I have enjoyed all of Cecy Robson's O'Brien books, but Feel Me is close to my heart. Melissa, our heroine, is hearing impaired. The nuances of being hearing impaired that she shares in the book are things that I deal with daily. The frustration of hearing aids, the oddness of plunging yourself into a silent world, the daily struggle of communication...Everything Melissa mentioned had me feeling less alone in my personal struggle with hearing loss.
As if that wasn't enough to make me adore Melissa, her job as a victims advocate makes it impossible not to love her. She helps people through the most traumatic event in their life and guides them through the judicial process to help them get justice and closure. It is a very emotionally draining job that most people could never do. And if that isn't enough, her backstory will make you want to hug her tight. She is tough on Declan, but not without reason.
Declan is power hungry. He has been focused on being head DA of homicide, then mayor, and maybe one day, governor. So, when he is assigned as the DA for SACU, he is pissed. But, he has a great deal of respect for Melissa's father, the current DA. But, he and Melissa had a disastrous first meeting and he has been putting his foot in his mouth every time he sees her from then on. But, he is attracted to Melissa. Not his usual type, he finds himself thinking that maybe love isn't a myth.
My struggle with the story was Declan. He has such a painful past that he refuses to believe that love is in the cards for him. This past pain prevents him from really being all in with Melissa. I wanted to shake him! I get that his dad was a jerk who cheated on his mom, but he has 3 siblings who have found real love! He hurts Melissa, even though that wasn't his plan, because he can't get past his hang ups. It was such a dichotomy to Melissa who had spent her life with struggles and kept pushing through. Declan was paralyzed by his own fear of love.
Like all of Robson's books, the characters of Feel Me are complex and dynamic, the emotions are raw and real, and the ending is sweet and heartwarming.
- POV: dual 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: enemies to lovers
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes with wonderful epilogue!
Until Sage by Aurora Rose Reynolds, Jordan Reclaimed by Scarlett Cole, Max by Sawyer Bennett...then you will probably like Feel Me!
See full review on The Book Disciple