The Life Lucy Knew by Karma Brown

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Park Row Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Sparks hits her head after suffering a winter weather related fall. When she wakes up in the hospital with her parents and co-worker, Matt, by her side, she wonders where her husband, Daniel, is. She believes that Daniel is her husband, but he's actually her ex-boyfriend that she hasn't spoken to in four years.  

She is suffering from what are fictitious memory recollections and her life as she knows it is completely different from her actual life. Essentially, it's like honest lying—Lucy's memories are false, but because she can even recall such vivid detail, the memories seem incredibly real to her. Given that Lucy's memory can't be trusted and that this may be a permanent condition, it is a devastating experience for her friends, family, and especially for Matt. You see, Matt is Lucy's doting boyfriend, not just her coworker which is how Lucy remembers him.

Despite Matt's best efforts, Lucy continues to have feelings for Daniel. Lucy must make a difficult choice about which life she wants to lead, who she wants to lead it with, and who she really is.

Karma Brown is one of my favourite authors. I had the pleasure of attending an event featuring Karma last May, and she is delightful! It was a high tea and book signing at the King Eddy in Toronto that was hosted by BookClubbish. Lainey, as in gossip maven, etalk correspondent, co-host of The Social, and founder of laineygossip.com Lainey, joined Karma for a Q&A session. The women chatted about the writing process—Lainey has also has written a book Listen to the Squawking Chicken: When Mother Knows Best, What's A Daughter To Do? A Memoir (Sort Of)—what it's like being a woman in the publishing industry, and where Karma gets her inspiration from. Both ladies were well-spoken and super interesting! If you have an opportunity to attend an event with Karma, I highly recommend you do so, you won't be disappointed.

For fans of Karma's books, The Life Lucy Knew is a bit of a detour in style, but one that I liked! Without giving anything away, the ending of this novel is further developed than her other stories and in this case it really worked. Also unique to this book was all of the Canadian references, and I enjoyed Toronto's presence in the story.

Karma is such a gifted writer. There were a few decisions that could have gone either way, and any of those scenarios would have worked because her writing is that good. Congratulations, Karma. Another fantastic read and I can't wait for your next book!

KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and author of the bestsellers Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, and In This Moment. In addition to her novels, Karma's writing has appeared in publications such as Redbook, SELF, and Chatelaine.

Brown lives just outside Toronto, Canada with her husband and daughter.