Nursing student Charlie Davenport has never gotten over her freshman year fling with her best friend’s older brother. Sure, she’s enjoyed her time at Glendale College – maybe a little too much. But for some reason, he’s always been in the back of her mind.But even though she’s sure their flame would still burn hot four years later, she doesn’t appreciate his sudden and relentless presence in her … presence in her life. Because he’s suddenly ready to pick things back up, she should drop everything? She doesn’t think so.
That man is one mistake she can’t make again.
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Professional soccer player Jeremy Jameson has hit a serious road bump in life. Miraculously, his poor decisions have opened the door to rekindling things with his sister’s best friend, Charlie – the only woman that has ever made him consider a relationship.
He doesn’t believe he’ll ever be worthy of her, but he can’t let her slip through his fingers again. And as he realizes its time to make some much needed changes in his life, he recruits Charlie to help. Hopefully along the way, he can convince her to give him another chance.
Jeremy knows Charlie thinks it’s a mistake to start things up again, but he also knows that’s just not true.
The real mistake was letting her go.
This book is a novella follow up to The Keeper. While it can function as a stand-alone, it is highly encouraged to read The Keeper, as some major plot points and spoilers are referenced.
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This novella is a second chance romance. Could be read as a standalone but I suggest you read The Keeper first as it introduces you to Jeremy Jameson and Charlie Davenport. It also provides the history of this couple and explains some of their problems which affect them in this book. This well written story is in two parts – past and present.
The author starts with the funny tale of what happened the night Charlie found Jeremy sitting on her bed in only his boxers! He was in his senior year at college and Charlie was a freshman and his sister’s roommate. They went on a secret date and really connected and they were both excited about going on a second date even if it meant hiding it from Rachel. Jeremy reluctantly ends things when Rachel pleads with him not to start anything with Charlie because she was her only friend and he such a playboy. He a good man, wonderful brother but a horrible boyfriend. With Charlie off-limits he reverts back to his old ways but never forgets her. Charlie reacts in a similar way and uses guys to numb the pain while trying to make herself feel good.
Then we jump forward a few years and this links up to the ending of The Keeper. Jeremy is a professional soccer player for LA Galaxy and Charlie is now a senior, due to graduate with Rachel in a few months. Jeremy is really struggling with Rachel’s revelations and cross he wasn’t strong enough to go for the relationship he wanted with Charlie all those years ago. He is not a playboy anymore and desperately wants to prove this to Charlie. He is worried he could end up like his dad but doesn’t know how to stop it. Luckily it all comes to a head one morning when Charlie isn’t the only one who catches him out.
Charlie now finds herself helping Jeremy get back on track because they all knew he wasn’t himself but didn’t realise how bad it had got. She rejects his advances even though she still hung up on him. She is dealing with family issues and knows she needs to be strong for herself for a change because she has little self-worth. Both of them know using something to numb the pain isn’t healthy. Jeremy needs to find a way to show her how important and special she is to him.
I felt this couple deserved a full length novel because I wondered if we missed any interactions they may have had in the intervening years and I wanted more on their reactions to Rachel and Mack’s relationship. I was glad the timing was wrong for them first time round because I think he needed to grow up and didn’t deserve Charlie. I did notice a few times the timeline didn’t totally link up with The Keeper and how this couples problems were similar to Rachel and Mack’s, however, the author did have them dealing with them in different ways. I loved the scenes with the sunsets and when they have fun together. Great ending, I was so glad Jeremy stepped up to the mark. Hopefully we will get another novella so we can catch up with both couples as adults.
Keep Away was as amazing as the Keeper! I had a perpetual smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. Both books have the best first date scenes ever. And Jeremy is so charming and sexy. I love the way Jillian writes incredibly steamy make out scenes. I’m surprised my Kindle didn’t burst into flames at times.
While the story is about the romance between Charlie and Jeremy, there were other strong relationships. We got a glimpse of Charlie’s relationships with her parents and her siblings. Jeremy and RJ are still close as well. But what I love the most, in both books, is that there is a strong theme of the characters taking care of themselves. They work hard to be the happiest and healthiest versions of themselves. There is always a ton of character growth, which is impressive in a novella.
It was great to see the story continue. I was worried about how Jeremy was doing after the events of the Keeper. So it was good to have that resolved. These are characters that will definitely stick with me.