally charged as it is uplifting in the end, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s about complicated men in a desperate situation, and about as draining as it is rewarding. Utterly engrossing!



NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )

From the moment Thaine regained consciousness, this was pretty much porn with little plot. I disliked all the MCs - the only one that got any sympathy from me was Drew - and really, really hated Jerry. What an asshole! There was no depth to the characters. This story should have been gutting but there was no emotional connection for the reader at all. The pacing was off, the dialogue was stiff, and the hospital sex scenes required me to suspend my disbelief a little more than I'm capable. ( )

The best part of the book for me was the secondary storyline. I would have given this five stars, but there were times when it was really hard for me to like Jerry. However, I liked him more and more as he supported Thaine through his ordeal. ( )