Review: You Make Me – Erin McCarthy

The guy she wants…

Growing up on the coast of Maine with a revolving door of foster siblings, Caitlyn Michaud spent one intense and passionate year falling in love with her foster brother, Heath. Then he left without a word. The betrayal devastated Caitlyn and made her vow to forget the compelling bad boy. But forgetting his sensual touch and their deep all-consuming friendship is easier said than done.

Isn’t the guy she needs…

Determined to move on, in college Caitlyn has risen above her small town impoverished roots and has joined a sorority, reinvented her appearance, and landed the right boyfriend. Pre-law major and frat president, Ethan, is thoughtful and always laughing, and he makes her feel happy, calm. He also gives her the social acceptance she craves.

But the perfect world she tried so hard to attain is ripped apart when Heath appears one night out of nowhere. Caitlyn remembers all the reasons why she loves him, even if they don’t make sense to anyone but her. Out of the military, Heath is as brooding and intense as ever, and he is determined not only to win her back, but to exact revenge on everyone who kept him from her…

And when one love allows her to breathe, but the other feels as essential to her life as air, how does she choose between them?

[Content Warning: Explicit sex]

I saw You Make Me in one of the many deal mails I get a day and thought I’d pick up something different from my usual reading. Boy, was it different. It’s probably one of the few books in the New Adult (NA) genre I’ll read this year. The same goes for steamy romance. If you’re below 18, you might not want to keep reading and skip this book entirely.

It opened with a sex scene. Not something I’ll go for. I wouldn’t say it’s erotica. Just clean sex between two people, where a penis is a penis and not pulsing hot meat, or whatever. I kept reading, not thinking much about it. Actually, I skipped over most of the sex because it didn’t add anything.

The characters weren’t that great either. Caitlyn, the leading lady, felt weak. She wanted to be strong, but she couldn’t. She didn’t fight as much as McCarthy maybe wanted. She’s incredibly emotional and easily manipulated by both Ethan and Heath. It’s not pretty to watch and I felt her relationships with either weren’t healthy.

The writing was okay, I think. I can’t really comment on that. Some books are terribly written and I DNF it soon, but that wasn’t the case for You Make Me. The writing was easy and I finished it within a few hours (skipping all the sex definitely helped). There wasn’t anything wrong with it, not majorly. I think McCarthy has it in her to write interesting stories, but this wasn’t one of them.

I know I wasn’t the target audience, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy it. I finished the book, but I can’t say I enjoy it, nor can I recommend it. I give You Make MeM/em> three stars, rounding up because I’m not the target audience, not age wise, nor genre wise. I’m sure if you want sexy, or steamy, romance, there are other books without problematic relationships.