A review by originalbooknerd
If You Want Me by Helena Hunting

emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

๐ŸŒ๐ผ๐’ป ๐’ด๐‘œ๐“Š ๐’ฒ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐“‰ ๐‘€๐‘’ - ๐’ฏ๐‘œ๐“‡๐‘œ๐“ƒ๐“‰๐‘œ ๐’ฏ๐‘’๐“‡๐“‡๐‘œ๐“‡ ๐’ฎ๐‘’๐“‡๐’พ๐‘’๐“ˆ ๐Ÿค - ๐‘…๐‘’๐“‹๐’พ๐‘’๐“Œ ๐ŸŒ

Author: Helena Hunting

Couple: Peggy Aurora Hammerstein & Hollis Hendrix

Tropes: hockey romance, dadโ€™s best friend, age gap (12 years), she falls first x he falls harder, forced proximity, forbidden romance, she cat sits for him 

Review: If You Want Me is ANGST. Helena packed this book to the brim with all of the angst and turmoil you could imagine. From the beginning Peggy is the character who sucked me into the book and kept me feeling all the emotions as I continued to read. Helena was able to capture the forbidden aspect of their romance to a T and I enjoyed every page!

Peggy is the daughter of Hollisโ€™ best friend and from the beginning this romance is the ULTIMATE forbidden fantasy. I adored Peggy and appreciated how her story had so much included in it from lusting after Hollis to gaining confidence to learning to color outside the lines. Helena was able to capture her wild spirit and silently confident nature really well and did it in a way that made you want to hold Peggy up above the rest or give her a big hug.

Hollis was an enigma. I found his POV the hardest to read since he was at a time in his life and career where he was having to make big decisions. The utter despair he went through when he was injured playing to the elation when he finally gave into his growing feelings to Peggy left me in a pendulum swing. I found that while he was so much older than Peggy he was the saddest bit more immature but also a lot more fearful due to prior heartbreak. However, I absolutely adored how he encouraged Peggy to achieve her goals and constantly pushed her to gain confidence. 

Peggy and Hollis are a sweet and spicy romance that is a TON different than Rex and Tristan but also the perfect balance before we get Dallas and Hemi next! The romance was perfection for the two and I loved how they each leaned on the other during tough timesโ€ฆ.and I LOVED how Hollis went man to man to admit his feelings to Peggyโ€™s father! This book was a good read and was packed full of awkward moments and laughs that have me dying for book 3 and more of these characters!

Rating: 4/5, Peggy and Hollis are the ultimate forbidden romance and Helena once again destroyed my heart with this book and emotional rollercoaster they went through to achieve their HEA!

Thank you Helena & Good Girls PR for the eARC copy!



๐ŸŒ๐ผ๐’ป ๐’ด๐‘œ๐“Š ๐’ฒ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐“‰ ๐‘€๐‘’ - ๐’ฏ๐‘œ๐“‡๐‘œ๐“ƒ๐“‰๐‘œ ๐’ฏ๐‘’๐“‡๐“‡๐‘œ๐“‡ ๐’ฎ๐‘’๐“‡๐’พ๐‘’๐“ˆ ๐Ÿค - ๐’œ๐“Š๐’น๐’พ๐‘œ๐’ท๐‘œ๐‘œ๐“€ ๐‘…๐‘’๐“‹๐’พ๐‘’๐“Œ๐ŸŒ

Author: Helena Hunting

Narrators: Stella Bloom & Zachary Webber

Couple: Peggy Aurora Hammerstein & Hollis Hendrix

Tropes: hockey romance, dadโ€™s best friend, age gap (12 years), she falls first x he falls harder, forced proximity, forbidden romance, she cat sits for him

Review: If You Want Me was a book I enjoyed listening to more than reading and it had everything to do with Stella Bloom! Stella and Zachary captured the voices of Peggy and Hollis in a way that made reading it a little lackluster since it took away the voices that brought all the angst to life. Helena killed it with picking narrators and I can say that this audio was addicting and hard to pause.

Stella Bloom was top notch in this book and sounded like Peggyโ€™s voice in my head. From the begging the voice she had was able to emote the angst, tension, lust and wit Peggyโ€™s POV had in spades. The way she also matched with Zachary Webber just brought this whole book to life. Zachary was also really strong in this audiobook and was just gruff enough for Hollis but also provided the emotional range needed for Hollisโ€™ POV. Helena did good with these two and I am excited to see what comes with Dallas and Hemi!

Rating: 4/5, Peggy and Hollis come to life in your ears in this audiobook and once again Helena chose narrators perfect for the characters!

Thank you Helena & Good Girls PR for the eALC copy!