Take Me Now

by Faith Sullivan

[Cocktails and Books]

This being my first Faith Sullivan book, I was intrigued by the blurb for the story and taken in by the cover (I am one who falls for a good cover). But after finishing TAKE ME NOW, I'm glad I picked this one up.

Eric and Ivy were two people, who by themselves, I was drawn to as a reader and wanted them to find a way to be happy. But put the two of them together and the sparks, both emotional and sexual, were practically leaping off the page. While they ma have had an instant attraction to each other, it was the emotional level in which these two connected that had me furiously flipping pages to find out what would happen next.

Eric is a character you can't help but fall in love with. He's an emotionally devastated man who was barely making it day by day. His torment was between betraying the one his lost and following what he feels for Ivy seemed to have a life of it's own. You can feel it and see it as you read each chapter told in his point of view. As a reader, I wanted Eric to be able to let go of the past and grab onto what he saw with Ivy with two hands. But you could also understand his guilt and why he would pull away from her.

Ivy wasn't quite as complex as Eric, but she was a character with a huge heart who was looking for someone who could like/love her for who she was. Her crush on Will always left her feeling as if she wasn't good enough. She had her best friend Ryan, but she soon discovers he's not who she thought he was either. Her one female friend, Sophie, was a little self absorbed and wasn't someone Ivy could count on. There was much mention of Ivy's family, so you have to believe this poor girl is all by herself. It's no wonder she was immediately taken by the man who came running to her rescue after her car ran out of gas. But Eric also made Ivy feel beautiful and cherished, something she's never had before.

I really enjoyed this one. It was full of angst and emotional drama. Some of the secondary characters were a bit too much, they didn't take away from the story or Eric and Ivy. There is a somewhat HEA to end of this story, but there is a continuation to Eric and Ivy's story in MEANT FOR ME (slated for December 2013).