Pan Macmillan has graciously provided me
with a complimentary copy of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an
honest review. Thank you!
Come Back to Me
tells the story of a once in a lifetime love.
Jessa has secretly been in love with her brother’s best friend, Kit,
since she was old enough to be interested in boys. Sadly she was never as striking as the kind
of girls Kit seemed to gravitate to, and she made her peace with loving him
from afar; until the summer she turns 18 when a stolen kiss changes everything.
Kit
has never been interested enough in any girl to consider having a serious
relationship, but all that changes when he finally gives in to his feelings for
Riley’s little sister. Kit and Jessa’s secret
relationship comes with a whole lot of complications, including the fact that
Riley would never approve of their relationship, and Jessa’s domineering
father hates Kit with an intensity that terrifies her as much as it baffles her.
A
summer of secret hook-ups brings Jessa to life as Kit brings out the absolute
best in her. In Kit’s arms Jessa
blossoms into a confident young woman, finally finding the strength to stand up
to her father and stand up for what she believes in. The only damper on their otherwise perfect
romance is that lurking in the back of their minds is the fact that they only
have four weeks together until Kit and Riley are redeployed. A year-long separation awaits the new lovers
– a separation they suspect will be hard but bearable. Little could they have guessed how
drastically that separation would tear them apart.
Come
Back to Me is the first new adult book by Sarah Alderson, written under the
pseudonym Mila Gray. It differs from Alderson’s young adult books in the frequency and explicitness of intimate scenes (obviously more on both counts).
What
I loved most about this book is the characters.
Jessa and Kit are both easy to love, and it’s impossible not to root for
their happily-ever-after. They are
wonderful individually and even better together, truly bringing out the best in
each other. I absolutely love the
character development in this book as both Jessa and Kit have a lot to face and
a lot to overcome. The progression of
their relationship is realistic and solid.
It’s clear from the first moment that this is a once in a lifetime, forever-kind-of-love,
and Jessa and Kit are deeply committed to each other from the very start.
Kit
is an absolute gem of a boyfriend. He
brings Jessa to life in a way I’m not sure I’ve experienced in another
book. He helps Jessa find herself,
accept herself and express herself. The
things he does to help her get out from under her father’s thumb are so
practical yet so darn sweet. In turn
Jessa is perfect for Kit. She is the softness he needs in a hard world, the
only person he can completely let down his guard with, knowing she loves him just as he
is. The freedom he finds with Jessa is
unlike any he’s ever known.
Throughout
the book we not only deal with the complications of Kit and Jessa’s
relationship, but the prologue of the book (which is set in the not too distant future) stays in the back of your mind like
a ticking time bomb. The mystery of why
Jessa’s father hates Kit so very much also begs to be solved, making Come Back To Me a complex read about
first love, loss, forgiveness and growth.
Emotionally this is by far deepest book Gray/Alderson has delivered;
emotions range from deliriously happy to completely devastated, ensuring the
reader goes on a roller-coaster of emotions.
As much as you as reader want to convince yourself that Kit and Jessa’s
happily ever after is guaranteed, Gray/Alderson makes it impossible. It is that doubt that drives the reader to
continue turning the pages late into the night.
While Come Back To Me is
not my favourite book by Gray/Alderson (Will anything ever surpass Lila?), I am by
no means disappointed. I expect
Gray/Alderson will be just as successful in the new adult genre as she is in
young adult.
Product information:
Title:
Come Back To Me
Author:
Mila Gray (Sarah Alderson)
Publisher:
Pan Macmillan
Year:
2014
Number
of pages: 352
ASIN: B00KCRMYU0
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