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Until I’m Yours by Kennedy Ryan was my top read in 2016, a difficult feat to achieve when you consider that I read over 400 books that year. But a review for it has never been posted at All About Romance, so I’ve taken the liberty of doing so now. It’s the fourth book in The Bennett series which consists of a duology, When You Are Mine and Loving You Always, followed by Be Mine Forever, and this one. Sofie, the heroine of this book is the ex-girlfriend of the main character of book one, and still remains friends with him. Their friendship began in childhood and survived their short relationship. This is one of those situations where only one side of Sofie has been seen to date – the standoffish, entitled side. But there are two sides to every story, and here her true character is revealed. She’s a wealthy woman, a gorgeous supermodel, a woman who is untouchable (or so it seems), until she meets Trevor Bishop.
Trevor first sees Sofie in all her (almost) naked splendour on a billboard for a cosmetics company and is struck by her beauty. But meeting her in person, he can see right away that the face she presents to the public is a facade. Sofie’s father and Walsh Bennett (Sofie’s ex) work for Walsh’s father, and Trevor is considering a business contract with them and Sofie’s father wants her to reel him in by using her physical allure to convince Trevor to invest with them. Trevor is intrigued by Sofie, a woman trying to find some way to fill the empty hours of her society existence by slowly getting out of the modelling business, and directing her energies to something more fulfilling. Starting her own company, she’s determined to prove to herself, and to others, that she’s more than just a pretty face. She has a reputation as a playgirl, partying at every opportunity. Trevor knows there is more to her story and when a nemesis from Sofie’s past shows up, secrets that Sofie planned to keep forever come spilling out. Trevor must choose whether to cut his losses to maintain his own clean and above board reputation or prove to Sofie that he’ll support her, no matter the consequences.
Kennedy Ryan writes compelling and emotional romances and this one is no exception. Sofie is an ice princess and it’s clear that she has learned from a young age to keep her emotions in check. She lacked support growing up, with the exception of the Walsh family – even her own parents are lacklustre in their acceptance of her, disapproving of her modelling career and her other choices in life. She’s a trophy daughter to them (a tarnished one at that) and they use her for their own devices, just as so many use her for her looks and celebrity. As a result, she’s learned to keep her own counsel and trust no-one.
When Trevor walks into her life, she’s intrigued by him, but reminds herself not to fall for his charm, his ‘nice guy’ vibe making her very aware of own perceived inadequacies. But Trevor is persistent in his pursuit of Sofie, in believing she has a depth of character and a desire to do good in the world. It’s a desire that he recognizes from his own past, one that led him to work towards bettering the lot of those in third world countries through his own efforts. While she is quite willing to share her body with him (for her, sex is a commodity that doesn’t involve emotion), Trevor makes it very clear that he doesn’t want her body without her heart. He woos her, slowly but surely, and eventually she falls for him just as much as he does for her. They share some steamy love scenes that cement this bond.
“Sofie, look at me.” He pulls my hand away from my head, linking our fingers and resting our clasped hands against his chest. “It’s not a matter of good enough. I’m good for you, and you’re good for me. That’s enough, and I really don’t care what anyone else thinks or says about it.”
He pulls me into him, resting his hands at my sides.
“And we’re good together.” He leans down to trail kisses over my jaw and down my neck, his cool breath somehow firing up my skin with his next words. “You believe that?”
“Yes.” I can barely breathe with him this close. A pressure is building from the neediest part of me and spreading over every inch of my skin. It’s a desperate desire I’m not sure how much longer I can suppress. “I…yeah…I, um, I do.”
What I really love, what makes Trevor the ultimate book boyfriend, is his unfailing support and belief in Sofie when things get rocky for them. Events from Sofie’s past return, scandal stalks her, and through it all, though she expects Trevor to abandon her at every turn, he is solid as a rock. Instead of making the conflict one between the couple, the conflict is Sofie versus the outside world, with Trevor standing by her, and that is so refreshing. There are moments in the story that made me laugh, moments that made me cry, emotions pulled out of me left, right, and center. I highly recommend this series, and Until I’m Yours in particular, if you are looking for a quality contemporary romance that will break your heart and put it back together again.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Grade: A
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 29/04/18
Publication Date: 02/2016
I'm a biochemist and a married mother of two. Reading has been my hobby since grade school, and I've been a fan of the romance genre since I was a teenager. Sharing my love of good books by writing reviews is a recent passion of mine, but one which is richly rewarding.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.