Book Review: Can't Love You More by Sabrina Quinn

Can’t Love You More
Author: Sabrina Quinn
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: November 11th 2014
Review Source: Author

Braelyn Withers has been best friends with Aiden McCluen since she was just eight years old. The two of them had a special bond that only grew deeper the older they got. Their love was one of a kind, no one could deny that.

Everything changes in a blink of an eye after Aiden blindsides her by committing the ultimate betrayal on graduation night. Braelyn decides that leaving town is the only answer, especially now that she has a secret of her own. Little did she know that in doing so, she would change her own fate forever.

A year later, Braelyn decides to move back to her small Indiana hometown hoping to find that happy, free-spirited girl she left behind. The girl she no longer knew. She also just wants to forget what happened in Chicago. No one back home seems to understand why she isn't the same, which secludes her even more. Gab

e Murphy temporarily moved to Indiana in hopes to right his wrongs from his past in Georgia. Jaded from the life he knew, he no longer believed in love and had no desire to ever find it. All of that changed the moment those sad, icy blue eyes that belonged to the girl who lived above his new apartment met his. He was instantly drawn to her. After becoming friends with Braelyn, Gabe makes it his mission to help her out of the deep depression that has consumed her over the past year. He has seen firsthand what it can do to a person and it is not pretty.

Will Aiden's confession now that she is back change things or will it ruin her forever?

Okay. I deserve a slap on the wrists. I judged this book before I read it. The summary had me thinking “oh, great. It’s another one of those books.” It wasn’t one of those books. I expected Braelyn to be broken, and she was, but broken in a way which I didn’t expect. Broken in a way where she deserves a gold star for waking up each day and living life.

Braelyn hasn’t had the best few years...receiving the ultimate betrayal from her best friend turned love of her life then going through a devastating, traumatic loss. A year of living away from home she decides it’s time. Time to come home and face the world she left behind, time to finally come to terms with what happened.

I liked this one.  We didn’t get a chance to get to know Aiden—the guy who broke her heart—he was more of a background character, but we still got answers from him. Why he did what he did, and some major apologies from him, after all he did lose the love of his life over a mistake he made. And we certainly got to know Gabe (AKA Gable), the hot southern guy who lives in her housing block. But Braelyn was a bit of a mystery to me. For such a broken character, the character development was lacking in Braelyn and her characteristics and her general attitude didn’t match up to her past. I read a lot so maybe I’m being picky, I tend to notice the smaller things.

But, at the same time I felt like the communication and how information was put out was the downfall of this book. The communication between characters felt stiff and forced, not like how people actually talk to one another. At first I couldn’t figure out what wasn’t right. It took me nearly to 60% until I realised that the information was being rushed out. Something’s should have been well thought out and untold within time (because of the nature of the subject). Personally I think this had really good potential, and with a helpful beta reader or critique partner this could be really great.