4 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis
Bridesmaids meets Sleeping with the Enemy.
A haunting past. A specific set of rules. One man determined to break them.
Chase Anniston has a haunting past full of drug abuse and heartbreak, and now as a recovered heroin addict, she’s focused on keeping her life and career on track. The way she does it? She’s formed a set of rules to keep her safe from the two things she deems trouble – men and drugs:
Never give into your cravings.
Never fall in love.
Never date your boss’ clients.
And these rules have kept her out of trouble for years… until Jared came along.
Jared Bryan is a country music star who used to be more notorious for partying and womanizing than his music, and he’s now a client at the PR firm where Chase works. A chance run-in with her at a bachelorette getaway in Vegas leaves him both intrigued and perplexed. Chase is like no other woman he’s met before. She’s beautiful. She’s feisty. And she’s not easily impressed. Chase might be everything he’s ever wanted, but he’s also the last thing she needs. He’s hell bent on winning her over anyway.
Love Me Only is Book One of the Love Me Only Duet, a Romantic Suspense series. Intended for readers 18 and over.
This book may contain substance and domestic abuse triggers for some.
My Thoughts
“You don’t make a sound, you’re the dark side of me. Following, creeping, the side
that won’t let me be.
You remind me of my sickness that won’t go away,
You will always be there lingering, wanting to stay.
Just a shadow, like a flying dark crow. Don’t you have another place to go?
I must accept you as a part of me,
Because every day we dance, my Shadow Monster and me.”
Okay, so this week is slowly becoming chic-lit week. Well, we all have to have one every once in a while… so, I guess this is mine.”
The first thing I will say about this book is WARNING: CLIFFHANGER AHEAD!!!! For those of you who don’t want to be stuck waiting around for a second novel, DO NOT START THIS ONE! It says that It’s “Bridesmaids” meets “Sleeping with the Enemy”? Well, I get the Bridesmaids, the whole “Sleeping with the Enemy likeness doesn’t come until the last two sentences or so!!
This book may be infused with triggers for some as it deals with abuse and drug addiction. I liked the way that they could deal with this in such a serious manner, while keeping the tone light and funny throughout a lot of the book. It doesn’t gloss over the perils of drug abuse, and it doesn’t make it seem as though rehabilitating from drug abuse is a cake walk and something you just “get over”. It makes you very aware that it’s a slippery slope that you will be fighting not to slide down your entire life.
It DEFINITELY had a “Bridesmaids” feel to it as well and had me laughing out loud at many of the situations these friends get themselves into in Vegas on a Bachelorette week,
From going clubbing at “Rain” which Chase tries to get out of stating “I’d rather stay here and punch myself in the vagina.”
“Rain is everything I expected it to be—trendy with lots of sweaty, buzzed people grinding to club music, but it’s not quite late enough for it to look like the Hot Mess Express yet. That’s my favorite part of staying sober and going out— you get to see everyone morph into melting, sloppy versions of themselves, all the while they still think they look as good as they did when they arrived. It’s quite a treat.”
To getting a Brazilian wax,
“She and I have decided to go next door to get ice cream while Hildie gets hair ripped off her kitty cat.”
“Of course she went with a heart. Of course she did. But I froze and didn’t tell her what shape I wanted, so now I’ll have a beaver with a heart hat on it until I can get my hands on a razor. Without warning, she rips wax off one of my lips. Someone in the room screams bloody murder, and I slide up the table. White hot pain shoots down my inner thigh and up my torso. My skin is left red and stinging and naked. Did she manage to actually rip off my vagina lip with the wax? She had to. She had to. The wax strip dangles in her hand, sans lip, as she glares at me. I know she’s judging. Thinking, we just got started. Will I have to deal with this the entire time? “No screaming,”she says flatly. “It will scare customers.”Crap. I was the one who screamed. But they should be scared. They should all be very very scared.”
My one complaint about this book is stated above, the fact that it was a Cliffhanger ending. And, not ONLY was it a Cliffhanger ending, it was almost like the entire book was an introduction to the characters and their situations and Book Two will be the actual STORY! It was still very enjoyable, as you can all see by my 4 Star rating, which I don’t give out lightly, but I wish that more had been put into this novel so I don’t have to wait to see what the story is even about!
“These walls I’ve built for love makes me cringe,
Having fought to get here like overcoming a heroin binge,
I will not break and let them fall,
my walls stand strong and tall.
Love is a word used too lightly.
I will only love myself and cling to it tightly,
No hurt from another. No more pain.
To love me only is what I have learned, it’s the only way I won’t feel the sting of your burn,
I’ve fought to become the sober me. Love,
you will not take this from me,
From you I flee,
Avoid at all cost,
In you, love, I will not get lost.
You’ve left an ugly scar, I do not know how to love anymore,
In fact, I find you pretty damn bizarre.
You are complicated and strange,
My heart I am not willing to share or exchange.
Life has hardened me, leaving no capacity for you. Love, like a sickness, is a horrible flu.
I will not falter or let you in, I now have scarred and thickened skin.
Loved you once, it left me broken and lonely, Forever now I love me only.”
Pick up your Copy Now!!
Amazon U.S.
Amazon Canada
Amazon U.K.
Love me Only is Best Served with a Vodka Cranberry
Ingredients
- 1oz Vodka
- 3oz Cranberry Juice
- Feel free to garnish with frozen cranberries
Directions
- Fill glass with ice
- Add Vodka
- Cranberry Juice
- Stir
- Throw in Frozen Cranberries
- CHEERS!!
The BookWorm Drinketh 
Cliffhangers are VERY annoying, especially when you want the bliddy story to start. I would lob the book through the window and stick a finger up at the sequel just to teach it a lesson. Love the drink, though I’d probably leave out the pink stuff. 🤣🤣🤣
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A rarely read books about drug addiction, I find them very harrowing although I have never even tried drugs. The thought just scares me.
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Oh frap… your review and choice of quotes have me giggling like a crazy person! This one sounds pretty decent, especially if book 2 is already in possession! 😉
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It was such a great book! I need the second one because the story JUST STARTED right at the end!! What’s up with that?! That’s just mean!
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That is mean! Lol
But thanks for the warning. I hate when that happens unexpectedly 😂
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Hahaha it’s rare that I read a series, but when I do I make *absolutely sure* that all of the books have been published before I start! I’m too traumatised by having to wait for (what-felt-like) centuries between each Harry Potter book as a kid 😉 So I definitely wouldn’t pick this one up unless I knew the next one was locked and loaded in the chamber too. I must say, I’m intrigued by the title: it’s one of those ones that could be read several ways, depending on where you put the emphasis (LOVE me only, love ME only, love me ONLY). So cool!
I haven’t had a vodka cranberry in aaaaages, I used to love them! You’ve got my mouth watering 😉
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Well, both the book and drink were really good! I’m with you though, I probably would have waited had I known how high the cliff they left me hanging from was going to be!
The story was still really good leading in, but the ending was like “hey, this is the REAL point of this book….. For next time!”
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