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Review

Oh JLA, you sure can write beautiful NA romance!

I am a huge fan of Wait for You, and anything to do with Cameron Hamilton, so have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book – the second in the Wait for You series, and the story of Cam’s younger sister, Teresa, and his best friend, Jase.

Jase is a bit of an unknown member of the bunch. Gorgeous of course, he has a sensational sense of humour and is a genuinely nice guy. He lives between his frat house and his family farm, and although he is definitely one of the guys – he parties it up just as much as the others – he is a bit quieter, and is keeping a big secret.

Teresa’s history is explored a bit in Wait for You, and it’s a pretty intense one (her first relationship was abusive, which she was rescued from by her family when Cam went all badass and beat the guy to a pulp). I’m glad that while it still plays a part in this story, it doesn’t continue to negatively influence her or make her anti-man or anything. She has overcome all of that, and is a well-adjusted, slightly awesome, almost-19 year old in her freshman year. She is a dancer but is recovering from a knee injury, and even though College never featured in her plans, with her inability to go to dance school she is embracing her Plan B until she is well enough to return to the life that she wants and live her dream.

Teresa has been in love with Jase since she was 16. And then a year ago, they shared a life-changing kiss that meant everything to her, but she hasn’t seen or heard from him since. Now they are at the same College and can’t help but run into each other, but while the attraction is definitely still there, for some reason Jase is pushing her away.

The story is told purely in Teresa’s POV, and she is a fantastic narrator. Jase gives her a lot of mixed messages, and while I usually love dual POV books, I think the single POV worked really well in this one because I love that we got to experience everything alongside Teresa. We feel her confusion and frustration, and it helps to pulls us into the story and show us just how fantastic she is, as she puts it all out there for him, giving him nothing but honesty.

“You don’t get it, Tess. I can’t have you.”
“But you do have me,” I whispered.

And also proving that she isn’t prepared to put up with Jase’s crap.

“Things got out of hand. It happens.”
My brows flew up. “It happens? Often? Do you just walk around and happen to end up kissing girls? Do you slip and fall on girls’ mouths? If so, that’s got to be an awkward life to live.”
“Well . . .” The quirk to his lips was mischievous and teasing, but I was so not having it. He sighed. “Tess, you’re a beautiful girl and I’m a guy and—”
“Oh, shut up.”
His eyes widened.
“Don’t even finish what will most likely be the lamest sentence in the history of lame sentences. You’re attracted to me.”

Thankfully, it’s not too long before Jase starts to open up to her. Not only does he consider her to be off limits because she is the younger sister of his best friend, but he also has a lot of baggage. I guessed his big secret before it was revealed, so I could sort of understand where he was coming from while he was being all cagey. He wants her and is also clearly frustrated with the situation, and he obviously trusts and cares for Teresa, so thankfully he shares fairly openly with her, and when she proves her awesomeness in accepting him without reserve, things start to happen, and oh yeah!

“I’ve tried staying away from you. I’ve tried ignoring how I feel about you, which isn’t how I should feel . But it’s like fighting a losing battle. And I don’t want to fight it anymore. I don’t want to ignore this.”

I love the connection that they share. They are both there for each other, and obviously care for each other deeply, and Jase absolutely melted me when he brings the swoon.

Jase rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. His warm breath danced over my lips. “I want to take you out on a date. I want to take you horseback riding. I want to tell your brother. I want to take you home to my parents and introduce you as my girlfriend. I want to prove this means more to me. I want to do this the right way.”

“Baby, I’m all yours if you want me to be.”

They may have their ups and downs, but throughout the drama, they are clearly good friends and have some sensational banter. They tease and they laugh, and I loved every minute of them together. And yeah, it’s hot! So, so hot! God, just the kisses these two share had me fanning myself, so when things progress, it all just gets hotter!

“Holy shit, where did you learn that? Fuck. Don’t answer. I don’t want to know. I prefer to think you were born with that talent.”

He groaned deeply. “You keep looking at me like that, I’m going to strip the clothes off you and get so far deep inside you that I’ll never get out.”

But with both of their futures pointing them in opposite directions, and events from the past still playing a big part, Teresa and Jase have a lot they need to resolve before they get their HEA.

And of course there is still the issue of big brother Cam – it’s an EPIC scene when he inevitably finds out – I actually read it twice. And for the Cam lovers out there (myself included), there is a very nice amount of Cam and Avery in the story, and we get a bit more development for them.

I need to take a moment to share my girl-crush on Teresa, because the girl is incredible. She goes through SO much in this book, but her attitude is fantastic! She’s strong yet still vulnerable, but she isn’t prepared to put up with shit from anybody, and I loved how she stayed true to herself and her feelings, and stood up for herself, but she was also able to admit when she needed help, and those tender moments where she allowed Jase to be there for her were beautiful.

“You…you are amazing, Tess.”
“No, I’m not. I just love you, Jace.”

And alongside the beautifully progressing romance, there are some other big things happening in the story. Although somewhat predictable, they’re also kind of shocking in their intensity, and bring a lot of emotion to the story. I was riding the 5-star book high there for a while, but I felt like the drama got to be a little OTT. I mean, seriously, how much can one girl endure? She’s freaking awesome, but wow! Plus there is a some epic stupid that was really annoying, but it’s brief and is resolved really beautifully.

I really enjoyed this book, and devoured most of it in one sitting. The multiple storylines fit together really nicely, and the story moves at a great pace. The drama does give the story a lot of depth, but romance, humour, and sensational characters would have been enough to carry it for me. I loved Jase and Teresa’s story, and can’t wait more from this series with Calla up next, and hopefully Brit and Ollie at some point???

Loved it – 4 stars.

The Wait For You series

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