My first K.A. Tucker book! (I know, I'm late to the party!) I'll say this: it felt like, while reading Say You Still Love Me, I was holding onto summer for just a bit longer.


Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.

On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.

Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.

The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.

Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.
 



As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 

After years and years of rave reviews involving K.A. Tucker's work, I've *finally* read one for myself. On one hand, I'm a little disappointed that I picked Say You Still Love Meas my introduction to K.A. Tucker's work, just because I feel like I maybe am not getting the best end of her backlist. On the other hand, this novel was super enjoyable and engaging and allowed me to hold onto summer for just a few beats longer. Which, given that it's about to be November, and Chicago autumns and winters can be brutal, was an absolute plus.

That being said, Tucker certainly knows how to write a magnetic love story that feels achingly real and all consuming. Say You Still Love Me had every opportunity to be nothing more than a cliche tale of second chance romances but it never felt like anything tired and old. In-fact, the spark of life that Tucker breathes into each of her characters is nearly as potent as the chemistry they share. As a whole, Say You Still Love Me showcases the best of the romance genre and crafts a lovestory that feels steamy, sweet, organic and everything all at once.

There's this feeling that came with Say You Still Love Me that felt optimistic and not unlike the idea of getting a second chance at the romance that slipped through your fingers. There is a lot of warmth and nostalgia to this story that will leave readers feeling as though they've now become the human equivalent of the hearts-in-eyes emoji. At its core, Say You Still Love Me is full of love, loss, nostalgia and that feeling of being young and in love. I loved that Tucker used tropes that are common in NA/adult romances but flipped them on their heads and made them her own.

As for the development of characters and settings beyond the timeline and the chemistry shared between love interests: I really liked it and them! I never knew I was a sucker for 'summer camp' romances, but the flashbacks for Say You Still Love Me signaled that I am. When I say these two are intense and magnetic, I mean that. For me, I can't really read a romance if it isn't the sort that can burn itself off the papers and linger in your veins for weeks afterwards; Say You Still Love Me does just that.

And back to the characters: I thought Tucker crafted some believable, flawed individuals that were easy to connect with. Their story is amplified into stronger territory when it comes to how easy it is to dive into their minds. While Piper may rub some readers the wrong way, I don't doubt that she will charm (and just as easily: frustrate) the majority of readers. Kyle, too, has a similar effect on readers but is ultimately desirable and swoon-worthy.

Although the good outweighs the 'bad' in this one, (I hesitate in saying bad: Say You Still Love Me is not bad and I cannot stress that enough) there were still parts of the story that I wasn't overly keen on. I thought that the flip and flop of the timeline could have been done a little bit differently (although this isn't earth-shattering and doesn't necessarily define the story) and there were a few scenes that just felt... off-putting.

Other than that, I found Say You Still Love Me to be a captivating second chance romance that fans of Don't You Forget About Me will enjoy deeply; not only did it leave me with the warm and fuzzies I so desired, it had me laughing and emotional at all the right times. I can't wait to dive into more of K.A. Tucker's books in the future.