Once Upon a Twilight!: Blog Tour: As Long As You Love Me | Ann Aguirre | Review

Welcome to our stop on the AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME blog tour for Ann Aguirre's second novel in the 2B Trilogy. This tour is hosted by InkSlinger PR.

As Long As You Love Me
2B Trilogy #2
Author: Ann Aguirre
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: October 1st 2014
Review Source: NetGalley | Harlequin

Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. There are the justifications she gives to everyone else—missing her family, losing her college scholarship. And then there’s the reason Lauren can’t admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend’s older brother.

Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He can’t pinpoint exactly what’s missing until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her. But he’s the guy that women love and leave—not the one who makes them think of forever.

Though she’s terrified of opening up, Lauren’s ready to take that chance. Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.

How nice is it when a sequel blows the debut out of the water. The usually does not happen in the book world, maybe in movies but not books. You normally hear that the first books in the series are the attention grabbers and then the sequel falls short, but not in the case of As Long As You Love Me. Aguirre wrote a great follow up to I Want It That Way, which I thought was a good not great start to a series. Well now the bar has been raised, so will book three, The Shape of My Heart beat the greatness that As Long As You Love Me was? Can't wait to find out when I read the last book in the trilogy.

In this story we focus on Lauren. If you read the first book, you'll know this is Nadia best friend that in the first book moved back home because college life just wasn't working for her. So the story picks up when Lauren has returned back to her hometown, to her mother's house. Lauren is hoping she can start everything on the right foot now that she is back home. She knows she left things slight messy from where she left.

Cue in Rob the man that will make your heart skip a few beats. Lauren grew up crushing on Rob, which happens to be Nadia's older brother. This is probably the best thing about moving back home, is that Lauren gets to hang out with Rob again and they are much older and wiser now. Another good thing is that Rob and the girlfriend, aren't really on the same page. He is the guy that gets taken advantage of. He is very good looking but is more hands on that book smart, so people take advantage. This includes the girlfriend, Avery. So when Lauren finds solace in helping Rob build his house, not just walls and tiles are being laid down, but a new foundation for a relationship has started even though they both don't acknowledge right away.

Not everything starts off on the right track with Lauren and Rob. They have to correct the girlfriend issue. Then they have to fix themselves also before giving 110%. Plus while trying to make a go at things, they will have to deal with this job offer Rob can't refuse. It will make some decisions tough and others almost impossible. New friendships will blossoms and love will be put to the test a few times.

I really loved the chemistry between Lauren and Rob, they both worked for me. Its wasn't this sappy love story from the start. I like that the romance was meaty, if that makes sense to you. It read and felt like a real life relationship, not some fairytale that only happens in books. You'll be sucked in like I was when you read the sequel. Bonus when you read the book is the cameos from characters in book one.

The short version of my review is that I really loved and would recommend to anyone that loves a great contemporary with fantastic characters. This is a series that is not meant for a younger audience.

Other Books in the 2B Trilogy:

I Want It That Way

As Long As You Love Me (9/30/14)

The Shape Of My Heart (11/25/14)

Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.