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!
