Monday 16 May 2016

Book Review - Love Me For Me by Jenny Hale - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #26

Amazon UK
Title: Love Me For Me
Author: Jenny Hale
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 21st May 2014
Rating: 3.5 Stars


Love Me for Me is a beautiful, touching story about coming home, the importance of family, and the special place that first loves hold in our hearts. Fans of Carole Matthews, Trisha Ashley, Susan Mallery and Susan Wiggs – and anyone looking for a perfect, feel-good summer read will enjoy this. 

Sometimes you find perfect where you least expect it… 
Libby Potter has just lost the perfect job, the perfect apartment and the perfect boyfriend. Moving back to the home town that she couldn’t wait to escape when she was younger was definitely not on her to-do list. Especially as it means running into the man whose heart she broke when she left. 

Pete Bennett can still make Libby’s world stop with just the sound of his voice – even ten years on. Only now, she is the last person in the world that he wants to see. 

As everyone else welcomes Libby home with open arms, she realizes she’s missed that special closeness that comes from lifelong friendship. And, as Libby seeks to make amends with Pete, she begins to wonder whether she made the right choice in leaving all those years ago. 

When an amazing career opportunity gives her the chance to leave again, Libby will have to decide what her version of perfect is… and where she really belongs. 

I am starting to suspect that I much prefer Jenny Hale's marvellous Christmas books to her summery ones, but I will be able to judge that a lot more when I read her new summery release. I liked Love Me For Me, but I didn't love it. 

The story felt sort of familiar to me, and that could just be because I read far too many books nowadays, but yet towards the end I realised just how much certain characters had got under my skin without noticing, and I felt quite emotional in places. 

I suspect its was as much as case as not fully gelling with the characters, Libby kept saying herself how selfishly she was acting, and I felt there wasn't enough scenes with her and Pete to get a feel for him either. The only character I really loved was Pop, and he is suffering from dementia, but when lucid is loveable and a great grandfatherly figure. 

This is a story of Libby trying to work out where her heart lies, is it her childhood home town, or New York which she went to for university, and didn't look back.  I felt the book had lots of elements that should have been great, but either weren't detailed enough, or just didn't quite work for me unfortunately. 

I suspect if this had been my first book by the author I may have loved it a lot more, but because I know she can do better, as I've read them, this has scored to me lower than it perhaps should do. 

Thank you to everyone who voted for Love Me For Me, I really do love reading all the comments and I look forward to seeing what this weeks book will be. 

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