Received from author in exchange for an honest review.
NOTE:Book #2 in the He Feels series. Please read book #1 How He Really Feels first.
When you have too many good things to say about a book you just want to get right into it. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m getting right down into it. Because I have way too much good things to say about this book, and all the feels I’ve felt while reading it. m
The sequel to How He Really Feels, What He Really Feels follows the story of what happened when Travis skipped town to get a fresh start. After the love of his life Julianne breaks his heart by choosing Nick over him, Travis decides to start over in San Diego after his father offers him a job in one of his branch firms. Days before the big move he meets someone at a bar – a gorgeous young girl who is the opposite of Julianne in every possible way. Who by the way he’s nicknamed Gorgeous. What he thought would be one-night stand turns into a fatal attraction that makes Travis fall head over heels for this mystery girl. But all she wants is something with no-strings attached.
It isn’t until the morning-after that we find out she’s just as attracted to him as he is to her, but for some reason they just can’t be together and she vanishes. No name, no number, never to be seen or heard from again. Luckily fate decides to intervene and give Travis another chance at this mystery girl, and he’s going to do everything in his power not to mess things up and lose her a second time.
From the events that occurred in How He Really Feels Travis is clearly hurting from what happened between him and Jules and it’s CLEARLY eating him away from the inside. It’s not easy loving someone for almost as long as you can remember, only to have your hopes and dreams crushed when that person doesn’t feel the same way about you, or in Travis’ case, chose another man over you. In all honesty I don’t blame the bitterness and contempt he feels. He deserves to wallow in his misery. I feel bad for him but in the end you can’t help who you like. Sure both Travis and Jules made some pretty bad choices and handled their situation poorly but that doesn’t make the pain of losing someone you love any easier.
Like any sensible human being he’s trying to do deal with his situation and his feelings as best he can. Trying to move on, getting a brand new start in a new city, and trying to be a better person. He’s sensible enough to want to learn from his mistakes, which is a very mature and adult thing to do, given the heartbreak he must be feeling. Travis is tested and tempted by beautiful women but he resists which shows character and real conviction in that he’s trying to change, and you have to admire him for that.
“Want to grab a drink?” she finally asked.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?” she challenged.
“Because I know where it’ll end up. And I don’t think that’s something that would be healthy for either of us.” I felt a sense of redemption for being so strong after the way I’d treated the random BJ in the A girl from the bar. It was unusual for me to turn down any opportunity that could lead to sex, but I knew that it would be a horrible mistake for Brook and me to go there again.
Throughout most of the beginning you’ll feel compelled to feel bad for Travis (if you have a heart that is). He’s a good guy, sensible 95% of the time, the other 5% allotting to when ‘TJ’ does the thinking for him if you catch my drift. He has a good job, comes from a good family, he’s sweet, and considerable…and yet he CAN’T catch a break with women. Why is that?!
Travis reminds me of the BEST FRIEND GUY. The kinda guy who you’ll have as a best friend but never date It makes me kind of sad actually having been in a similar situation. Even before when I read part of his story in How He Really Feels I still felt bad for him. I just wanted to hug him…THROW myself at him and say TAKE ME I’M YOURS!
I stood in my entryway for a moment, gathering my wits about me as I stared at the closed door that she had disappeared through.
I wanted to run after her.
I wanted to stop her.
I wanted to tell her that I believed in love at first sight, as ridiculously cliché and foolish and absolutely stupid as that sounded.
I’d have to say if I was ever to date someone… I’d want someone to love me as much as Travis loves his Gorgeous. And this is all without really knowing her. You want a man to love you, miss you so much that it hurts, and think about you all the time. In a none…obsessive…stalkerish way of course.
She glanced away for only a moment, and then my lips crashed down on hers before she knew what hit her. I had to taste her again. I couldn’t possibly let another second go by without kissing her.
The second the door shut behind her, I found my phone and fired off a text. I miss you already.
There was a knock at my door ten seconds later. I opened it,
“God, I miss you already, too,” she said, and then she flew into my arms, her lips crashing violently to mine.
I would never, ever get enough of this woman.
What I felt was different in this story compared to How He Really Feels was that you didn’t really know where it was all going. I found myself asking a lot of questions, unsure if Travis was really going to get his happily ever after at the end of the story. Was Travis going to finally be happy? Who is Gorgeous? Why didn’t she want to be with him? Was he going to see her again? Or was there going to be a twist in the plot where he falls for another girl instead? You go through all of his struggles of having to deal with the love of his life breaking his heart while at the same time having this amazing connection with a girl he’ll probably never see again.
Literally, I cannot say enough good things about this book. At almost the halfway point I swear I wanted to throw my hands up into the air and say, I’M DONE! It’s over. I can’t! I’m sitting on the train…GUSHING over how cute Travis and Gorgeous are and I just want to die. I literally I just want to die. Every man should make a woman feel that loved. EVERY MAN!!! Now I’m caught between Team Nick and Team Travis and it’s killing me. It’s absolutely killing me.
If there’s one thing Suzanne’s writing is, it’s compelling. I can’t remember the last time I was so absorbed into a book. It’s definitely one of the books you DON’T WANT TO PUT DOWN. There’s a beauty in simplicity, and Suzanne definitely has it. There is definitely something about this series, this writing style that I can’t find words for. There’s praise, and then there’s praise that you can’t describe with words. I’m definitely the latter.
6/5 Hearts of Love!
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