I have no shame in letting the world know I am now a romantic-novel whore-bag.

Contemporary romance if I’ve being super specific, but really, any romance will suffice. And there’s no shame in that. NONE. When I went to the Brisbane Writer’s Festival, author Jenna Guillaume said she originally felt shame when she told people she was an author who wrote romance. And I totally get it. There seems to be a bit of stigma in the reading and writing world when it comes to the genre, like it’s somehow not as important as others.

That is sahhhh bullshit.

Everybody loves romance. EVERYBODY. Maybe sociopaths are exempt, but if you’re reading this, I reckon there’s a big fucking chance you’re in love, have been in love or want to be in love. Despite the heartache that romance can bring, it can also bring so much joy, fulfilment, excitement, happiness, anticipation and all of the moments that give you butterflies and make your face hurt from smiling. That’s one of the reasons I love reading romance – you get to be a part of other people’s wonderful experiences, fall in love with characters and remember wonderful moments from your own life.

So I decided to review another of K.A. Tucker’s books cos it made me feel all of the feels. Say You Still Love Me is one of those books that you pick up for a few minutes, and then five hours later, you’re hanging half upside-down off your bed, desperate for food and water, but don’t want to get up cos the pages in front of you are just THAT good.

The Plot

(Blurb taken from the back of the book)

Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.

On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.

Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.

The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.

Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.

The things I loved about the book …

Oh, the relationship between the two main characters made me melt. I felt like a giddy teenager reading the chapters that jumped back to their teenage years, exploring the adventures of young love, new friendships and testing boundaries. K.A. Tucker is brilliant at making her characters come to life when you first meet them and then continues to build them as the story progresses, pulling you deeper and deeper into who they are and why they act the way they do. I loved getting to know Piper and Kyle. Just loved it.

This includes the sexy scenes.

Yes, it’s like soft porn for your brain with some books (and hardcore porn with others), but this one was just the right amount of show and tell to keep the reader satisfied – but not like that you saucy minx 😉 Again, Tucker knows how to write just enough to tick all the boxes, but also make you blush a tiny bit. And SPOILER ALERT: when grown-up Piper and Kyle finally reconnect, IT’S A GOOD TIME FOR EVERYONE.

The things I didn’t love …

• I struggled with the jumping back and forth in time a little bit, but not in the way you might think. I don’t generally like books or movies that jump back and forth in time – it gives me anxiety when I know where the story is ending up before I’ve even met the characters. In this situation I was annoyed when I realised we’d jumped back to when the characters were teenagers, but after a page, I’d be sucked into that moment in time, craving to know more. And then, we’d back back in present day and I’d be like “God damn it, I wanna know what happened at summer camp!” and then I’d get hooked into present day, and the cycle would continue. Which isn’t really a bad thing – K.A. Tucker is so good at sucking the reader into her world. So good that I got annoyed with her for being so good.
• Another thing that wasn’t the authors fault – every time I read the title or saw the cover of the book, five minutes later I would realise I was singing that fucking song “don’t say you love me, you don’t even know me, if you really want me, then give me some time” (it’s an old school song by M2M and it really annoys me). Not anyone’s fault, just my weird brain.

Rating

I think I might be biased when it comes to Tucker’s books. I really can’t fault her. She writes in a way that hypnotises me, gives me hope and inspires me to write better. This story was so well delivered that I felt like I was right there, in the book with the characters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who, like me, loves a book you fall in love with.