Review: HIM (#1, HIM) by Carey Heywood

My Thoughts

An intimate story of two best friends who fell in love and then fell apart suddenly. This is a touching second-chance romance which proves that when you find the person you’re supposed to be with forever, there’s no one else that could ever fill your heart but HIM.

Synopsis

Sarah Miller hasn’t been home in seven years. She thought she could stay away forever. If it wasn’t for her big brother’s wedding, that is. Part of her even feels silly for staying away this long. It’s not like anyone even knew what happened. Well, except for him.

That guy. The one she compared all others to. The one who set the bar so high no other guy after him could even compete. The one who made her feel like anything was possible. The one she thought she would never be good enough for. The one she spent the last seven years trying to forget.

All she needs to do is make it through the next week without running into him.

My Review

“He’ll still haunt my dreams and make every other guy I’ve ever tried to date feel inadequate.”

This is the story of two people who fell in love. They fell in love young, but deeply. They were best friends. They went from friends to more than friends to nothing at all in what seemed like a flash. But for Sarah, Will was her ONE love. The guy she gave her whole heart to and it’s HIM she’s not forgotten for one moment in the last 7 years.

“Sweetheart, you could find an issue with any guy. Is anyone ever going to be good enough for you?”

I loved the premise of this book and was totally intrigued after reading the synopsis. I LOVE second-chance romances, there is a special place in my heart for these stories. Even the title of the book gave me goosebumps for some reason. The book alternates between past and present tense, told entirely through Sarah’s POV. It’s really interesting because we get to see the closeness between them in the past followed by emptiness they both feel without the other.

A chance encounter brings them together and it’s as if time never passed, their connection strong as ever, the pull between them unrelenting. But now, the hurt she’s felt all those years rises from the place inside where she’s tried to bury it. In addition, to make complicated matters more complicated, Will is even more handsome and alluring than before, igniting the desire she feels.

“He isn’t the boy I had left behind. He’s a man now, a very annoying and sexy all at the same time man.”

At the same time all her insecurities from high school come flooding in. Feelings of not being good enough or pretty enough or loved enough.

“I just never could believe you would want someone like me  more than someone like her.”

And perhaps at the heart of the matter is this insecurity. Despite what happened when they broke up (which I won’t ruin for you), Sarah’s fears and doubts really are what separates them. She is so fearful to me of so many things, and her indecision is keeping her from being happy. Will, on the other hand, seems so steadfast and confident in what he feels… in the belief that they truly belong together. I LOVED him. He was fun, caring, kind, passionate and loving. He has shown time and time again that he loves Sarah, which is why he’s shocked when trying to understand that Sarah really felt this way.

“I thought you knew how much I loved you… How could you not know?”

This book felt as if someone was telling me their personal story… recounting their past and telling me what the current situation was. I felt their story and that’s what really glued me to the book. While I thought the book was perfectly paced, where it suddenly felt just a little flatter to me was the last 10 to 15% surprisingly. I felt a little redirected and what I really wanted was to revel in the HEA I was expecting. That being said, there’s another book to come, so this story ends a bit abruptly, but I imagine it’s setting up for us to hear what happened through Will’s POV. I’m hoping there’s more to the story, and I do think there will be. I’m also hoping to see a little more growth and confidence from Sarah. She needs to risk it all for their relationship, never doubting that they are right for each other. Because they really are SO. PERFECT. TOGETHER.

I really enjoyed this book, like I mentioned above, it completely captivated me and I will without a doubt be reading HER, book 2, which will be released in November. I can’t wait to get my hands on that book and see what happens, because book 1 definitely left me wanting more, more, more!

“If there was ever a doubt in my mind, it is gone now. I’m made for him, and he’s made for me. There will never be anything else for either of us.”

About Carey Heywood

Carey Heywood lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, three children, and nine-pound attack Yorkie. In her spare time, she transports her children from one extra-curricular activity to another while maintaining her day job in the world of finance. Right now, she is probably eating Swedish Fish.

She’d love to hear from you!

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