Rashika, The Book Owl

***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

I have absolutely no idea where to start reviewing this book. I have only 7 sentences worth of notes because I was too busy inhaling the book in one go to take any. So I’ll start by saying this: if you’re a fan and you're reading this book because you love everything Sarah has written (kind of like me), don’t go in expecting it to be like her other works. It won’t be. I mean we all know Sarah is talented when it comes to writing hot romances, but aside from that, this book is definitely different compared to her other works and not only because it’s an NA.I’d definitely say it’s a lot more intense and oh! does it play with your emotions.

Sarah lets you know right off the bat something awful is going to happen. She gives you a warning that she is going to tear your heart out and even though I spent a whole day prepping myself for the event (I mean I knew what was going to happen because I am psychic so it was worse for me in some ways), I couldn’t have prepared myself for that blow. So my number one advice for anyone planning on reading this book is to have something chocolatey on hand and a nice chick flick to watch afterwards. In fact, the day I finished this book,  watched 4 chick flicks one after another because I really needed something to help me get out of the funk. I guess it was worse in my case because I had just finished another sad book, but my best advice is to do all that you possibly can to cushion the blow.

Advice from the fabulous Rashika (talking about myself in 3rd person is fun) aside, this book was fantastic and while I really, really wish that event hadn’t occurred, I wouldn’t take back this reading experience. Sarah really nailed NA, not that I ever had any doubts, but she did. She met my expectations and went beyond in some ways. She gave us a heart-felt romance and tons of steamy scenes.

Jessa, I’ll admit is not the best or the most unique female lead out there, but she works - in a way you wouldn’t expect at times. She has dreams and aspirations which all get trampled down by her father who is most likely suffering from PTSD and she seems to be leading this life of pretense where she is not free to be who she wants to be. With Kit though, she has that freedom.

Kit wins the show. He is just so swoon-worthy and it doesn’t even surprise me anymore. Sarah seems to be very good at writing extremely swoon-worthy males. I don’t even know where to begin talking about him, though. For starters, he cooks.HE COOKS. HE BAKES, TOO! I mean, that would have been enough for me, but he is also the sweetest. He is understanding of Jessa and never pushes her to do something she wouldn’t be comfortable doing. He also takes it upon himself to give Jessa the breathing room she desperately needs and provides an escape from her tensed household. He takes her on adventures and gives her freedom to be herself.

Their romance is just the sweetest; it’s the right balance of steam and moments that put a smile on your face. They have their ups and downs (and believe me when I say the downs get bad), but they find their way back to each other and it’s worth it in the end. It’s worth it to see them stand up for their relationship because no relationship will be perfect and theirs isn’t, either.

I have no idea how to even start talking about the moment. The moment when everything changed. I guess one of the reasons I was so heartbroken was because I was completely unprepared for it. I was looking forward to reading a happy summer romance book… and it wasn’t that. It isn’t just a summer romance, there is so much more to it than that. The ability this book has to rip your heart out, I cannot even put it into words. Sarah writes some of the scenes so well that you feel like you’re right in there with the characters, in that shell shocked situation not wanting to believe that it’s true, but it is and you all know it is.

There is also an interesting dynamic between Jessa and Kit’s families, and while I am not sure how I feel about the said dynamic, I was glad to see the resolution.

Although far from perfect, Come Back to Me is definitely a New Adult novel to watch out for, and I desperately hope that Sarah Alderson (aka Mila Gray) will write another NA, albeit one that won't rip out my heart to shreds like this one did.