This review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews

Melissa is a flirt. The entire world is aware of this. What the entire world is not aware of is what she hides behind that flirty persona. They don't know how broken and scarred she is. They don't know the pain she's suffered and what it'll take to recover from the blow the world has dealt her. Javier is also scarred. He escaped from a life in Cuba without being forced into a gang, but that is exactly what he'll do now. It's been 8 months since MS-13 ratted Diego out and got him killed. In that time, Javier has made a decision. He'll do whatever is necessary to find Wink, the asshole who is responsible for Diego's death and take him out. Nothing else matters. To do this, he'll need to talk to Diego's girl, Faith, who witnessed his death. To get to Faith, he'll need to befriend Melissa. What he doesn't expect is his attraction to flair up so quickly and with such force. Can they make it work?

Melissa was a character I loved in Before You. She was always watching out for Faith and supporting her when she needed it. That made this so much harder because Faith has ran off. She left because she couldn't take Diego's death and now she's not answering Melissa's calls. Right when Melissa needs her, Faith has shut her off. Leaving Melissa to deal with her problems alone. It's not that she blames Faith, but she needs her best friend. Those of us who read Before You, we know why Faith is avoiding Melissa. We know the truth Faith is hiding, but that doesn't make this any less heartbreaking. Melissa is hard not to sympathize with. What she is going through is traumatizing and she just carries on like nothing is wrong. She gets up and goes to work and tries to take care of her debts.

Javier was a character I was on the fence about. On one hand, he has lost his best friend and that is hard to take. On the other, he is a damned moron. How is taking out Wink going to solve anything? Diego will still be dead. It won't bring him back and it won't bring you closure. It'll just get you enlisted in a gang with the naive assumption you can get out with no consequences. His one shining point is his loyalty to his family.

His family, by the way, astounded me. The idea that any one woman would willing submit herself to the trauma of giving birth to 12 children is just crazy. Not to mention how much it costs to raise that many children. 12 mouths to feed plus Mom and Dad? How do you do that? The thought of the extra expense of a single child sends me into a mini-panic attack, much less 12. Beyond that, the pure racism and sexist nature of the household infuriated me. Javier's mom flat out refuses to allow any of her children to date anyone who is not Latina. She will not accept a white girl or a black girl or a Native American or anyone but a Hispanic girl for her sons. Period. That is appalling. People have the right to love who they love, period. Love doesn't know age (though relationships with a big age gap do kinda weird me out) or race or gender. The other thing is the fact that the girls are all pushed into the role of care-giver. It is the daughters responsibility to take care of the boys. Excuse me? Do we not live in the 21st century? Javier's mom needs a serious reality check. Though the girls don't seem to complain, I was floored by the role they were pushed into. What if the girls don't want to cook and clean and serve the food? What if the girls want to play soccer instead? What if one of the boys wants to learn to cook? What is wrong with that?!?!?

This novel a great sequel to the first, though it doesn't quite live up to the awesomeness that was Faith and Diego. I think that may have been because I wasn't as big of a Javier fan as I was a Diego fan. It might also be because I know that everything Javier was doing was in vain. There is no reason to do these things. Plus, I think it's incredibly stupid to believe there will be no consequences for joining a gang. To truly believe that you can join a gang and expect to get out without putting your family and friends at risk is fucking idiotic.

Besides being appalled with his family and not loving Javier quiet as much as I did Diego, this was a wonderful novel. Melissa and Javier have just enough tension to keep you begging for more. It's a novel that is hard to put down, even when you are disagreeing with what the characters are doing. I recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary YA or fans of Simon Elkekes Perfect Chemistry series.

****Thank you to K Teen for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****

Captured By You
Untamed Series # 2

By: Amber Hart

Releasing May 19, 2015

Loveswept: Flirt

Blurb:

In the passionate, gut-wrenching sequel to Amber Hart’s Until You Find Me, Raven and Jospin must fight for each other in a world where love is never safe—and power is deadly.

Raven, a college girl from Michigan, came to the jungles of Cameroon searching for closure. Falling for Jospin, a handsome, charismatic hunter with dark secrets of his own, was never part of the plan.

But despite their differences, their attraction is addictive, as exhilarating and wild as the rain forest itself—and also as dangerous. For the sake of both their lives, their heated affair must remain a secret.

Raven wants justice for her conservationist father’s death; to help her, Jospin must turn his back on his own father and the only life he has ever known. Together they risk being hunted by a band of ruthless poachers, but they take the chance anyway, working to bring down their enemies between each stolen kiss. But when one slip puts Raven’s life at stake, Jospin knows he must act.

He has captured Raven’s heart—now can he set her free

 Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/02/captured-by-you-until-you-find-me-2-by.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22675554-captured-by-you?from_search=true

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/132345-until-you-find-me

Buy Links:

Amazon | B & N | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo

Author Info:

Amber Hart is the author of Before You and Until You Find Me. She grew up in Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia, and now resides on the Florida coastline with her family. When not reading, she can be found writing, daydreaming, or dipping her toes in the sand.

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Rafflecopter Giveaway (Loveswept Mug, Flirt Mug and Select Ebook Bundle)

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Excerpt:

“Mr. Tondjii’s quarters are upstairs,” Clovis says, nodding to the staircase. “The remaining rooms belong to me and the other pack members who live here.”


“Which one is mine?” I ask.


Deep laughter erupts behind me. I turn to see a pack member—dreads like Clovis’s, but

shorter—eyeing me.


“You aren’t staying in Clovis’s room?” he asks.


Damn it. I should have assumed that I’d be staying with Clovis, since we’re supposedly

together.


“I don’t want to offend anyone,” I say, going for polite.


“What is this, brother?” the guy asks, looking at Clovis. “She’s a spy who betrayed the

habitat and faced the possibility of being executed by our pack, and now she’s worried about offending someone?” He grins.

Brother?

The other pack members disperse, leaving me alone with Clovis and this guy who is maybe Clovis’s brother.

“Raven,” Clovis says, drawing my eyes to his face. “Meet Mattius, my brother.”

I look over at Mattius and try to keep my expression warm, though I wish he would stop staring at me with those all-too-knowing eyes. Mattius looks at me as if he doesn’t believe me. I won’t let him be my demise.

“Hello, Mattius,” I say, inching closer to Clovis, turning my attention back to him. “If no one cares, I’d much rather stay with you.” I trail a finger down Clovis’s arm for emphasis, soft and flirty.

“You will stay with me always,” Clovis says, wrapping an arm around me.

I don’t trust Mattius, who is still staring. I’m too close to losing it all right here in this hallway, because I wish Jospin, not Clovis, was holding me. I miss Jospin, and the ache of missing him is so strong that it promises to rip me open. I wish I had never gotten sucked into this trap. But there’s nothing I can do about that now. So I lean in to Clovis and relax, yawn like I’m tired.

“Can I see our room, then?” I ask.


“Sure,” Clovis replies, casting Mattius a final look. “Later, brother.”

Mattius nods, watching me for a second more.


I force myself to smile. Give a little wave as he walks away.


I will lie to their faces, I vow, and somehow, some way, at whatever cost, I will bring this place down.

***If you missed my REVIEW - PLEASE CLICK HERE NOW TO READ ***

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Raven and Jospin's story has so many twists and turns!  There are many surprises in store for the reader as well.  Raven comes to Cameroon to help further her late father's work.  She was in college when he died and wants to know what happened and why.

Jospin has a father who is a poacher and hunter.  He comes basically, from a criminal background.  After meeting Raven everything changes.  He has to leave his tribe to protect her - and they banish him - assuming he will die out in the wilds alone.  He ends up at the station where Raven was staying and tells the supervisor there he knows how to find her.

Raven must act like a criminal to stay among them.  She figures if she can stay long enough maybe she will get enough evidence to bring them down.  In the mean time she has to pretend to be involved with Jospin's good friend so the others will leave her alone.

They rarely get time alone together but when they do it is a gift.  They are very much in love and her gift for art is a driving force that keeps Jospin feeling close to her.

These characters are very strong and honest.  Their chemistry is also off the charts!  Set in an exotic foreign locale like Cameroon, you cannot help but root for them to be a couple.  What they learn about the world and each other is amazing.  I give this book a 4/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given free from Netgalley.com, for reviewer purposes.  My honest opinion does not reflect Netgalley, nor its affiliates.

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the review copy! Having received one did not affect my views of the novel.

I've read Before You before reading His Reverie and this is definitely better than the latter. Waaaaay better. I had to compare because both have the same premise and spoiler alert for His Reverie, both have heroines that are daughters of a church pastor. Glad to say that Before You has more depth and has more dimensional characters you'll root for.

My feelings for this book have been very confusing. It was like teetering on a three-way seesaw if ever there is something like that. I was so excited for this book that I even featured it as a Waiting on Wednesday. It's just that I read the first chapters and damn, I was hooked. So when I finally started it, I already felt that I'll give it four stars. Then le slump happened and I couldn't keep my attention and interest with the book. I kept finding reasons why it's not working for me and why I'm not liking it. In the interest of fairness, I dropped the book for a bit and picked it up when I was in a better mood. Then it was smooth sailing after that. It went to a four-star again then something happened and I was shouting at home and I was ready to give the book five stars even with all the things I didn't like at first but then meh, Amber Hart didn't follow through the shocking and shattering plot arc so it went back to four stars. Then after some time, my loving views regarding the novel petered out and it went back to three stars.

Don't get me wrong, I love the characters. I thought they were dimensional and I was rooting for each of them. Faith is the pastor's daughter and she has been dressing very conservatively and has been dating the same boring guy for the longest time. Everything she does is calculated as she doesn't want to bring shame to her father. The only real thing she shows is her love for dance. She has been harboring a secret too that only her family and her best friend know. Because Faith Watters is not perfect. She is so far from perfect.

Then we have Diego Alvarez. His family fled Cuba after the mob killed his mother and almost killed him and his father. He's the quintessential thug-looking Hispanic with all his scars and tattoos but of course, inside, he just loves his family. I especially love Diego's scenes with his cousin Javier and his very large extended family. Sure, the characters aren't exactly unique but they check all the boxes: motivations, secrets, wants, needs, and everything else.

One of the main themes of Before You is expectation. Faith is expected to be conservative, nice and perfect, when she isn't. Diego is expected to be bad and even if he didn't start a fight, he's always the suspect. I love how Amber Hart tackled the very real divide race incurs. It's the 21st century, yes, but ethnic and racial discrimination is still everywhere. We might not be doing it purposefully but it is so ingrained on our minds. Really, this novel touched upon a lot of subjects, such as drugs, poverty, and a whole lot more. I applaud Amber Hart for dealing with social issues, making them innate into the story, which allows time for romance. However, it just felt like Faith's preachy and all. Oh, yes, it's in dual POV so yay!

Now, I think Before You lost me in the romance department. Sure, Faith and Diego have crackling chemistry but yes, it is a wee bit instalove. All my issues are rooted in there so I can't really discuss it. Plus, I really don't approve of using other people to make the other person jealous.

Anyway, there's this big twist at the end which made me hyperventilate and which broke my heart. But then, Amber Hart didn't push through with it so we can get our HEA. I already admitted defeat and that this is a heartbreaking novel but [spoiler] HOW MANY TIMES CAN A PERSON DIE BUT NOT REALLY DIE??? TWICE IS TOO MANY TIMES ALREADY.[/spoiler] I had issues with the ending bit. But it was still a four-star at this point.

It got to three stars when I remembered how forced the writing was to me, especially Faith's perspective. Just, while I was reading it during my slump, it felt like it was trying too hard to be poetic? To be lyrical? It was full of short sentences, with all that italics. It was so angsty that it felt fake to me. I don't know, maybe it's just me and that slump talking.

Even though I didn't fully love this book, I still recommend it. I think I would have loved it if I read it at a different time. I'm a fan of Katie McGarry and Amber Hart's writing is reminiscent of Katie's. I even think Before You is like the heightened and more frighteningly real version of Crash into You. We have actual mobs and gangs in here who are old and really scary. Real danger alert! Anyway, Before You would be perfect for fans of Katie McGarry and those who love angst in YA.