Love Me Not by Reese Ryan - Review and Giveaway

Title: Love Me Not
Author: Reese Ryan
Release date: December 30th, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tour: Irresistible Reads Book Tours

SYNOPSIS:

 Abandoned by a mother who chose drugs over her, Jamie Charles barely got out of her own addiction alive. Now, she pours her pain into her art while pouring drinks at a local bar. To Jamie, love is a four-letter word—until she meets Miles, a charming ad exec with piercing blue eyes who makes no secret about his desire for her.

Miles Copeland has family demons of his own, but his unhappy upbringing drove him toward hard work and success. He's determined to win Jamie over, and when he finally does, it's worth every moment he spent waiting. But when he confesses that he's falling for her, she panics. Sex is one thing, but love requires more than she can give.

Jamie can't deny her feelings, but she's haunted by her past. Miles knows his heart, but Jamie's lingering doubts have him questioning their future. It might take the threat of losing him forever for her to realize that refusing to let love in is the worst mistake of all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Reese Ryan writes sexy, contemporary romance featuring a multicultural cast of flawed, but lovable
characters. She secretly enjoys torturing her heroines with family and career drama, reformed bad boys, revealed secrets, and the occasional identity crisis, but always rewards them with supportive girlfriends and a happily ever after.

An avid reader, Reese's to-be-read stack resembles a small skyscraper. She adores brilliant singer/songwriters, and has an incurable addiction to musicals and movie soundtracks. She is a lifelong Midwesterner currently residing in Central North Carolina with her husband and young adult son who tolerate her propensity to sing and dance badly.

Official Website: www.ReeseRyan.com             Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReeseRyanWrites

MY THOUGHTS:

4 out of 5 stars.

Love Me Not is the second book in the Bad Boys Gone Good series.  You can find my review of the first book, Making the First Move, here.

Jamie Charles is one tough cookie.  Abandoned by both of her parents, a drug and alcohol-riddled past and a slew of purely physical relationships have allowed her to "survive".  And that is all she does.  She survives.  Living without emotion is safe and easy - nobody gets hurt.

Until somebody DOES get hurt when Jamie crashes her car into a minivan after a night of drinking.  

Realizing that she is cruising down a path of self-destruction, Jamie gives up the drugs and tries to tone down her lifestyle a bit and grow-up.  Still, nobody gets past the solid brick fortress she has built around herself over time.  Not her adoptive family, not her oldest friend, not her co-worker.

Certainly not a customer that happens to walk into the bar while she works.

Nope, definitely not the extremely good looking single man, with the black BMW and affluent upbringing.  Nope.  Not him.  Not Miles.

Miles Copeland is in Cleveland on business.  Desperate to prove to his estranged father that he can make it without him, he is career driven to the point of obsession.  Until the night he walks into a bar and meets his match.

Two people...two walls...that both slowly start tumbling down.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Jamie and Miles.  I make no secret that I am not a fan of the sappy syrupy love story and this book gives you so much more.  These two though, gah...the layers!  They had the perfect balance of wit, humor, and tenderness that made me believe in them.  

I could totally understand Jamie's need to separate herself from anything that might hurt...the girl has had a tough life and who wouldn't want to keep the pain from happening again, no matter what it cost.  And Miles...as a self-acknowledged fixer in my own right, there was much nodding and silent agreeing at his need to show Jamie that love, that feeling, that trusting another person is worth the risk.  

What they don't realize is that his determination and her brutal honestly are exactly what the other one needs and what begins as a spark begins to burn brightly.

Just a few things I feel like I need to note...while this book is the second in the series, it actually takes place a bit before the first book.  There is a bit of overlap in the end, but not much.  Not realizing this when I started reading, I was a bit confused as to why a character in the first book was not where we left her when her story ended :) but after figuring out the timing of Love Me Not, it was smooth sailing.

Also, there are mentions of drug abuse and sexual abuse that may cause triggers in some readers, however these situations are part of the characters' past and are important in understanding why they act as they do.  Ms Ryan writes theses moments with respect and with care.

Love Me Not is a solid second book in a series that I look forward to following.  If you are looking for a Contemporary Romance that will keep you warm during these cold winter days, you can't go wrong with Jamie, Miles, and their story.  

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