Review: Say You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker

SAY YOU STILL LOVE ME
K.A. Tucker
Publication date: August 6, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Atria Books and NetGalley



GOODREADS  *  AMAZON

S Y N O P S I S

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, and coincidentally the first love of her life.

The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counselors 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 still alive and strong, 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. 

M Y   T H O U G H T S

Fans of K.A. Tucker: get ready, because she’s done it again. Continuing in the vein of 2017’s Until It Fades, Tucker returns to full-on contemporary romance and she does it so well.

When rich girl Piper was dropped off at summer camp, she was there under duress with only the promise of a brand new car making her agree to eight weeks as a camp counselor. Meeting Kyle on the very first day changed everything. Their instant attraction turned into a summer romance and a connection that neither of them expected. Their differences – Piper’s privileged upbringing and Kyle’s wrong-side-of-the-tracks life – seem to disappear in the suspended animation of hot summer days and nights filled with stolen moments. With plans to continue their romance beyond the end of summer, Piper was crushed when she never heard from Kyle again.

Thirteen years later Piper is a successful businesswoman being groomed to take over her father’s business. Despite the passing of more than a decade, other relationships, and a recent broken engagement, Piper had never forgotten Kyle. She was stunned to see him one morning, in her office building, working as a security guard. And there began their story – or rather, the second part of their story – as both Piper and I had so many questions. Where had Kyle been? Why didn’t he contact her after that summer? Why was he back and working in her building? As the story unfolded with alternating chapters set in the present and the past, I experienced Piper and Kyle’s life-changing summer together while also wondering if there could be a future for them. Would they get a happily ever after – or simply closure for the past?

There was so much to love about Say You Still Love Me. To start with, I’m a sucker for second-chance romance. The idea that true love is meant to be and can survive time and distance and hardships – oh yeah, I’m so there for it. Then there’s the dual timeline – again, I’m a big fan. I love watching a story unfold both then and now, being doled out bits of information, as what happened in the past is slowly revealed. Add in Tucker’s stellar storytelling, characters I truly cared about, all the heart melting feelings of first love, and an overwhelming desire for an happy ending, and you have a recipe for success. There were characters I hated, characters that annoyed me but who I ended up liking, secrets revealed, summer camp hijinks, big business machinations, and family relationships (both good and not so good). Say You Still Love Me is the quintessential second-chance romance and one of my favorite reads of the summer.

4.25/5 STARS

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.