Craves The Angst: NEW REVIEW - THE AFTER OF US (Judge Me Not #4) by S.R. Grey:

TITLE: The After of Us
SERIES: Judge Me Not
SERIES PLACEMENT: #4
(Spinoff Novel and Standalone)
AUTHOR: S.R. Grey
AGE GROUP: New Adult
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2016
PUBLISHER: S.R. Grey Publications
PAGES: Approx. 228
COPY PROVIDED BY: Author
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 4.5 Stars!

BOOK BLURB:
Can the ending of one dream lead to the beginning of a new one?

Will Gartner made a lot of mistakes in the past, but he finally has his life together. Leaving his reckless teenage years behind, he’s recently graduated from college and is all set to move from Las Vegas to New York to start a prestigious new job. But when an unexpected guest shows up at his farewell party, all Will’s dreams are smashed to pieces. Suddenly, he’s taking a crash course in how to be a father to the five-year-old daughter he never knew existed.

Will changes direction and heads to Harmony Creek, Ohio, and the only person who’s ever really been there for him, his brother Chase. Chase saved Will in the past, but will he rescue him yet again? Some lessons—like fatherhood—can only be learned by doing. Is Will up to the challenge?

And where does Emma Metzger fit into Will’s suddenly upside-down world? Emma knows all about his troubled past and sees his hesitation to commit to his new daughter. How can she commit her heart to a man who doesn’t know what the word means?

Chase always told Will “Follow your heart. Always try to be a good man.” But will following his heart be enough for his daughter, and for Emma?

The After of Us is a story about letting go of old dreams, and, in the process, discovering what you really needed to make you happy was right there in front of you all along.

The After of Us is a spin-off of the Judge Me Not series and a standalone novel.

New Adult Romance/Coming of Age Romance

REVIEWERS NOTE: I received this eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Beautiful Stars!

The Review:

S.R. Grey has a talent for pulling you right into the emotional struggles of her characters. You not a bystander just reading a book. The fluid writing, the connection with the characters, the intensity and “feels” you get from one of her books is such a heartwarming and a heartbreaking thing. You don’t read. You FEEL. It’s one of the many reasons I love her books. This one was no different. Beautiful, angsty and sweet.

Will Gartner is all grown up. Starting out with a shaky childhood and a questionable future, we meet Will as a brooding and conflicted teenager in the first books in this series. His big brother Chase, who I freaking LOVE, who didn’t want his younger brother following the same destructive path he had been on, helped to steered Will onto a solid path with a bright future. Years later, we see a mature, confident Will graduating college and preparing for a successful future at his dream job.

That all comes to a halt the moment his past connects with his present and he’s left with a young daughter he knew nothing about. Struggling to figure out what to do next, he goes back to his brother Chase, the one person he knows who can help him.

I loved watching Will form a hesitant but ultimately solid bond with his daughter. He’s scared and undecided at first but Lily’s is too innocent and adorable to ignore. It was captivating and sweet and though he had some very tough decisions to make, and he felt like he was on shaky ground once again, he was a solid character and become the hero his daughter needed him to be. The author writes their interactions with struggle but also with such warmth and strength, you can’t help but fall in love with everything about them.

And then there’s Emma, a pleasant surprise from years ago and one he never forgot about. Emma was a beautifully written heroine with her own shaky past. She knew herself and knew what she wanted but she was also afraid of getting hurt. Knowing that Will might not be around for long had her cautious but also because of her strength, she helped seal the bond between Lily and Will. Their push-pull was romantic and sexy and Will all grown up, could rival Chase in the hot-and-steamy department!

Watching them build a connection as a family was full of challenges but never wavered in its enchantment... just like the books before it. This series has never let me down. If I want a romantic read that will entertain and give me the angst I love, I know I can find it here. I’ve reread the first three books several times and this one is in that same reread pile.

As a side note, I love, LOVED getting more of Chase. I fell in love with him in the first book and seeing how far he’s come, how much passion he gets out of life and his family, how wise and wonderful he is as a husband and a father, made me giddy and warm all over. ;)