The Four Cities Series by Sarina Dahlan

Can you love someone you don’t remember?After the Last War destroyed most of the world, survivors form a new society in four self-sustaining cities in the Mojave Desert. In the utopia of the Four Cities, inspired by the lyrics of “Imagine” and Buddhist philosophy, everything is carefully planned and controlled: the seasons, the weather—and the residents... moreCan you love someone you don’t remember?After the Last War destroyed most of the world, survivors form a new society in four self-sustaining cities in the Mojave Desert. In the utopia of the Four Cities, inspired by the lyrics of “Imagine” and Buddhist philosophy, everything is carefully planned and controlled: the seasons, the weather—and the residents. To prevent mankind from destroying each other again, its citizens undergo a memory wipe every four years in a process called tabula rasa, a blank slate, to remove learned prejudices. With each new cycle, they begin again with new names, jobs, homes, and lives. No memories. No attachments. No wars.Aris, a scientist who shuns love, embraces tabula rasa and the excitement of unknown futures. Walling herself off from emotional attachments, she only sees relationships as pointless and avoids deep connections. But she is haunted by a recurring dream that becomes more frequent and vivid as time passes. After meeting Benja, a handsome free-spirited writer who believes his dreams of a past lover are memories, her world is turned upside down. Obsessed with finding the Dreamers, a secret organization thought to have a way to recover memories, Benja draws her down a dangerous path toward the past. When Metis, the leader of the Dreamers, appears in Aris’s life, everything she believes falls to pieces. With little time left before the next tabula rasa, they begin a bittersweet romance, navigating love in a world where names, lives, and moments are systematically destroyed.Thought-provoking and emotionally resonant, Reset will make you consider the haunting reality of love and loss, and the indelible marks they leave behind. less

Sequel to the #1 bestseller Reset, Freeset is an intricate sci-fi story about found family, building hope, and learning to trust your inner voice. Can true love break you free? When calamity destroyed most of humanity, the Four Cities survived by carefully predicting and meticulously controlling everything in the survivors' lives--even love. As part of this new normal, every four years the citizens face down Tabula Rasa, a process that wipes away their memories of each other... moreSequel to the #1 bestseller Reset, Freeset is an intricate sci-fi story about found family, building hope, and learning to trust your inner voice. Can true love break you free? When calamity destroyed most of humanity, the Four Cities survived by carefully predicting and meticulously controlling everything in the survivors' lives--even love. As part of this new normal, every four years the citizens face down Tabula Rasa, a process that wipes away their memories of each other. But nothing can be controlled completely, and love will always strive to be free. A brave handful of Dreamers, aided by Eleanor the Crone, have repeatedly managed to find each other again after Tabula Rasa, proving that the desire to connect is eternal. Scientist Aris and musician Metis, star-crossed lovers, have found each other again ... along with a clue to a hidden library that could contain the memories erased by Tabula Rasa. At long last, there is a chance for a brave, free, new world--if they can escape before the next reset. less