Be With Me
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Wait for You #2
Published on February 4, 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wait for You
Do Teresa and Jase have a real shot at getting together or will life get in the way?
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, life-changing kiss. Then she got out of a terrible relationship. Now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It's time for plan B: college. And maybe she'll have 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 is kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.
As they're thrown together more and more, Jase and Teresa 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. . . .
Wait for You was one of my top reads last year, so needless to say, I was excited to read Be with Me. While Lynn’s new book certainly didn’t disappoint, I have to be honest and say it was not nearly as enticing as Wait for You. That said I am still a huge fan and was happy that I took the time to read and enjoy it.
This book tells the story of Teresa Hamilton, the younger sister of Wait for You’s leading man, Cam. A year ago she shared a steamy, crush-inducing kiss with Cam’s best friend, Jase, solidifying her feelings for this older boy. Unfortunately for her, Teresa’s dreams and life drastically change over the course of several years leaving her on a different path than she originally chose; she finds herself enrolled at the college her brother attends. At first, I thought Teresa was going to be a whiny, annoying character, but I found that I liked her because she didn’t let the craptastic cards she’s been dealt let her down…well not too much.
Jase Winstead is the typical college senior frat boy we all know and love, right? He’s hot, strong, and corny in all the right ways, plus he’s sweet. However, Jase is also dealing with a whole lotta baggage and drama from his past. His drama is so OBVIOUS from page one that I was worried it would be painstakingly annoying throughout the book, but thankfully J. Lynn does not let that drama linger too long. I do like Jase. When he’s on, he’s on. He has the potential to totally be book boyfriend material, seriously swoon worthy and in many aspects he doesn’t disappoint. But, just when I’m falling head over heels in love with him, he acts like a douche and I want to throttle him. There was one point in the story I wanted to reach into my eReader and grab him by his balls and tell him to man up!
In every good book there’s a twist, or several, and I’m still thinking about the main twist in this one. It’s not really a twist, but more like a WAIT -WHAT DID I JUST READ moment. I was a bit surprised about a particular turn in the book with a secondary character. I’m still not sure I like it, but it did its job by completely taking me by surprise. While the twist was good, I was a bit disappointed about the back and forth declarations of love that eventually fell through. I felt like I experienced emotional whiplash that detracted from the story. I wanted just a few more hearts and flowers moments when the characters were, in fact, a couple.
I love when the characters in a book have a thing together… you know, a special little ritual or gift that only those two understand, like an inside joke only they get. In this book, it’s cupcakes. I’ve always loved cupcakes and now each time I think of cupcakes, I will smile and think of Jase and Tess. In addition to the cupcakes, I just wish there were a few more secret glances or little tidbits of love that added to their evolving romance.
I loved escaping in this story. I enjoyed every moment I got to block out my own reality and had the chance to focus on these likeable characters. J. Lynn is a master new adult storyteller, one who rocks the end of each chapter and hooks you into reading the next. She remains on the top of my favorite NA authors.
4 stars! This is a perfect read for an escape.
Lisa
I just finished this book today and man I loved! I agree that my I loved Cam & Avery’s story more. In fact I am so tempted to do a re-read I loved it so much. This was a worthy book for the series and I cannot wait for more by Lynn!
Jessica
This sounds like a great book, I love a good kiss and a romance with a twist…. Sounds like I should try this one!