Promise Me This by Christina Lee ♥♥♥.5

Promise Me This by Christina Lee is the fourth book in the Between Breaths series, a series which I have really enjoyed. There will be no spoilers in this review, but the books should be read in order, because you see other characters from previous books, but if you really wanted to you could read this as a stand-alone since there isn’t much crossover.

Promise Me This tells Nate and Jessie’s story. Jessie is tattooed, blue haired, and can’t afford to go to school full time. Nate is clean cut and has everything in his life paid for by his family. The two of them seem pretty different, and are having a hard time fighting their sudden feeling for each other. To make matters worse, Nate has a troubled past, making it difficult for him to get close to anyone, no matter how much he wants to. But Jessie is willing to wait him out.

Like the other books in the series, I really enjoyed reading this. Watching Nate and Jessie struggle with their feelings turned out to be a really great story. And we also watch Nate deal with plenty of family problems.

This book did feel different than the others. Sex took more of a front seat in the story, and there was much more sexual tension and talk about sex than the previous books. It was part of the story line so I thought it made sense that sex played more of a role. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it either.

This story was a real page turner; I stayed up all night reading it. Read the whole series, and then read Promise Me This. Let me know what you think!

Promise Me This on Goodreads

Wild by Sophie Jordan ♥♥♥♥.5

Wild by Sophie Jordan is the last book in the Ivy Chronicles series. It may also be my favorite in the series, so I’m a bit sad to see them end. I’m hoping for more awesome new adult books from Sophie Jordan in the future. I should start with a reminder that even though we get three different stories throughout the series, there are spoilers for the first two books if you haven’t read those first, so they should be read in order.

Wild tells Georgia’s story. She’s known in the friend group as the predictable one. When her boyfriend of four years breaks up with her because he feels she is boring, Georgia decides to spend the summer exploring her wild side. Logan is willing to help her with letting go. But Logan is a freshly graduated from high school, too young, and doesn’t fit in with the plans Georgia has for her future. And worst of all, he’s sent the few years sleeping his way through most of the girls at Georgia’s college. She can’t be much different from them, can she?

This was a wonderful story about letting loose, finding love, and learning to be your own person. Logan and Georgia’s relationship is tumultuous, but the hard work is worth it. They kept a lot of secrets from many people, and it was interesting to see a story where someone so young (Logan) help someone older discover who they are. I would say read the whole series, but Wild was definitely my favorite.  Let me know what you think!

Wild on Goodreads 

Harder by Robin York ♥♥♥.75

 

Harder by Robin York is the follow up to Deeper. I’m going to try and keep this fairly free of spoilers, but if you haven’t read Deeper then I would avoid the rest of this review.

At the end of Deeper, West is leaving Caroline to go home and help take care of his sister. West doesn’t plan on seeing Caroline again; he’s not coming back to college. Harder begins with Caroline rushing to West’s side as he deals with a family crisis. He didn’t ask her to be there, and he doesn’t hide it. West is doing everything he can to push Caroline away, but she loves West and isn’t willing to give up on him.

I have very mixed feeling about this story. We get to see so much growth from West and Caroline throughout the story. I was very happy to see the natural way they came into adulthood. And obviously, I really loved these characters. For the most part, they felt like real people.

But I had a difficult time wrapping my head around Caroline’s persistence to stick by West’s side and her willingness to put up with so many awful things in an attempt to get back together with him. It seemed real and believable, but Caroline seemed thoroughly blinded by her love. I kept thinking, “Why does she keep doing this to herself?”

The sex scenes were also a bit explicit. Something I also felt in the first book. It wasn’t really about what was happening, but rather the language used to describe it. As opposed to the making it feel as if two people were really being brought together is a display of love, it felt more that it was about the action itself. I didn’t really like that, and I was glad there weren’t that many sex scenes.

The book has a great story, which trumps the things I didn’t enjoy as much. I would say read the story, but know that you are getting yourself into one of the most raw and gritty romance stories (that I have ever read). Enjoy, and let me know what you think!  

Harder on Goodreads

Draw Me In by Regina Cole ♥♥♥.25

Draw Me In by Regina Cole is a book I found while browsing NetGalley. There were some things I loved about this story, and some not so much.

Draw Me In tells the story of Hailey and Neill. Hailey is having trouble with school and her family. She desperately needs a job, and she finds one at a tattoo parlor. She meets Neill, who also happens to be her new boss. They’re attracted to each other, but Neill has a past that is holding him back from letting Hailey in.

Let’s start with the things I didn’t enjoy; then we can end on a good note! We got the story from the point of view of both Neill and Hailey. It would have been better to have to the story told from one character, preferably Hailey. The point of view changes made the timeline of the story more difficult to follow. And it was more difficult getting to know the characters. There were also much less surprises.

But I did enjoy the characters; they seemed really genuine, like people you might know. Also I liked the premise of the story. The plot was great, and what can I say, I’m a sucker for those tattooed boys.

I would recommend giving it a go. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Draw Me In on Goodreads