The Forget-Me-Not Library - Heather Webber - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Heather Webber

GENRE: Contemporary Magical Realism

PUBLICATION DATE: November 4, 2025

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A contemporary Southern fiction focussed on two women looking for healing. Loveable characters (who are a bit too perfect to be believable!), a dash of magical realism, character-focussed writing, excellent use of the found family trope, heartwarming ending. The pacing is a bit slow and the plot somewhat sappy, but it should work well for those who enjoy Hallmark-style stories. Recommended.

Plot Preview:

After a freak lightning accident results in the death of a beloved family member, Juliet Nightingale decides to take a solo trip to heal as well as to find herself again. Her car abruptly breaks down in an obscure town called Forget-Me-Not in Alabama, where the residents go out of their way to help her, even as they behave a bit oddly once they hear about her car.

After a bitter divorce, Tallulah Byrd Mayfield moved to her grandfather’s house in Forget-Me-Not with her two little daughters, hoping to get her life back on track and working at the local library. She isn't too happy when her grandfather offers the stranger with the broken-down car a room in their attic, but knows that there is no other choice. It’s the Forget-Me-Not policy.

The story comes to us in the alternating first-person perspectives of Juliet and Tallulah.

This is the kind of book where I know I mostly liked it but didn’t understand where to begin my review. For inspiration, I referred to the review I wrote in 2023 for another book by this author: ‘At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities’. I could literally copy-paste that review for this novel, because almost the entire feedback is the same; only the proper nouns have changed.

(I’ve not copy-pasted it; don’t worry. Every book deserves its own review.)

Bookish Yays:

🐈 The two leads whose first-person POVs bring us the story. Both Juliet and Tallulah are facing a kind of heartbreak, and both of them are looking for healing. I love how they slowly step out of the shadow of their hurt. Tallulah had a slight edge over Juliet for me, not just because she was the mother to two of the most adorable fictional child characters but also because she prefers the 1995 BBC version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ over the 2005 adaptation. Gotta love a character with good taste, I tell ya!

🐈 The other characters, comprising a nice variety of men and women. The age range is also vast, going from seven months to eighty-something. All except one were too good to be true, which rankles at times but it is typical of this genre and hence can’t be held against it. There’s also some token inclusivity, which isn’t extensive but still better than the usual Southern books featuring all straight white characters.

🐈 The two children. Tallulah’s elder daughter, eight-year-old Katy, was really adorable. As much as I loved her, I appreciated even more how the author used seven-month-old Mary Joy in the plot. She wasn’t just a token baby character; Tallulah had to work her schedule around her little one’s schedule, which is so realistic for new moms.

🐈 A special Yay to the two non-human darlings: Deckle the library cat and Daisy the puppy. Because animals deserve separate Yays.

🐈 The found-family vibes – going much beyond the token group-that-comes-together-stays-together cliché.

🐈 The plot – simple yet engaging. This isn't an action-packed genre anyway, but the multiple tracks involving several characters keep things moving steadily.

🐈 The small-town setting of Forget-Me-Not, with a special shout-out to the library – perfectly cozy.

🐈 The varied themes woven through the character arcs, with all the difficult emotional topics such as grief and heartbreak handled sensitively.

🐈 The Southern-fiction charm, showing the best of the Southern American ethos, from the hospitality to the amiability to the friendly interference.

🐈 The ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ at the start of every chapter – a collection of quotes attributed to various residents of Forget-Me-Not. These, and many other one-liners in the story, offer some nice life lessons.

Bookish Okays:

🚗 The Hallmark-level of sappy. Fits the genre, but can cause diabetes.

🚗 The magical realism. Loved what is there, but it was so minimal. I’d have loved for the magical bits to be more prominent.

🚗 The pacing is on the slower side, but as the story is character-oriented, this is to be expected.

🚗 The romance(s). While this doesn’t overpower the main story, it also feels unnecessary in one case. I don’t see why a redemptive arc for a female character necessarily involves her finding love yet again. Plus, the initiation of both the main love tracks were heavily attraction-based, even though one character declares that she is a ‘sucker for intelligence.” That said, the romance is slowburn, which works better for me.

Overall, this book performs exceedingly well if you keep its genre in mind. Southern contemporary fiction is full of positivity and charm. While the magical realism is minimal, what is there is also quite good. I wish the characters had been more realistically layered instead of being picture-perfect – that would have helped tone down the saccharine sweetness to a more palatable level.

Definitely recommended to those looking for heartwarming stories filled with warmth and friendliness and heart.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing the DRC of “The Forget-Me-Not Library” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.