Glimmer by Pheobe Kitanidis

Goodreads Blurb

What if you forgot your identity and had to rely on other people to tell you who you were?

And what if to discover your true self, you first had to unravel a mystery so big and terrifying you were not sure you’d survive solving it?

When Marshall and Elyse wake up in each other’s arms with zero memory of how they got there or who they are, it’s the start of a long journey through their separate pasts and shared future.

Terrified by their amnesia, the two make a pact to work together to find the answers that could jog their missing memories. As they piece together clues, they discover they’re in the idyllic mountain resort town of Summer Falls, where everyone seems mysteriously happy, but as Marshall and Elyse quickly learn, darkness lurks beneath the town’s perfect facade. Not only is the town haunted by sinister ghosts, but none of its living inhabitants retain bad memories of anything—not the death of Marshall’s mom, not the hidden shame in Elyse’s family, not even the day-to-day anguish of high school.

Lonely in this world of happy zombies, Marsh and Elyse fall into an intense relationship...but the secrets they uncover could be the death of this growing love—and the death of everyone, and everything, they love in Summer Falls.

I received Glimmer from another blogger and I am so happy that I got it! Honestly, when I first heard about it, I wasn’t interested. My eyes basically zeroed in on the word “zombies” and decided not to read it. But then, with all the excitement, I decided to read the entire summary. And guess what? I ended up vying for this book! I’ve always, always, always, loved those amnesia-filled stories. When the characters don’t know anything, it makes it more anticipating for the reader since, after all, the main character doesn’t know anything either, so that we learn everything as the MC does.

The story starts with Elyse and Marshall literally waking up tangled in each other’s arms, like it says in the description. They have no idea who they are, and are suspicious of everything and everyone. And guess what? Elyse can see the ghosts that haunt the town, the ones that erase the memories of traumatic events, and Marshall can somehow repel ghosts. They have a future of action, a present full of questions, and a past filled with holes. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I loved Glimmer! It exceeded my expectations completely, and I was whisked away by the plot! Questions were raised, but when everything was slowly explained, I realized that there were scattered hints about their past and the secret that haunts Summer Falls. They were just so cleverly hidden, and I absolutely loved re-reading it just so I could point and yell "Hey! He did that because ________!" By the end of the day, several people had looked at me like I was crazy.

The writing was beautiful, switching between the POV's of both Marshall and Elyse. The writing also portrayed the town perfectly, creepy. As in, very, very creepy. Honestly, I kept imagining ghosts popping out and my memories being erased. So I definitely can't complain about Glimmer being boring.

The scenes were rushed just a bit at the end, confusing me as to what happened when, but I remember reading somewhere that in the final copy, the scenes are less rushed, which is great. However, there was one thing I disliked. It was mainly the factor that though Elyse wrote to herself, she believed so easily. I uderstand the "habit" of it, but it was still a slightly far stretch.

Glimmer was an amazing read, showing you just how strong, and important, memories are, bad or good. I just ate it up!

Pages: 352

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: 5 stars

"How could I stay away from Elyse? How could we abandon each other to this place? Protecting her has been my purpose, almost from the moment I woke up to this new life."