Book Review: If You Were Mine

"If You Were Mine" by Melanie Harlow

Publication Date-February 28, 2017

Genre-Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Kindle Edition-311 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes

No Spoilers!!

Warning for lots of sexual content in this book. This isn't a typical New Adult book because the characters are in their thirties.

Also, I didn't know this was a companion series until after I finished this book. There are two books before this one about Claire's best friends, Margot and Jaime. The books are called "Man Candy" which I believe is the first book and "After We Fall" is the second book so this one is the third and final book. I wish I knew that because I like to read series in order and now I got spoiled but that's okay. I was so happy when I found out there were more books because I loved Margot and Jaime. So yeah I recommend reading those books first before reading this one, unless you don't mind being spoiled. This book can be read as a stand-alone though. I wasn't confused at all, and it wasn't hard for me to connect to the characters. 

Favorite Quotes:

"Did they know how hard it was to look at myself and wonder what was wrong with me that I was thirty and had never been in love?"

"You know, I think for so long I felt like there was something innate about me that wasn't good enough, exciting enough, resilient enough, talented enough to put myself out there. I talked myself out of so many things because I looked at them as opportunities to fail, not as opportunities to succeed. I was so afraid to fall that I never let myself fly."

"Being with Theo had taught me that I liked the way I felt about myself when I stepped outside my comfort zone. Faced my fears. Put on the red lipstick. And watching him let his fear ruin us had forced me to think about all the ways I still let fear hold me back. "I've wanted to visit the museums in Paris since I was a little girl. Yes, I'm scared of flying, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let anxiety keep me from making that dream a reality. I can't go through life being afraid and careful all the time. At some point, I have to go for what I really want and trust in fate. What's meant to be will be". 

"Love is real and it's powerful enough to conquer any odds". 

Hey guys. So I just finished reading "If You Were Mine" and I really enjoyed it. I've been wanting to read this book and I read it now because it's the April book of the month pick for the New Adult book club I'm in on goodreads. Here's the link to the group if you wanna join.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/210028-new-adulting-central

The Plot

Theo MacLeod wasn’t supposed to be the one.
Tall, dark and handsome suits me just fine, but the cocky grin, know-it-all attitude, and mammoth ego? No thanks. I only hired him so I wouldn’t have to sit at the singles table again. It was just pretend.
He wasn’t supposed to kiss me. 
My heart wasn’t supposed to pound. 
We weren’t supposed to spend the night together—the hottest night of my life. 
One night turns into a snowed-in weekend away, and even the blizzard of the century can’t cool the fire between us. I can’t get enough—of his smile, of his body, of the way he makes me feel.
We’re nothing alike. He’s a daredevil, and I’m a nervous Nellie. He’s a drifter, and I want to put down roots. He’s an opportunist with a checkered past, and I’m a Girl Scout volunteer.
But none of it matters when I’m in his arms.
I know he’s made mistakes. I know his wounds are deep, and he doesn’t trust easily. I know he doesn’t believe he could ever be enough to make me happy, but he could. 
All he has to do is stay.

My Opinion

I really liked this book. I love my New Adult Romance books and this one didn't disappoint. It wasn't my favorite NA book but it was good. 

Let's talk about the writing: I really like Melanie's writing style. This was my first book from her and it definitely won't be my last. I like the way she writes. I love that this book is in multiple pov's. I got to see inside of Claire and Theo's heads. I love when romance books are also in the guy's point of view. Overall, I just really like her writing style, I'm not picky with writing anyway :)

I absolutely loved the plot for this book! This book has one of my favorite tropes which is the fake dating trope! I just love reading about fake dating, so that's why I was drawn to this book. If you love fake dating like me you have to read "The Fill-In Boyfriend" by Kasie West. That book was amazing!

As for the pacing, it was fine. I have to say though that I liked the first half of the book a lot more than the second half. I thought the first part was funny and fun to read about. The second half wasn't boring at all but it started to get darker and it wasn't as light and fluffy as the first half. I considered knocking off a star since the second half wasn't as enjoyable, but then it got better and the end of the book  made me so happy so I decided to just keep my original rating. 

Finally let's talk about the characters.

I really liked the main protagonist, Claire. She's a very nice, good girl. She doesn't take risks and she's thirty years old and still single. I could relate to her a lot because I'm also single and I know what it's like to be surrounded by couples a lot. It makes me feel dumb that I don't have a boyfriend. I'm also a hopeless romantic like Claire and she loves the Hallmark romance movies. I also have a fear of flying like her. I just loved her because she's such a good person and she's very sweet and caring. 

As for the love interest, Theo I liked him. He's not in my top book boyfriend's list but I still really liked Theo. He's your typical bad boy with the tragic past. Some people said they found him frustrating, but I didn't. I could totally understand why he acted the way he did. I'm not going to say what he does in the book because I don't wanna spoil you. Yes, his actions were wrong and he made bad choices but I loved that the author made him so realistic. He's not the typical perfect guy in romance books. He has a lot of issues emotionally and mentally. He's scarred from something that happened in the past and he has major trust issues. So yeah, he had a reason to act the way he did. I just love that the author give him lots of flaws, it's very realistic. 

As for the romance, I think they are a great couple. They were perfect for each other. I'll admit that I thought their relationship was a little insta-lovey in the beginning of the book, but because of events that happen in the book it didn't bother me in the end.

I really really loved Claire's two best friends, Jaime and Margot. They were such great friends and yay for a good female friendship in this book! There was no drama, and no backstabbing. Claire's friends were always there for her, they were so nice and just good people in general. I also loved their boyfriends too. I can't wait to read the other two books about Jaime and Margot. I loved them so much and now I get to read their stories! I wish I knew about those books sooner before reading this one.  I loved Theo's brother, Aaron and Josie and their daughters. They were great people. Overall, I loved all the characters in this book. The character development was just so amazing in this book. 

Overall, "If You Were Mine" was such a good book. I'm so glad this was the April pick for the book club. I was so excited to read it and the book didn't disappoint me at all. I can't wait to read "Man Candy" and "After We Fall" by her. If your looking for a good romance with characters in their thirties, I highly recommend this book. This book is definitely worth a buy and I obviously gave this book 5/5 Lily Pads. So that was my review. Thank you so much for reading, have a great day and happy reading! :)