They call her Americaās Sweetheart.
And me? Iām the so-called āinked godā she dumped on TV.
Iāve tried to forget her. Iāve tried to move on.
Until I discover that her family is opening a new restaurant next to my tattoo parlor.
If I were a gentleman, Iād offer my congratulations and go my own way. If I were a gentleman, Iād let her be… but Iām not.
Savannah Rose may claim Iām nothing more than a friend, but that slight hitch in her breath whenever I get too close says that Americaās sweetheart is nothing but a liar.
All it takes is one scorching kiss, and I vow in her ear: āYouāre going to beg. Beg me to touch you, beg me to give you more, and if youāre real good, maybe Iāll do it all over again before you have to beg for that too.ā
Iām no gentleman.
But Savannah Rose? Sheās no oneās sweetheart but mine.
| Title: | Love Me Tomorrow |
| Author: | Maria Luis |
| Narrator(s): | Aure Nash Jason Clarke |
| Series: | Put a Ring on It (Book 3) |
| Pages / Length: | 456 / 12h 35m |
| Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Second Chance Romance Friends to Lovers |
| Point of View: | First Person, Present Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | New Orleans, Louisiana, US |
| HEA: | āļø |
| Release Date: | 31st August, 2023 |
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Didnāt hit the mark for me
I adored Hold Me Today – the first book in the Put A Ring On It series by Maria Luis. I mean adored it. I called it ātruly spectacularā and I couldnāt wait to read more from Ms Luis. When I heard she was releasing the third book in the Put A Ring On It series – this one – in audio, I was ridiculously excited hoping it would match Hold Me Today. Sadly, this just didnāt hit many of my expectations.
We start off with Savannah Rose – a New Orleans native and part of a rich and successful restaurant dynasty. Sheās reluctantly taking part in a Bachelor type show when the man of her dreams, Owen Harvey, turns up on set. We now cut to modern day only to find out Savannah turned away Owen, ditching him on live TV. But sheās back and while she definitely came across as shy, subservient and meek in the beginning, Savannahās main aim seems to be to needle and rattle Owen. It felt like she didnāt want him but wanted him to tease him knowing fine well he wants her. She was also very out of touch – sending 100s of roses to Owen simply to piss him off. She constantly complains about not being in charge of her own life and having lived a tough life. Sheās overwrought in her VP role at her family firm (ah, nepotism!), yet she just took months off for filming and then an 8 month tour around Europe. Tell me again how Iām supposed to feel sorry for you, hon?
Savannah was voiced by Aure Nash and she didnāt really help me feel the love for Savannah. Her ānormalā speaking voice was absolutely fine but she added too much inflection and at times she overacted her part for my liking. I wasnāt keen on her āmaleā voices either.
I also wasnāt sure what ethnicity our heroine was meant to be. On the book cover she looks white but in the story she says sheās Louisiana Creole. I definitely think she was supposed to be a POC so why the cover model? Iām confused.
“…[it] made zero sense. The whole thing made zero sense.”
Owen Harvey is our hero and on the surface, he ticks all the boxes for me. Heās a tatted up bad boy whoās a bit gruff and a bit grumpy. Heās also absolutely smitten with Savannah – so much so that he even crashes her Bachelor show in the hopes of declaring his love. But as we dig deeper, itās all a bit more confusing. He dated Savannahās sister before meeting and falling for Savannah but, understandably, sheās not keen to date her sisterās ex. But they do become friends and begin to fall for each other. I guess I just donāt understand why Owen didnāt make a move during this time. When they do finally get together, Owen comes across as quite alpha but that was somewhat lacking at the beginning.
Owen is voiced by Jason Clarke who is always good to listen to. He has the necessary gravitas in his voice to voice Owen exactly like I would hope. He also does a good female variation.
Savannah and Owen had okay chemistry and the story definitely picked up once they were together. There were a few sex scenes and while descriptive, they didnāt get my motor running much. Or at all.
After our couple got together and figured out their problems, I felt then that the author realised she didnāt have enough words for a full book. I know, letās put in a pointless aside about colourblindness that absolutely nobody had talked about up until then. It felt awkward and I have no clue why it was added in. Add to that, the way it was āfound outā made zero sense. The whole thing made zero sense.
I do have to give a shout out to Pablo – the crazy cat that was a good source of humour, especially in his bromance with Owen in the second half of the book. I also enjoyed Gage and Lizzie who Iāve since realised are the couple from Tempt Me With Forever. Gage is Owenās twin so itās likely Owen popped up in that book before getting his own story.
Sadly, this story just didnāt work for me. Savannah didnāt click with me and while Owen wasnāt hard to like, he just didnāt set my world on fire. The story was confusing and at times, well, irritating. Having said all Iāve said, the writing was still engaging and I do want to read more of Maria Luisās contemporary romances. Not the one for me but I hope that if you do read it, youāll love it where I didnāt. Only 3 stars.
* I received this audiobook in exchange for my honest review *
Maria is a big fan of books, nature, dogs, and pretty things – not always in that order, though.
By day, Maria is a historian who specializes in 19th century New Orleans and 14th century London. What do the two eras have in common? Not much, except for disease, scandal, and crime – Maria’s favorite historical topics. (For real, if you want to talk any of the above, just reach out!)
When not digging through the archives, Maria writes romances about strong men and the sassy women who sweep them off their feet.
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Put a Ring on It Series:
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