Ms. Young is quickly catching up to my all time favorite author, Ms. Ashley! This book was a great read for me! I wouldn't call the ending a cliff hanger but all is not resolved in this book.....there will be a second. I thought it was a sweet romance with just a bit of angst thrown in. I enjoyed the secondary characters and their stories also. ( )

Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this book. Everything in this book is a little blah when I compare it to the other New Adult reads that I have read in the past year. Jake isn't really a "bad boy"--yes, he's a bit of a player but there are "badder" boys out there, that's for sure! And Charley is just pain boring. She is the typical "not overly pretty" heroine that every boy is in love with and they only bother trying to make a move on her once she is with someone else. I don't know why they like her other than her looks--she doesn't exactly have a winning personality to me. I actually was more interested in Charley's BFF Claudia and would love to read more about her story.

As for the plot, I found it predictable and--not surprisingly--dull given my impression of the two main characters. While I liked trying to figure of the mystery of the "incident" by having the flashbacks to the past: it just wasn't enough for me to be overly impressed with this book. The plot is also slow which I found frustrating considering I knew where it was going to go the whole time--at times I just wished it would get to the point already. I enjoy a touch of drama in my novels and this didn't have a lot going on--I felt like the book never really climaxed. I think if we had an alternating perspective between Jake and Charley I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

It is also important to note that Charley and Jake's story doesn't end within this novel, but continues in the sequel [b:Out in the Shallows] which explains why nothing really climaxed in this novel.

Overall: This book is slow in my opinion but if you enjoy reading about reunited loves who are trying to find themselves as they navigate their relationship, this is probably one for you. A nice jump into the New Adult genre without the (often) over the top drama usually found in the genre and not as sexy-time focused either. So if you enjoy high drama, bad boys or characters touched by tragedy--avoid this series and pick something else up!

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESous Book Reviews as well as read book series recaps!
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Exactly what I needed..
Samantha Young did it again.. She took me to places I haven't been in a while and got me out of my recent Book Funk I have been in since reading Stepbrother Dearest. I absolutely adored all the characters in this book and although I was rooting for Jake and Charley. I was one of those silent cheerleaders for other characters in the book. I am so mad at the ending though but I guess it will draw me in to read the next one in the series.

Brilliant. ( )

The only thing that sucked about this book, is that it was not a stand alone as most of Samantha's books are! I was floored to get to the end and found out it was continued and not out till April 2014 ( )

Nobody write a contemporary romance like Samantha Young. ( )