Tell Me - Abigail Strom Review

I got this through “Kindle First” through Amazon UK. This is where you can select one book from Amazon’s pre-selected 6 books to read before its release date. This is free for Amazon prime members or 99p for everyone else. I paid 99p and got it before the release date despite not reading t until after it was released as the 99p was cheaper than the pre-order and release price of £3.98 so it was a great deal.

“Shy bookstore owner Jane Finch grew up hiding in the margins of her own life while her vibrant, adventure-loving sister, Samantha, dominated every plotline. She’s made peace with it, unlike Sam’s business partner, Caleb, who’s always nudging Jane to go after what she really wants. Why should she care what blunt, brash Caleb thinks? They’ve never had much in common, except for Sam.

After tragedy strikes, they don’t even have that.
Caleb can’t quite remember when Sam’s little sister stopped being like a surrogate sibling to him and became just…Jane. She’s the most intriguing woman he’s ever met, and so much sexier and stronger than she thinks. On the emotional journey to honor Sam’s memory, the spark they’ve tried to deny becomes an inferno. This journey was meant to be an ending, but will they discover an unexpected new beginning?”

This is about bookstore owner Jane who is also described as “plain jane” and is the complete opposite of her sister Sam who is described as a bubbly and out-going.  Then you’ve got Caleb who is the family friend and Sam’s business partner who’s probably best described as being southern and always wears a cowboy hat. 

It started off all sweet and quite light-hearted and then came the tragedy twist which was written in so well that it I didn’t even question it happening. There were quite a few time jumps which normally annoys me, I really enjoy continuity, but this was done so well I actually didn’t mind it happening here. It was such a lovely story of not only love but also discovering yourself after a tragedy and dealing with how to cope and move on in your own way. I loved how Jane wasn't this perfect get-on-with-it girl like we seem to see in a lot of romance books and had her issues and dealt with them in her own way and not necessarily how everyone might have been telling her to.

I think it would be best described as a friends to lovers romance as Caleb and Jane are obviously very close family friends who both discover their love for each other. The realisation process was so organic and it also didn’t happen at the same point – and I loved that the tragedy happened sort of near the start of their new found relationship/thing that they had just started so they had to deal with that as part of their coming together. Caleb wasn’t to pushy or over-dominant which I also really liked and made their relationship seem so much more realistic – he gave her space when she needed it but also pushed her in just the right ways to help her cope and move on and also maybe even discover herself BUT without being reliant on him herself. 

It was such a great story in so many ways and the only way I thought it could have improved was maybe by having a bit more chemistry or sexual heat or tension between them but I think that it may just be my personal preference.

I would definitely recommend picking this up if you want a great friends-to-lover romance with some self-discovery and a tragedy thrown in.