Lovin' los libros

Welcome to my stop on the Only For You blog tour hosted by Literati Author Services, Inc!

Today I am excited to share my review as well as a giveaway with you all!

 

 

My Review:

 

I had not heard of this book until I saw a few of my fellow #GwB girls had received this for review from Genna. After hearing them rave about how much they liked it, I knew I had to give it a try! The opportunity presented itself a few days later when I saw Literati Author Services was doing a tour for it! I immediately jumped on board because I had to see for myself why my friends were going crazy over this book. I was immediately pulled into the story and I really like that it had a more serious undertone to it than most of the NA books I read.

 

This is so much more than a romance. In fact, Rulon has created a very scary, very realistic story that could potentially happen anywhere and that is what made it all the more chilling. I feel she did a very good job of blending the main character's romance with the mystery surrounding the attacks and assaults happening on the Hensley campus.

 

I liked our main character Everleigh. She is smart, has a good head on her shoulders, and a good friend to others. She is sarcastic and witty and her ongoing banter with her self-defense instructor/colleague Hunter Charles was one of my favorite parts to the story. Hunter and Ev do not start on the greatest of terms as she really lets her mouth run away from her in a serious environment. The danger to women at Hensley is very real and she knows that, but in trying to lighten the mood, she ends up on the receiving end of Hunter's no-nonsense attitude. I wasn't sure what to make of Hunter. He was a difficult character to get a read on. I liked him for the most part, but I didn't fall in love with him. I think part of it had to do with how Hunter came across, and while I understand why he came across as he did, it actually ended up dampening the flames for him.

 

I found myself frustrated with Hunter and Ev's relationship for the majority of the book. These two end up building a beautiful friendship that most people would die to have in their life, and I think that friendship was critical to the development of the story. However, as we are reading from Ev's point of view, it was frustrating because she clearly feels more for him than friendship. Some of the other characters noted that Hunter wanted her too, but I as a reader couldn't see that coming from him. I would have liked to have seen his POV thrown in to help me see that tension, that need for her from him. We do start to see his feelings change for her later on and he tries to impress upon her that nothing could happen between them at this time. However, he can't just let go of their friendship and keeping her safe is a huge priority for him. Even though Hunter was up front about his intentions, he still can't help but give in to temptation. I was proud of Everleigh for telling him what was up and that he couldn't continue to jerk her around.

 

We have some great secondary characters in this story as well. I loved Sam, Ev's best friend. She is a sweet, good friend and I love that their friendship has grown over the years. Sam undergoes ALOT in this book and I felt so much for her. I am really nervous to read the next book in the series, as it is about her and I know I am going to be an emotional wreck because of all that Sam endured in this one. Griffin is a bartender at the popular bar Sam, Ev, and crew hang out at, and he ends up being a real friend to Ev. He's really sweet and a good guy who would fight if a woman's honor is disrespected. He has a crush on Sam and while it doesn't escalate in this book, we will be seeing more of him in the next one.

 

I found myself completely engaged in the novel. I had my suspicions of who was behind the attacks, but Rulon still kept me interested and invested in what would happen to our main characters. Overall, this was a great read, despite a few minor issues with the characters and I did struggle a bit to get through some of the dialogue, as it could be overly descriptive at times. I do recommend this to my fellow NA lovers and I am excited to start Sam's story next!

 

 

 

 

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