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Tuesday 22 May 2012

ARC Review: Let Me In by Callie Croix

 
Let Me In
by Callie Croix


When Talia returns home from the marines, she is welcomed by her best friend and her old brother, Liam. For years, Tal has been considered a great family friend to Liam but he doesn’t know that she harbors some intense feelings for him.

As a shameless flirt, Liam brings forth a happiness in Talia that she cannot deny. With her mother’s mental illness weighing down on her shoulder and the stress of her job, she loves that she is just able to be herself while in Liam’s company.

However, when Liam accompanies her to visit her home and her mother, Talia’s life is exposed. He sees the mess - and in this case, it’s a literal mess because her mother is a hoarder – of her life and Talia feels embarrassed by it. However, Liam doesn’t grimace at the sight of the stacks of useless stuff that pack her mother’s home. He doesn’t flinch with her mother tries to attack those who are threatening to take away her possessions. He is simply there, giving Talia his much needed presence for when she eventually breaks down.

I loved this book. For a short story, Croix is able to convey the pain and embarrassment that family members of hoarders experience. Though Talia loves her mother unconditionally, she sometimes feels embarrassed when her mother lashes out or when others see the collection of useless junk that her mother holds dear.

The spotlight on the mental illness really sparked my interests because that’s what I went to school for. So to see that in a book and to see how Croix handled it was interesting. I think she did an excellent job of outlining the daily troubles Talia’s mother experiences.

Croix does a great and believable job of building the trust between Tal and Liam. Though there are some times when Tal crawls back inside herself, I thought it brought some great moments that made the ending that much more satisfying. I really enjoyed the epilogue. It ended so perfectly.

But for me, the best part of this book is Liam. I wish there were more men like Liam out there. He was so caring and so understanding of Talia’s feelings that he fell right into my heart early on in this book. Even though Talia pushed him away, both physically and emotionally, Liam still stood his ground. And I absolutely loved that about him. There’s also the added bonus of him being dominant in bed and the fact that he loves giving out orders.

LET ME IN is a great story that portrays the great and the not-so-great times of life and the formation of a bond unbroken by the darker times. I would definitely recommend this book to readers!
 

 
 

11 comments:

Dawn said...

Great review! Between your review and my reviewer Slick's review, I have got to get to this sooner, than later.

Maria D. said...

Great review! I have added this to my buy list. I love the sound of this book and besides...a hot ex-Marine...oh yeah!

Taryn @MySecretRomance said...

Very nice review. I like this author and have read books under both of her names sobi want to check this out too. I don't thinkbjve ever read a book with a hoarder so that will be a first for me. Thanks!

Harlie Williams said...

Every review I have read about Let Me In has been glowing. I really must buy and read this book. Thanks for a great review.

Marika

TheReadingPenguin said...

I've always had a sort of fascination with mental illness as well. This sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

Timitra said...

Great review Ann...definitely this to my wishlist!

Sophia Rose said...

I like the ideas this book touches on and it sounds pretty good.

Thanks for sharing your review!

JoLee @ Wickedly Delicious Book Blog said...

Great review. I am reading it now and loving it. Have a nice week.

Unknown said...

Thanks Didi! I really loved this book!

Thanks Maria, hope you like it!

Hey Taryn, the hoarder thing was pretty interesting :)

Thanks Harlie, it's a fun book. Enjoy!

Then this book is for you, Reading Penguin!

Thanks Timitra xoxo

Hey Sophia Rose and Wickedly Delicious, I'm sure you'll love this book!

Ann

Anonymous said...

LOVED this book so much! I wished it was only longer so we could have gotten more of Liam and his likeness for BDSM. I think Talia's mom's mental illness was really interesting and I understood why Talia tried to close everyone off. Really this book was brilliant. Great review!

Laurie said...

Thanks for the review, added to my reading list!