Pillowtalk by Cassie Mae | ARC Review

Pillowtalk by Cassie Mae

First Published: 2017

I received an arc from NetgGlley in exchange for my honest review! 

Adult, Romance
Rating:

Re-Readability:

In this heartfelt romance from the author of the All About Love series, two people who thought they’d given up on passion turn to each other for emotional support—and maybe something a little more physical.
Kennedy Walters has had a tough year. Now she’s come to the lakeside town of Lyra Valley to finally say goodbye to the memory of her first love. But while she’s staying at his sister’s B&B, Kennedy is shocked to find herself undeniably drawn to a handsome local heartthrob—especially since she isn’t sure if she’s ready to move on.
Aaron Sheppard returned to Lyra Valley because he was fed up with the big city and everything it didn’t have to offer—like the beautiful, down-to-earth girl staying at the B&B. Aaron’s enjoying a little flirtation until he realizes that she’s Kennedy Walters, the girl who was dating his best friend. But after a power outage strands them together, Aaron and Kennedy wind up sharing some intimate conversation. And over the course of a night that neither will ever forget, they learn just how compatible they could be—if only they knew how to let go and fall into each other’s arms.

If you're looking for a simply sweet romantic story about love and loss and love again, this one is for you. Cassie Mae is a master at crafting lovely love stories that can warm your heart and make you smile, without having to relay on drama to carry the story along.

In this one, she delves into the realities of prematurely losing a loved one and coming to terms with the fact that you are allowed to feel joy and love again. That moving on does not mean forgetting, nor does it negates the love you felt for that person.

And she shows this dilemma, this inner conflict very well through both our heroine and our hero.

Sweet, gentle Kennedy has just lost Jared a year ago, but his death feels as fresh today as it felt the day he passed and the silence that accompanies her whenever she attempts to talk to him a stark reminder of her loneliness.

Quiet, thoughtful Aaron has lost Jared years before his actual passing, but his pain--and guilt-- is just as strong as Kennedy's, if not stronger. His fallout with Jared and his inability to breach the gap before his passing haunts him. Their lost friendship and the lost chances were heartbreaking to read off.

These two people, haunted by the same person, meet at his hometown and in a course of a week come together, find solace and a sense of peace within each other. But they shouldn't, should they? Not with Jared's ghost hanging around them.

Cassie Mae does a really good job in making you forget these people only know each other for a week because she spends so much time letting us sink into their conversations and their meet ups. She deftly crafts this relationship, this falling in love, through conversations and looks and smiles, that make you feel as if it has been much longer. When the characters themselves wonder at the short while they've known each other, I was shocked to realize it hadn't been months.

That being said, I didn't connect to this one as much as I normally do with Mae's stories, because of my personal belief system and by no fault of this novel, because I truly believe this novel will connect to and move many a heart.

But while I definitely bought Aaron and Kennedy's romance, I didn't buy quite as easily their healing process. I felt like these people have hurt for so long, and their love for Jared was so alive, that their actual healing came much too fast for me. On a personal level, this is something I don't believe. I think it's a much longer process, and I always struggle with love being shown as this magic cure.

But this is, again, such a personal matter, and I highly recommend reading this novel or any other novel by Mae (Reasons I Fell For the Funny Fat Friend and Doing It For Love my current faves) to experience the joy her writings can bring.

ARC Book Review: Call Me, Maybe by Ellie Cahill

Call Me, Maybe by Ellie Cahill

N/A
First Published: 2016
E-Arc
New Adult, Romance
Rating:

Clementine Daly knows she’s the black sheep. Her wealthy, powerful family has watched her very closely since she almostgot caught in an embarrassing scandal a few years ago. So when Clementine’s sent on a mission to live up to the Daly name, politely declining isn’t even an option. Of course, the last thing Clementine does before departure is grab a stranger’s phone by mistake—leaving the hunky journalist with her phone. Soon his sexy voice is on the line, but he doesn’t know her real name, or her famous pedigree—which is just the way Clementine likes it.
Despite all the hassles, Justin Mueller is intrigued to realize that the beautiful brown-eyed girl he met at the airport is suddenly at his fingertips. They agree to exchange phones when they’re both back in town, but after a week of flirty texts and wonderfully intimate conversations, Justin doesn’t want to let her go that easy. The only problem? It turns out that Clemetine has been lying to him about, well, everything. Except for the one thing two people can’t fake, the only thing that matters: The heat between them is for real.

I received an arc from Loveswept via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion! 

Call Me, Maybe is a story of two people falling in love, in a manner that makes you think maybe there is such a thing as fate and maybe one day it will conspire against you to bring your soulmate to your doorstep (or make your brother accidentally steal his phone, whateves).

It took maybe two chapters for me to fall completely in love with the characters and the setting, and by the half point of the story I was feeling slightly in love myself. Which, really, is the best indication of how good of a love story this was.

Clementine Daly is the youngest daughter of the cream of the crop on the outside. Inside, she's a lover of all things bookish, a distinguished book blogger and a somewhat lost soul. She has no idea "what she wants to do with her life". She finds it difficult to trust others. She doesn't know how to bridge what she loves with what her family expects of her. 

So starting to talk with the man who has her phone after an unfortunate phone-switch is out of her comfort zone. And yet, because of Justin's personality, wit and humor, she slips into it with scary easiness. Something that easy has to have a catch somewhere, right?

Reading of these two talking and starting to date was delightful, because we watched as they fell in love. You see it; all the small moments, the small conversations, the moments they go "ah, this person gets me". It was beautiful. Even through their sexual intimacy, every new scene like that brought something new about the both of them.

And can I just say... this book was hot without ever going explicit? Kudos to that! 

The only thing I kind of wish was that there had been more time until the "L" word. We do watch them fall in love, but at the end of the day (as they mention themselves), it's been two weeks. Two, measly weeks. Give them a little more time. Give me more of those wonderful falling-in-love moments. 

As a side note: I was disappointed at how Clem's other troubles were brushed under the table. She is scared to death to tell her grandparents about everything, but at the end of the day we never really get to see a satisfying conclusion to it. It felt like this was added just in order to give some weight to Clem's anxiety and not for any other reason. 

But, aside for these, it was a great romantic read. I greatly recommend this to anyone who needs to lighten their mood and make their heart a little warmer.