3.5 stars!



I really like this book but my goodness, this book is loaded with unnecessary drama. I also didn't like how childish and reckless the heroine could be at times and I struggled with liking her at times. But I love the writing style and this reminded me a bit of the Rock Chick series by KA and I just loved the group of friends they have.

Despite the drama-llama I'm very much interested in reading the rest of the books in this series!

The R word? I literally almost DNF'd it right off the bat because it is used several times. Great story and characters, but my absolute disgust for that awful word almost caused me to miss out on the great writing!

3.5 stars. This says I read it in one day, but really I started it at 1am, read for an hour and a half or so, and started again at 1pm finishing just before midnight. I PUSHED myself to read this. It took so long for anything to happen, and when it did, the main character Evie just kept pushing the guy away, or he pushed her away with his hot headedness and jealous rage. Blah. I hated it, until I didn't hate it. I liked the hostage scene, which I guessed was coming, considering all the dudes work for a hostage,ransom company, which by the way I've never heard of, but they must be out there, someone has to deal with the wackos. But yeah. I also felt the one single chapter in mac's view was a bit silly. It would have been cool to just send Evie on her way and then go to macs view and go back in thoughts to before she got there, maybe last past when she was in hospital and show feelings of guilt that her best friend took two bullets for her?! I don't actually remember her even saying thanks. You know she just murdered some guy with a bullet to his brain and nearly died, but we don't need to see that for one, all her brothers would have been all teary and thankful, and her parents also. Like it never happened. Oh well. Just what I think would happen I guess. Wasn't a bad book, I'm leaning to a 4, but it just wasn't captivating enough for me to want to continue reading the other books I guess

2.5 stars

Good, fun read!! This book was a little longer than most, but it had some of everything; amazing best friends, family dynamics, rockers, car chases… you name it and it was there! You will definitely laugh, probably get very frustrated and possibly cry. It sort of felt like 2 books in one, which isn’t a bad thing! I absolutely loved the characters in this book, and let me tell you there are a lot!!! I can see so many spin-offs it is sick! I want more of all of them (esp. Mac, Henry, Colby and Jared (OMG JARED)). I want to know more about them and see what happens to them. Honestly, you might want to take notes on the first few chapters as they are introduced, because there are a lot of characters to keep straight and ther is no lack of hot men!!! The guys in this book are all so yummy!


There were only two things I didn’t love about the book:
1. I wish we got more of Evie and Jared’s past. It seemed like it was just a few small blurbs and this was their book. I’m a fan of theirs, but I feel like that would’ve pushed me over the edge as a super fan!
2. For one chapter it changes POV. Kinda odd, but it still worked.

With that being said, my loves far outweigh the 2 nitpicky issues by far!!!! Give Me Love had some great quotes in it, several LOL and some super sweet ones. I admit that I was a highlighting fool!! Here are some of my faves:
Evie:
“I am a cool cucumber. No, fuck that. I am Snoop Dogg. You can get no cooler than that.”

“I realised that he was suffering the effects of the Hangover Stalker. It was when you woke surprised at how great you felt, only to have a shower and start moving around, and then realised you were slowly losing the will to live.”

“I relaxed back into the couch, wondering why it appeared all men had it in for that movie. My last thought before my eyes drifted closed was that perhaps it was because Ryan Gosling set the bar too high.” …I mean haven’t we all thought this before???? I’m so glad someone finally put it in a book!!



Jared (…Oh Jared):
“Because one day you’ll belong to me, Evie, and I’ll know everything about you.”
“I feel like everything is so much brighter when I’m with you. When you’re not there it’s like someone turned out the lights.”

“You’re the light I can’t live without and the only one that has ever held my heart. I want to be the man standing beside you, laughing with you, crying with you, holding you, and loving you…”

I’m definitely looking forward to more Kate McCarthy. I’m so impressed that this was her first book. What a great job!!!

4-4.5 stars

I started this series reading book 2 first which I absolutely loved and immediately bought this book after. Since the third book is coming out soon I've finally gotten around to Evie and Jared's story. This book started out slow for me and I found it hard to connect with Evie but I'm so glad I pushed through because I ended up loving it. The romance was a slow build up but once it started the book picked up and I was hooked. I loved the supporting characters and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author featuring these characters. I loved the banter, loved the action and suspense...i love Mac & Henry especially. Great writing. Standalone. Bring on Casey's book!

Good story. I got a little confused over all the different characters at the beginning but overall I really enjoyed it!

ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an entertaining story, one that’s filled with passion, humor and action. I think one of the things that I enjoyed about this story is that is takes place in Australia, the author is Australian and I could almost hear the Aussie accent while reading. There were moments that I had to stop reading to look-up certain words that are not part of U.S. vernacular and I found myself repeating them out loud. You know, to see if I could pull off an Aussie word or two.

The first few chapters were a bit confusing for me because everyone had a nickname and there were a number of characters that are introduced that are part of Evie’s and Jared’s friendship/family circle. I found myself having to re-read certain passages to ensure I had the characters straight. Once I got them down it was no longer an issue.

The other issue I had with the story was the use of the word retarded. I’ve always been envious of authors because of their natural ability to write stories and the ease in which they can describe feelings and thoughts. So when an author chooses to use a simple word such as retarded I feel slighted somehow. You might think I’m being overly sensitive and maybe I am but it’s a word that I don’t particularly care for and I find it jarring when I see it used in a book.

Evie, the musician and Jared, the black operations agent are the leads in this story. They start off as friends through texting and it blossoms into something more and each have their own emotional baggage to tote around.

There’s a natural push-pull between Evie and Jared that wasn’t forced and kept me hooked the entire time. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if they would even make it as a couple because he was just as complex, if not more than Evie! I did want more of a back-story with Jared because while I knew he was complex, I needed more depth. The supporting characters in the story made me feel like I was watching an episode of friends because the banter between all of them was fantastic.

The bottom line is…it was an entertaining read but I wanted more. I wanted more depth and I wanted the complexities of what made Evie and Jared who they are. Again, not a bad book by any means and I do look forward to reading more books by Kate McCarthy. ;)

One of my friends told me about this book, and then the author gifted it to me. I was so excited to read it.

What’s my opinion now that I’m done?

WOW!

LOVED!

Kate McCarthy. I love you. New favorite author for me.

In the acknowledgments at the end, I had trouble believing this was Kate’s first book. I mean, I believe her, but you know what I mean. It was amazing and did not read like a first time author at all. Kind of blew my mind.

I could NOT put this down. I carried it to soccer practice, and dance class, and sat in the car in 95 degree weather so I wouldn't be interrupted by other people I normally talk to at these things.

Right from the start there was so much energy coursing through this book. I don’t know how else to describe that feeling I had from the first page.

When Evie is up, you’re up, when Evie is down, your down. You easily swing into the same moods she is in while you’re reading. She has a quick wit and an awesome come back to everything and so do all of her friends. I kind of have a girl crush on Evie. I think I should make a new shelf, girl crushes. I love it when a book inspires a new shelf.

Jared. *sigh* I need a Jared. I *heart* Jared mucho. He is definitely a strong alpha male, which I love in my romance books. What is a romance book with a wishy washy dude? Give me a strong man who goes after what he wants, doesn’t stop until he has it, and is willing to protect what is his at all costs please. That describes Jared to a T.

I was up, I was down, my heart was huge with hope, it was broken. This book runs the gamut of emotions.

Then there is the stalker element. Excellent! I am not going to give spoilers, I hate spoilers, but that was an excellent angle to add to the story line and I liked how it wrapped up.

I really loved every character in this book, and there were quite a few between Evie’s band and Jared’s security company. I couldn’t come up with a favorite between all of them, though Mac and Henry were just as quick on their feet with witty replies as Evie was and I laughed a few times when those three were together going back and forth.

And the ending –



I had a few tears.

I need the next book like yesterday. :) That one is Give Me Strength and it looks like it is coming out September 16. I cannot wait!!!!

All in all awesome book. Perfect love story. Girl Crushes. Book Boyfriends. I think this hit all of my shelves.