chymerra
Written on Sep 8, 2016
**All opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone. I received Lured In from Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept via NetGalley as an ARC for my honest and unbiased review**
Now onto my review:
This book is way deeper than what the synopsis says. I mean, yeah there is the romance between Finn and Jessie but the backstories (Finn and Jessie’s) were complicated and heartbreaking. Finn was the last one to see his mother before she took off and overheard her soul breaking words “Finn was a mistake”. Keep in mind that he was 7 at the time. Then he took years of physical abuse from his alcoholic father (somewhat tempered by his older brothers’ Liam and Ronan stepping in and taking the abuse for him) did a number on his self-confidence and self-esteem. Jessie holds herself responsible for the drowning death of her older sister….which also happened when she was 7 years old. She then had to deal with parents who stopped being there emotionally available to her. My heart hurt for the both of them.
Jessie was awesome. From facing her fear of water head on, with Finn’s help, to keeping The Buoys running to trying to hide her growing attraction to Finn, she was wonderful to read. She had such a positivity to her that it radiated off the page. I loved it!!
Finn was such a down to earth guy and such a great friend to Jessie. He would do anything for her and when they did make that leap into having a relationship, he waited almost a month before having sex with her. Which was refreshing to read in a romance novel. He was her friend first, lover second.
The romance between the two of them was totally believable. They were friends first who fell into love and did it in such a gradual way that it grew on me. The sex was hot too but not too descriptive and the author did not feel the need to describe everything that they were doing. Which was great because I got to use my imagination.
This was a 2nd book in the series, though, and it did read like one. There were certain sections where I was left scratching my head and going “Huh”. But, I do believe that if I read the first book, I will understand the nuances in this book better. So definitely, not a standalone book.
The ending was what I expected. The twist in it, you could see coming from the middle of the book. It also was a great lead in for the 3rd (Ronan’s) book.
How many stars will I give Lured In? 3.5/4
Why? I would call this a beach book. The plot was good, the characters great (even though Olivia annoyed me…btw, I would love to see a LGBT romance with her) and the romance was satisfying.
Will I recommend? Yes
Will I reread? Yes
Age Range: Adult
Why? Sex and language