Be With Me by J Lynn

Be With Me by J Lynn    
Release Date - February 4, 2014
Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 384 pages
My Rating - 3.5/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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…

It's official. I think I love this whole New Adult thing. Capturing the seductive nature of New Adult, and blending it with her completely addictive writing, Jennifer Armentrout had me flying through the pages of Be With Me.

The first novel in this series, Wait for You, had me excited to read Teresa's story. While I liked Avery, I ended up loving Teresa. Teresa is instantly sympathetic. Part of this novel's charm is that we feel like we already know Teresa because we're introduced to her previously. We know her baggage, and her secrets. The pre-awareness made her seem like a friend already, and it was easy to become immersed into her story.

These books only work if you care about what happens to these characters, and the author does more than make you care. You come to love these characters. You want Teresa's story to have a happy ending. You want Jase to work through his issues and stop pushing her away. The potential for this happy ending is what makes you fly through these pages. These characters resonate, and it pulls you in effortlessly.

It goes without saying that the romance in this novel is sizzling hot. Jase and Teresa have scorching chemistry, and there is just enough hot and cold to tantalize without being aggravating. The support, and genuine friendship that is built between them may have been my favourite aspect of their relationship. They are friends first and foremost. Having this strong foundation only made their chemistry more rich, and those hot scenes even more meaningful.

The issue of domestic violence and violence against women was presented with just the right balance. The harsh realities were accompanied by some wonderful insights in why someone would stay in this type of relationship. Teresa's shame, while heartbreaking, rang all too real. The stark reminder of what these relationships can lead to was jarring, but unflinchingly, brutally honest. I wish we had spent a little more time on this aspect of the story, even if it would have meant a slightly different book.

After dealing with violence against women in such a straight forward, and fairly realistic feeling manner, the ending veers away from this approach. I was a little disappointed because everything else was so wonderfully done. It's a minor thing, that some may not even notice, but I feel it did lessen the impact of the message as a result.

Be With Me is yet another engrossing New Adult novel from Jennifer Armentrout. The mixture of actual plot and character growth along with the sexiness New Adult is known for, creates a perfectly engrossing read. If you want your New Adult with substances and swoon worthy guys, this series certainly delivers.