The River Leith by Leta Blake

 Memory is everything.

After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.

For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him.

Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

“Leith, a lump of clay could be formed into almost anything by a person with skillful hands. If you remember your past, that might be a blessing, and it might not be. I couldn’t possibly judge that. What I know is that you’re the artist of your life, and you can cold this hunk of clay into anything you want. You don’t have to take anyone else into consideration, unless you want to do so.”

Have you ever read a book that caught you so completely off guard because while reading it, you learn more about yourself and others? A book that you thought was just going to be something to pass the time, but instead it has stayed with you even weeks after you have finished it because the meaning behind it was so strong and powerful that you can’t help but to think about it.

Not only is Leith battling between trying to remember his past and moving forward into his future, but you are right there with him on the journey. With every step he takes, you are rooting for him to discover more; more about himself and about the others around him.

This was the first book by Ms. Blake that I have read, but you can be sure that I will be reading more from her in the future. The characters that she created were some of the most life-like that I have had the privilege of reading simply for the fact that they are so real. The situations that they are going through during their journey are so real, that you are left on the edge of your seat wanting to find out what was going to happen next.

One huge thing that I loved about this book was that the relationship between Leith and Zach wasn’t rushed in any sense of the word. They were both wanting, and willing, to take their time to get to know each other without all the hassles of everything going on. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a bit of drama happening between them, but it was done so well that it didn’t overtake the whole story. You want to know more, and you need to find out what is going to happen between them.

I really can’t recommend this book enough because it was such a good read and it touched me on so many levels that I don’t even have the words to describe it.

“Time was like a river, and memory was a current. Time flowed on without ceasing, no matter what or who tried to get in its way. But memory was changeable, and even losable. Like a current it could carry a person far away from their starting point, leaving them somewhere they might never have intended to be.”

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