The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
This book was twisted. These characters are seriously messed up. Olivia, Caleb, Leah; they're all screwed up in the head.
This book is told from the perspective of Olivia. She runs into her ex-boyfriend, Caleb, with whom things did not end well. She discovers that he has amnesia and cannot remember who she is. She decides to use this to her advantage and get to know him again. One of the main obstacles is Caleb's current girlfriend, Leah. He doesn't remember her either.
I loved the way the story is told (present tense chapters alternating with past tense chapters). It was masterful the way Tarryn Fisher wove the two time frames together. We simultaneously see Olivia and Caleb get to know each other again interspersed with scenes from them getting to know each other the first time. I really enjoyed seeing them fall in love during their college days.
Olivia is one twisted chick. It was hard though not to empathize with her emotional issues given her upbringing and family situation. She is a perfect example of somebody being willing to accept the love that they think they deserve, which in her case is none. She made several mistakes along the way. Several. But it was clear that her character was developing as the story went on. By the Epilogue it was clear she was still messed up, but not nearly as bad as she was previously.
Caleb, however, is no angel. I've heard and seen several reviews where people demonize Olivia and make Caleb out to be this innocent bystander who was just blindsided and destroyed by this vixen. He made his fair share of mistakes and did his fair share of manipulating Olivia. Especially that whammy of a twist toward the end.
Their story was angsty in both past and present. I frequently wanted to slap both of them across their faces. This book definitely wreaked some emotional havoc on me in a way no other one has since Avoiding Commitment.
All in all I felt bad for Caleb and Olivia. They were two people who couldn't make it work, but couldn't let go of each other either. Since this is a trilogy, I'm very intrigued to see where this story goes. These are three very twisted characters.
