Review: Say You Love Me Again by Carrie Aarons


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

"Remember, you left me, Levi. I was the one who fucked up, but you were the one who walked out. I've been right here, for years, on the sidelines of my life. And I'm done with it. It's been days, a goddamn week, since you admitted you still love me, and you're the one who avoided talking about it. It's always been hot and cold with you, and I'm taking back my own power."

Carrie Aarons's newest standalone contemporary romance is, hands down, one of my all-time favorites that she's ever written. That's saying something considering I've read every single book she's ever published. There's just something about Say You Love Me Again. This is a second-chance romance between a divorced couple, both well-known celebrities who once felt like they had everything that they could ever dream of, only for their lives to fall apart at a point when they were expected to be at their happiest. There's a great deal of history--both good and bad--between the main characters, twenty-eight-year-olds Levi and Sophie Truin, and they've had to face certain deeply rooted issues; dealing with them, however, was a whole different matter. What happens when you find yourself still very much in love with the one person who broke your heart and you're forever tied to one another because of your daughter?

Levi Truin is an award-winning, world-famous rock star whose love for music is trumped only by his love for his seven-year-old daughter, Hart--the same daughter he shares with his ex-wife, Sophie Truin, a supermodel and the founder of Full Hands, a non-profit organization for women going through postpartum depression. Since they ended their marriage seven years ago, Levi and Sophie have endeavored to create a relationship that puts Hart at the center of it--co-parenting to the best of their abilities and ensuring that whatever led to their break-up be kept under wraps. They live separate lives, but when Levi is offered an opportunity to partake in a grassroots-type and more intimate tour, he knows this is something he wants his daughter to experience. Wanting to make sure they continue their no-nanny setup, Sophie realizes going on tour with them is their only option. Spending time together in close quarters for weeks on end may bring them closer, but will all their secrets force them apart again?

This story and these characters took a piece of my heart, and I'm perfectly okay with not getting it back. My emotions were all over the place while reading this novel. Both Sophie and Levi made their fair share of missteps, and neither one was perfect, but there was no denying the fact that their daughter, Hart, was who mattered most to them--or that this former couple still loved each other madly. My heart broke for both of them as they tried to figure out what to do once they were spending all their time together while on tour. There was so much wariness at war with that love-of-a-lifetime feels. How do you get over a betrayal from the person who owned you, heart, body, mind, and soul? How do you move forward after the ultimate rejection from someone you thought you would spend the rest of your days with? Then there was the subject of postpartum depression, and I tip my hat off to Carrie Aarons for tackling it with sensitivity while also ensuring that it wasn't glossed over or its impact on the lives of everyone involved was minimized. Carrie Aarons exceeded my hopes and expectations for Say You Love Me Again. 5+ stars.

Release Date: 24 February 2023

Date Read: 20 February 2023

Learn more about Carrie Aarons.

Purchase Say You Love Me Again on Amazon.

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