Review: Be With Me by J. Lynn

Be With Me by J. Lynn

Series: Wait For You #2

Publication date: February 4th, 2014

Pages: 365

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year--she's in love with her big brother's best friend, but he hasn't spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It's time for Plan B--college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he's not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend's incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn't have time for a relationship. But it doesn't help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they're thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can't keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they're willing to risk to be together, and what they're willing to lose if they're not...

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Review:

I received an ARC of this book from the publishers for participation in a blog tour and in exchange for an honest review.

I read Wait For You, the first installment in this series, and fell in love with the characters. I am not ashamed to admit that most of the reason I wanted to read this book was to see what happened to Cam and Avery from the first book. I hadn't really known much about Jase and Teresa from the first book, so I was just so-so about reading about them. I was hoping I would come to like them as much as I did the first set of characters.

Teresa has suffered an injury to her knee that has forced her into a break from professional dancing. Struggling to find something to do with her time and keep her mind active, she decides to return to college. But not just any college. The college her brother and his sinfully sexy best friend, Jase, attends. She has had a crush on Jase for years and after a surprising kiss a year ago she is hoping for a chance to explore that avenue. But Jase seems put off by the fact that she is Cam's sister, so she must continue to nurse her crush in silence. That all changes when the more time they spend together, the more apparent their attraction for each other shows through. Teresa knows that Jase has some sort of baggage but isn't sure what it is or how she can possibly get beyond his built-up walls to possibly find love with him.

Teresa is still dealing with the aftermath of surviving an abusive relationship. She has come through it relatively unscathed. She doesn't blame herself for her ex's vicious behavior, but she does feel a monumental amount of guilt for her situation dragging her brother into the middle and almost ruining his life. As she starts to notice telling signs of her roommate suffering the same type of relationship she had with her ex, Teresa struggles with her decision to speak up or stay silent. With the sociopathic air that surrounds her roommate's boyfriend, speaking up may just get Teresa into an even tougher situation than ever before.

I have a major book author crush on J. Lynn (aka Jennifer L. Armentrout). I love everything she writes. I read Wait For You and absolutely adored it. I was anxious to see what happened next. This book, while not as astonishingly breathtaking as the first one was just as well written and engaging. I loved Teresa's character. She was so incredibly strong and went through so much that I couldn't even imagine having to deal with. She was the type of woman I would admire in reality and found myself almost worshiping with every page turn.

Jase on the other hand, was a bit too hot and cold for me. I know that if he was just gung-ho for their relationship from start to finish it wouldn't make the book heartbreaking (as all New Adult books seem to be), but his constant "you deserve better" and "you don't want to be involved with me and all my baggage" stuff was a bit annoying. I just wanted to shake him and tell him to stop wussing out. It was a vast difference from Cam and Avery where Cam was the one determined to see the relationship through and Avery was the one running away at every turn.

All in all, I did enjoy, Be With Me. I think it was fundamentally next step in the cast for the sequel. I have to wonder who the next book will feature. Ollie, maybe?