Review: Never with Me by Kaylee Ryan

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions.

Never with Me is the newest release from Kaylee Ryan, and it's an contemporary romance with age-gap and falling-for-your-best-friend's-sibling (or falling-for-your-sibling's-best-friend) feels. This is a standalone, although it does seem to serve as a jump-off point for an upcoming new series from the author featuring the cousins of the female main character here. Readers are introduced to Ramsey Smithfield and Deacon Setty. She's a twenty-two-year-old who left behind the house that was more like a gilded cage two years ago and now works three jobs but has been happier than she ever used to be. He's thirty-two and a lawyer dedicated to his work, leaving little to no time for much else. When Deacon's sister, who happens to be Ramsey's best friend, pairs them up for a blind date photo shoot, neither realized what an eye-opening, life-changing experience it would be.

This was a mostly lighthearted read with only a smidgen of angst courtesy of Ramsey's parental woes, but thank goodness she found family with her aunt and uncle and her nine cousins plus her best friend, plus Deacon's parents and sisters were drama-free. It could be argued that Ramsey and Deacon pretty much were insta-love, although I think of it more as them having one heck of an undeniable insta-spark that was just begging to be fanned into something that would have them burning for each other. I quite enjoyed their romance, although I confess that seeing Ramsey's evolution from the girl we meet at the beginning of the book to the woman she becomes was the true highlight for me. Never with Me was a sweet read with notable steamy moments, and it now has me quite curious about what stories await Ramsey's cousins, aka the Kincaid brothers. This snags 4.5 stars.

Release Date: 26 July 2022

Date Read: 24 July 2022

Learn more about Kaylee Ryan.

Pre-order Never with Me on Amazon.