Thursday 18 April 2013

For you by Mimi Strong

Reviewed by Dawn & Donna

What Dawn says: 3.5 stars

First off thanks to Mimi and her team for giving our blog this ARC. 

I really enjoyed this book it pretty much had it all. 
I laughed (a lot), I got scared, i got annoyed and I got hot under the collar.  I was worried at a few points with my heart racing and reading as quick as I could to make sure it was all ok. Then I finished and I felt all warm and fuzzy and I had a smile on my face like when you see a kitten or a puppy!! 
 
Aubrey (with a B!!) is running from her past and spinning a web of lies that she's loosing track of and but not everyone believes her. She's getting her life back on track with a job in her uncles bar, a new apartment and has got to know her grandparents. Bell her daughter/sister is at school and made a friend.  It's all going well for her. 
Trusting and loving again are two things Aubrey said she'd never do again. 
Then in walks Sawyer, and OMG he's hot!! A good looking, charming, cute, funny guy with crazy tattoos and he woos her. But not in an over baring I'm-all-that way he's sweet to her and does nice things. He's an artist, with a Harley, a musician, a sex god and he falls hard for Aubrey but a previous a bad relationship has left him a little scarred.
Here's a taster of what he says to her; 
 
"You were a gutted, wallowing candle."
"What?"
"That was my first impression of you, Aubrey. A wick drowning in melted wax, your flame in     danger. Just one more gust of wind and you'd be lost. You'd become that lost girl, sad through and through."
 
He tries to give her the space she needs, not that he has much choice as she pushes him away and keeps running from him. But he doesn't want a part-time relationship he wants her all. 
 
Then he does something that's just SWOON, she pushes her doubts away and gives them ago. She even trusts him with her past and let's him into Bell's life. When they are together it's Hot and there's Maple Syrup!!!! 
 
They still have a few hurdles to get over. And that's where my heart was pounding.  But together they get there and the end is great.
I really love a HEA. 
 
Another fave quote from the book is; 
 
      "Sawyer I believe you, and not just because I want to, but because... because you're Sawyer. 
      You're so cute, and so good to me, and patient, and oh-my-god you look good with you're shirt off. 
      And the way you're looking at me right now, you're killing me. Look at me, I can barely breathe. 
      I feel like my lungs and heart are going to crush themselves with excitement, 
      so would you stop looking at me like that and just kiss me again before I die."
 
      "Only if you take off your panties." 

I've read there will be another book and I look forward to it. But if it didn't happen I'd be happy with it being a stand alone. 
 
P.s. I would also like to tell you that just after I had finished it my daughter asked for Maple Syrup on her ice-cream and I couldn't look her in the eye!! I even sent the other girls a photo!! 
 
What Donna says: 3.5 - 4 Stars
 
Thanks to Mimi Strong for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Aubrey was broken, scared and running away, she had had a hard life and she did the only thing she could think of at the time and ran, but she did not do it alone she had no alternative but to take her little sister with her. Their mother deserted them, she had her misguided reasons but none strong enough to do what she did, the back story is revealed slowly during the book and we finally get to see why Aubrey is running. Aubrey and Bell pack up and leave and Aubrey does not know what to do, so she has vague recollections of her mothers family and decides to seek them out. They end up with her grandparents and uncle. They set them up in a little flat as she wants to be independent and works for her uncle at his bar. She wears a wedding ring so that no questions are asked and Bell calls her mum. She gets Bell settled in school and between her, her uncle and her grandmother Bell is always taken care of.
Aubrey protects herself the only way she knows, she is abrupt, sad, never smiles and keeps herself to herself, she only goes to the bar to work, the shops for food and the school for Bell. The more inconspicuous they are the less likely they are to be found, after all she does not have official custody of Bell and she is frightened that if they are discovered Bell will be taken away and that she will end up in prison. What secret is she hiding……
Sawyer is a patron of the bar and Aubrey intrigues him, he is a tattooed biker, come artist, come musician, come sex god, owns a Harley, is amazingly cute (are you getting the message lol)…he does what he wants to do and never lets life get on top of him. He always sits in the bar with his sketch pad and just draws, Aubrey seems to be his muse, she inspires him and he has feelings for her that he has never felt before especially not since his only other serious relationship had left him emotionally scarred. Sawyer tries to befriend Aubrey and after much persuasion they eventually become friends. He takes her out a few times, shows her his art and eventually they become boyfriend and girlfriend slowly but surely they open up to each other, but Aubrey still has secrets.
 
Eventually, Aubrey lets Sawyer in completely, tells him her secrets and lets him into Bells life too, but as is the norm life does not run smoothly. There are ups and downs, misunderstandings, a run in with law enforcement. There are also some fab scenes too between the two, especially with maple syrup! How could you not love a guy that says:-
You take off that pretend ring and get yourself a real man. You tell him to put his head between your legs and don’t come up ‘til you’re howling his name loud enough to get all the dogs in the neighbourhood barking” 
It is a lovely story, told extremely well, the drama of the back story levels the romance side so you get a well balanced read. I could not put this book down, I had to know what happened between them and I had to know what the secret was that she had been hiding and I was pleased that it was not revealed till near the end. 
This book does have a HEA and could be a standalone although I do think another book maybe in the pipeline, I would be very happy to read more about their life going forward. A fab book!!

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