Forget Me by T. S. Joyce
Lance Denison is doing everything in his power to ignore Valentine’s Day. He hates the holiday and is ready for February 14th to be over. When his best friend offers him an all inclusive three-night stay at his inn to celebrate UnValentine’s Day, Lance has to admit, he’s curious. The week has a few rules: no romance, no flowers, no chocolates, and no mush whatsoever. Sounds like a good week to him. When a bite-sized woman runs into him at check-in, Lance doesn’t know what to do with the little tornado. He can’t tell if she’s rude or funny, but he does know one thing—he wants to find out more about her. Birdie Grenadine has eyes that glow like a shifter’s, but she’s being secretive about her shifter animal for reasons that don’t make any sense to him. Usually, Valentine’s Day week is his least favorite of the year, but this year is different. This year…he has found a beautiful distraction.
Birdie Grenadine has reserved a cabin at the Woodpecker Inn for one reason, and one reason alone—to meet another rare shifter named Ava. When she asks a handsome stranger for directions, he grates on her nerves immediately. Humans are a lot, and this one keeps pestering her. The more she gets to know him though, the more she wants to spend time with him. Humans and shifters aren’t supposed to mix, but what harm could a little vacation fling do? In three tiny days, she will head back to her real life, but for this short snowy UnValentine’s Day vacation? Maybe she could have a little fun. Too bad her animal is misbehaving, and now everyone gets to have some of the most unforgettable moments of their lives as they realize what she really is.
Get ready to laugh out loud and swoon to the moon at this Valentine’s Day novella from the imagination of T. S. Joyce. It is the second installment in the Oh Yes She Did series, and guarantees it has a little bit of everything for paranormal romance lovers. Want spice this Valentine’s Day? You got it. Humor? Yep! A heartwarming story that will make you believe in love around the holiday? Oh yeah! Don’t miss out on this grin-inducing story of a hamster shifter, a hot human, and their pathway toward destruction…or perhaps toward destiny.
Content Warning: Explicit love scenes, naughty language, and piles of sexy shifter secrets. Intended for mature audiences.
The Bite Breakdown:
Quick Verdict
Forget Me by T. S. Joyce delivers sharp banter, high heat, and surprising emotional depth wrapped inside a chaotic UnValentine’s Day getaway. It feels playful on the surface, yet it quietly builds into something far more vulnerable.
At a Glance
- Genre: Paranormal Romance
- Subgenre: Shifter Romance, Contemporary Romance
- Trope: Vacation Fling
- Series: Oh Yes She Did! Series Book 2
- POV: Dual Third Person
- Romance Focus: Strangers to Lovers
- Tone: Witty, tender, emotionally exposed
The Premise (No Spoilers)
Lance accepts a last minute stay at The Woodpecker Inn to escape Valentine’s Day and the shadow of a failed engagement. Birdie arrives with her own reasons for hating the holiday and a determination to step outside her comfort zone. Their first meeting sparks irritation, curiosity, and a rhythm of banter that neither expects.
What begins as mutual annoyance turns into shared excursions, competitive teasing, and an undeniable physical pull. Both characters carry quiet wounds. Each pretends they want distraction more than connection. Over the course of a snowy week, attraction deepens into something neither planned to risk.
Forget Me continues the UnValentine’s Day setting introduced earlier in the series . While it builds on familiar faces and locations, the central romance stands on its own.
What Worked
Birdie feels distinct from the typical shifter heroine. She struggles socially, overthinks conversations, and leans into humor as a shield. Instead of diminishing her, those traits give her texture. I appreciated how the narrative treats her awkwardness as part of her strength rather than something to correct.
Lance carries emotional history without turning brooding or cruel. He responds to attraction with honesty instead of dominance. His openness makes the romance feel reciprocal rather than imbalanced. That choice adds weight to every intimate moment.
The humor never undercuts the sincerity. Playful dialogue coexists with genuine vulnerability. When the story pivots into emotional territory, it earns that shift through prior connection.
What Didn’t Work (or Might Not)
The pacing moves quickly. Physical intimacy arrives early, and emotional stakes follow soon after. Readers who prefer extended slow burn tension may wish for more space between escalation points.
Internal conflict drives much of the third act tension. Those who prefer high external stakes or dramatic confrontations may find the quieter emotional hesitation less explosive.
The comedic tone requires flexibility. Readers who expect darker paranormal romance energy may not connect with the lighter atmosphere.
Romance and Relationship Dynamics
This relationship thrives on contrast. Lance appears steady and self assured, yet emotional rejection lingers under the surface. Birdie projects chaos and nervous humor, yet she shows directness about desire and boundaries.
Their dynamic builds through teasing, shared vulnerability, and mutual curiosity. Neither character attempts to overpower the other. Instead, they test each other’s sincerity.
The romance ultimately hinges on acceptance. Attraction draws them together, but emotional safety determines whether they stay.
- Explicit sexual content
- Strong sexual language
- Past broken engagement
- Anxiety and social discomfort
Who Should Read This
Readers who enjoy paranormal romance with strong chemistry and comedic undertones will likely enjoy this installment. Anyone looking for a confident yet emotionally tender hero paired with an unconventional heroine should consider it. Those seeking dark angst or high danger plotting may want a different mood.
Final Verdict
Forget Me by T. S. Joyce balances absurd charm with real emotional exposure. It moves fast, laughs often, and then asks its characters to decide whether vulnerability feels worth the risk.
Book Rating: 4 Stars
Strong chemistry and emotional honesty carry the story despite rapid pacing.
Heroine Strength: 4 Crowns
Birdie owns her awkwardness and chooses emotional risk instead of retreat.
Spice Rating: 4 Flames
Frequent, explicit intimacy grounded in mutual desire and consent.
What Really Happens
In Forget Me by T. S. Joyce, Birdie’s secret shifter form does not emerge in a quiet, controlled moment. Her animal surfaces unexpectedly after Lance has unknowingly cared for and carried her around in that form earlier in the day. When she shifts back in a public setting, humiliation crashes into vulnerability all at once. Lance stands stunned, forced to reconcile desire with shock in front of an audience. That reveal strips away flirtation and replaces it with raw exposure. Birdie sees his hesitation and immediately assumes rejection, which sets the emotional fracture in motion.
Later, inside his truck in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, Birdie attempts to protect herself by minimizing what they share. She labels their connection a mistake and frames the intensity as a vacation spiral that moved too fast. Lance presses her for clarity, refusing vague language. When she finally answers yes to the mistake question, the word lands harder because his former fiancée used the same language when she ended their engagement. That echo reopens an old wound and forces Lance into defensive restraint rather than anger. He drives her back to the cabins with careful politeness, which hurts more than open conflict.
By morning, distance no longer feels tolerable. Lance chooses action instead of pride and leaves a box of handwritten notes listing reasons he cannot forget her. Each tiny envelope reframes the night before and challenges her fear directly. Rather than demand certainty, he offers time, plans, and willingness to bridge the miles between Colorado and Kansas. Their final conversation shifts from avoidance to intention. They agree to try long distance visits while they determine where to build a shared life. The question of settling stops revolving around geography and starts revolving around choice.
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