Author: K.A. Tucker
Publication Date: August 06, 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Add to: Goodreads / Amazon
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars)
Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.
On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.
Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.
The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.
Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.
I was incredible excited for this book because I love second-chance romance stories. It's the sense of angst, longing, heartache, and anticipation of the ex-lovers getting back together that make stories like this worth the one-sitting read.
Say You Still Love Me made me miss camping a bit. A BIT. I can relate to being in-charge of little kids and them relying on you for guidance. But I won't be getting into that because I want to talk about how this book didn't really met any of my, let's say, expectations.
I said it above, second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. When I read the blurb, I immediately added this to my TBR and I was so happy to get my copy on its release day. However, reading this book didn't give me the second-chance romance feels I was waiting for. I was not entirely fond of the adult versions of Piper and Kyle. I mean, they got aspects of themselves as individuals and as a couple that I do like but only crumbs of it that one can count with one hand. And I didn't feel the same chemistry between them in their present day compared to their Camp Wawa days. I think it's also because of the alternate storytelling of flashbacks to present days.
I'm not a fan of lengthy flashbacks especially when it alternates with the characters' present situations. Why? I don't like it when I'm too deep in one timeline then get thrown to another in the next. I've had issues with this in other books and this one is no exception. I'd really like it if this was focused on the present where there was more of Piper and Kyle rekindling their relationship. It was more romantic to read their moments when they were still campers but I didn't want to get stuck in the past. I want to read Adult, not YA (given how she was 16, he was 17). I want the present. Some flashback scenes just really tend to drag on or get plain irrelevant to the story. And the angst the I was waiting for to feel didn't happen. Instead, awkwardness replaced its place.
There were still a bunch of scenes in the present that made me love this book, hence the rating. Piper's relationship with her family, the long-lasting friendship between the girls who met at camp and are now BFFs living together, heck even her relationship with Gus and Mark was endearing to read. Surprisingly, my heart ached for Eric and Ashley instead for Piper and Kyle. The thing with Eric was a reminder for me that K.A. Tucker can still deliver an emotional punch in her story which I was seriously grateful for. My heart felt heavy but at the same time hopeful.
I may have my issues with this book but the author's writing is still one of my favorites. I just think that the execution of the present story for Piper (most especially her) and Kyle as individuals wasn't done well. Let alone them as lovers.
Sorry to see this one didn’t fully work for you. I typically enjoy dual timelines and I did enjoy this one. I agree that my heart hurt for Eric and Ashley (when he called her Freckles at that scene near the end... my heart!) and in my mind they found a way back together. :) Love your aesthetic board!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tanya! Eric and Ashley's first meeting after 13 years was so bittersweet and it truly broke my heart. And same, I have a feeling they're together in the end. Eric deserves to be happy. Well, they both do.
DeleteI agree in that I expected more from Piper and Kyle once they had rekindled. But I did love reading about their camp days so much! And Eric and Ashley broke my heart in the end ðŸ˜
ReplyDeleteGenesis @ Whispering Chapters
Their camp days were definitely the ones that I found a whole lot sweeter and just more romantic but I felt like I was reading YA. The second-chance romance I was hoping for was overshadowed. And yes, Eric and Ashley's reunion was definitely that got me the most :(
DeleteNice job on the collage. You really captured the mood with that one. You are not the first reader, who was not a fan of the flashbacks, but I liked them. I loved getting to see how they fell in love the first time, as well as watching their second chance unfold.
ReplyDeleteI've heard some similar issues with it from a friend! I am kind of nervous to read it to be perfectly honest. (I need to read more by the author in the future--definitely a goal for the last half of 2019!) Anyways, great review. I hope your next read is a five star!
ReplyDelete