Title: Wait for You
Series: Wait for You, #1
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn)
ISBN: 9780062294777
Pages: 384
Release date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: New Adult
Format: E-book
Source: Personal collection
Rating: 4 out of 5

Going to college is stressful for pretty much everyone, but for Avery, there is a whole new level of fear. Now, away from home, she can’t explain why she hates going to parties and why she’s never dated a boy—hell, never even been alone in a car with one before.

But leaving all that behind her in Texas also gives Avery a lot of freedom. She’s finally out from under her parents’ control. And here, no one shoots her sideways glances and whispers behind her back about what happened at that party—so many years ago, yet still haunting her.

And then there’s Cam, the beyond-hot guy who just so happens to live across the hall. But Cam is hiding a past of his own. Can these two (both incredibly good-looking people, I should point out) ever figure out how to maintain a relationship?

I haven’t read a lot of romance, so I was surprised by how deeply I was drawn into this story. Although the writing lacks polish, the story resonated on a deeper level than I expected.

This is a subject that so many women face—sexual assault—and yet I’ve read remarkably few books about it, which I only realized now. At the same time, part of Avery’s search for identity involves coming to grips with her sexuality—a huge task, after what she went through. And that means there is a good bit of sex. The story is dark, but it’s erotic as well; it’s not for prudes.

In my opinion, though, Armentrout finds a good balance between pain and happiness. Wait for You deals with enough deep, emotional themes to hook me in, and the sexy stuff was awfully fun, too. (I’m probably the opposite of the average reader, but there you go.) All in all, I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series!

Quote of Note:

Everything was okay. Maybe not perfect, but life wasn’t meant to be perfect. It was messy and sometimes it was a disaster, but there was beauty in the messiness and there could be peace in the disaster.

Don’t just take my word for it! Buy Wait for You from Amazon (Kindle and Audible versions are also available). Each sale from these links helps support Melody & Words.