Sometimes life is a dream you don’t want to wake up from . . .The night Alison Lockhart walks in to Undisputed, she only wants to have a drink, celebrate a friend’s birthday, and forget about the newest guy her mother tried to set her up with. It’s why, when the infamous Jay “The Hurricane” Hamilton—one of the highest-ranking boxers at The Underground—labels her a ring rat, she writes him off as … him off as just another guy with an over-inflated ego.
Only she can’t stop thinking about him.
Or his steel-blue eyes.
Or the apology on his perfect lips.
Their fall is fast and hard, but when Alison’s ex shows up and Jay starts keeping secrets, will they be able to find their way out of the nightmare?
*** Standalone. Recommended for readers 17+ ***
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So this is a difficult one for me to rate; On the one hand, I loved the majority of “If You Say So” And I also found it to be incredibly romantic, emotive and sweet, I could actually feel the sentiment projecting off the page; right at me.
I have a soft spot for fighters with a core of mushiness and Jay Hamilton had this in spades.
He was a man who was tough, took no crap but was also not afraid of embracing his softer side and showing his true emotions.
I suppose what I’m trying to say he was Alpha enough that he didn’t need to prove himself in any way; secure in his own manliness; with no point to prove.
His personality really complimented Alison’s and the projected dynamic between these two was something I truly enjoyed.
It was such a believable partnership and I had no issues warming to and embracing this couple wholeheartedly.
But then on the other hand that ending; man, I hated it; like it really pissed me off big style.
It totally blindsided me; and usually for me in fiction that’s a good thing.
It’s not very often an author is able to sneak up on me and take me unawares like A.R. Myles did here, but this time; it so wasn’t my bag.
I found it unnecessary and frankly a trifle bemusing; like what is the author trying to accomplish here; if it was to make me have a good old cry and shock the socks off me then mission accomplished; it certainly achieved its intention.
But all that this finale brought to my table was a big pit of sadness combined with despair.
And it left behind an awful sour taste in my mouth.
I was so enjoying the refreshing simplicity of “If You Say So”; then to be left feeling like I had been floored by a ten-tonne lorry; unacceptable.
Without that finish, I would have rated this much higher; In fact, it was a total four-star from me, up until that moment I was bomb-shelled in such a dramatic fashion.
Such a shame as I was so enjoying myself until then; this book is still an excellent read and was exceptionally well written with a warm inviting style of storytelling.
It was told in dual POV had no OM or OW drama; which I was stoked about; I’m not a big fan of this and seem lately to be getting this a lot in my choice of fiction; so was great that this was missing from “If You Say So”.
I think this book is going to be like marmite; you either do or you don’t.
Unfortunately for me, that finish major derailed me.
Thank You to the Author for providing me with an ARC of “If You Say So ” of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
After reading If you say so I had to give it some time to write my review I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll try to stay away from any spoilers . I really loved the first 70 to 80 percent of If you say so but then the last couple of chapters made me feel a whole other way about it to were I was really upset and felt a bit cheated . I mean good job to the author for giving something so unexpected it’s just me investing my time into to a story falling for the characters and watching them find love and then having that kind of ending just isn’t for me I mean there are those who like that but I’m not one of them . Did it make me cry yes but it wasn’t just sad tears there was frustration with a bit of anger put in there .
copy provided for honest review
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hero= 9 heroine= 9 secondary characters= 9 Chemistry= steam= 6
romance=7 humor=3 darkness level=5 action= 4 mystery= 4
enjoyment=5 angst=4 story line=6 Story ending= 0
character development=8 pacing= 7
stars=3.5
would I recommend this book= to those who like endings like that
would I re read this book= no
would I read future books by this author= maybe
I struggled, a lot, to write this review. My conflicting feelings have made me take some time before I wrote it. I wanted to clear my head, really think about how I felt this novel before I wrote it. Also, I wanted to write an honest and true review, without giving away spoilers.
AR Myles had me hooked from the first page. I wanted to read all about Jay and Alison. From their first meeting I loved Jay, even though he was a major jerk face. But after that, he was a major sweet heart, and I loved him for sticking up for Ali, for falling in love with her so completely, that you couldn’t help but fall in love with him too. Ali is strong and independent, despite what her mother wants her to be. She is loved by Jay and by her friends.
This book was literally an emotional roller coaster. The ups were fabulous, and the lows were LOW. Ali’s relationship with Jay was strong, no matter how many lows they had, she never doubted him. He stood up for her against her mother. He bonded with her father. Ali supported Jay through all of his struggles. Their chemistry was off the charts from the very first page.
So while I loved this book, with all it’s ups and downs, I am not a fan of the ending. It’s not my thing, the ending, but it was real and raw. I went back and forth on what to rate this book. On one hand, I wanted to one star it because HOW DARE AR Myles make me fall in love THAT MUCH and then DO THAT to me? But on the other, she created a story I will cry about all night, and every time I think about it. It’s the story I will tell people to read when they need an ugly cry. How could I give it less than 4 stars? I already took 1 star away because I didn’t like the ending. But at the end of the day? This was a beautifully written story, tragic, but amazing. I can’t fault AR for sticking with the truth and with the character. (Well, I can, and I can beg her to give me an alternate, but still…)