Review: Be with Me (Wait for You, #2)

Author: J. Lynn
Series: Wait for You, #2
Published: February 4th 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback, 336 pgs
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository 

Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she’s in love with her big brother’s best friend, but he hasn’t spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It’s time for Plan B – college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he’s not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend’s incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn’t have time for a relationship. But it doesn’t help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they’re thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can’t keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they’re willing to risk to be together, and what they’re willing to lose if they’re not…

When it comes to Jennifer Armentrout, no matter how many times I decide to stay away, I can’t seem to help myself. She is the only one capable of making me pick up a New Adult novel, since it’s a genre I generally work hard to avoid. And what’s more, although I’m fully aware of the flaws in her books, rarely do I regret my decision to read them.

Be with Me is exactly what you’d expect – a New Adult romance filled with sexual tension and angst. We remember from Wait for You that Teresa was in a long and abusive relationship, but until now, we only saw the scars it left on Cam. In Be With Me, we see what that kind of relationship can do to a young girl like Teresa. That’s not to say that Teresa is anyone’s victim anymore. If anything, she’s stronger, braver, more resilient than ever. Her experience with Jeremy wounded her deeply, yes, but it also turned her into a better, more mature person.

The same, however, cannot be said about Jase. He has his own fair share of past traumas and wounds, but he doesn’t handle them nearly as well. The thing I liked most about Cam in the previous book was that he pursued Avery relentlessly. He never once claimed to have changed his mind or tried to fight his attraction to her. Unfortunately, we weren’t as lucky with Jase. He had the whole ‘Ill kiss you, but then I’ll tell you what an awful idea it was’ routine down to a T, and let me tell you, it didn’t take long for it to start getting on my last nerve.

Once again, Armentrout shows her greatest strengths in her very natural dialogues. her familiarity and willingness to use current slang breathes and extra breath of life into her characters, making them far more realistic and endearing. While she’s not the best of writers per se, writing witty dialogues that flow naturally is something she’s extremely good at.

The secondary characters aren’t nearly as important in this installment, but we were, at least, given a chance to get to know Calla, Teresa’s friend and protagonist of the next book in the series, Stay with Me. While it’s true that I don’t normally read NA, when it comes to JLA, I’m obviously powerless to resist. Stay with Me should be released sometime in 2014 and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.