Review: Be With Me by J. Lynn

Be with Me | J. Lynn
Publication Date: February 4th 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary
Owned, Kindle edition, 365 pages

Synopsis:
Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year - she's in love wit 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.

My Review: ★★★★☆

"That's the thing about death that makes it useful. Death was always a reminder to the living to live - to live in the present and to look forward to the future."

Ever since I read Wait for You (Cam and Avery were my favorite OTP) and it instantly became one of my favorite reads last year, I've been eager to continue the series about the story of Jase and Tess. As expected, this book was another guilty pleasure, it especially helped when you were in a reading slump, because everything just effortlessly clicked the moment you started the first line of the story, and you would have been swept away, traveled along with them.

Just like the first book, this one was angst and emotionally driven, but with so many predictable twists and turns. Yes, you heard me right, predictable. The story line was somewhat cliche, almost all characters involved had their own emotional baggage, and when their secrets slowly unfolded, the entire book was overall dramatic - fulled with eventful scenes and heartbreaking revelations that sometimes you had to halt the reading because you could hardly breathe.

One of the aspects I absolutely adored in this book was the occasional appearances of Cam and Avery, they always uplifted the scenes to be even more lovey dovey, and further strengthened my obsessive belief that Cam was the perfect boyfriend material. Although Jase was less competitive with Cam constantly claiming the spotlight, he had his own charisma - protective, considerate and cupcake-ish sweet, which had frequently sent his chemistry with Tess off the charts. However, his hot and cold persona, the tendency to keep Tessa at arm's length even after kissing her slightly annoyed me, but he gradually compensated throughout the book, and everything was once again irresistibly swoon-worthy.  

Tess, on the other hand, was admirably brave and tough. A series of unfortunate screwed her over, but all of these had only made her stronger - like a life fighter. Her resilience and tenacity might be a little bit unrealistic, yet it did not affect my positive opinion on her any less.

Despite being overloaded with conflicts, the book was undeniably a captivating page turner. Even though the plot was predictable, the never-ending intensity often made my heart skip a beat and I had miserably failed to put the book down. I guess that is the true beauty of J. Lynn's writing, and I'm definitely going to dwell in her other books soon!
  

Perfect for this book:

Well, I'm not sure what this is gonna be

But with my eyes closed all I see

Is the skyline, through the window

The moon above you and the streets below

Hold my breath as you're moving in

Taste your lips and feel your skin

When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly

With love,