Because of You (Laws of You #1), by Samantha Brinn
Because of You by Samantha Brinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I came to reading this by way of alleviating my fear of being let-down by my next read because the previous one had been so perfect. A good plan (thanks, Berengaria, for looking this up and letting me know!) — till it met with the reality of this novel, “Because of You”, Samantha Brinn’s debut novel and the first instalment of her “Laws of You” series.
“Because” features some of the same strength the second novel has: No third-act breakup, a very nice, kind, and even somewhat cosy friends-to-lovers story with Hallie, another strong and independent lawyer, at its centre. Her love interest is her life-long best friend Ben who comes across as a very likeable, decent, and down-to-earth man.
Their path to each other is, just as Brinn mentions in her acknowledgements, “a warm hug of a story” and I read for long stretches under a soft, warm blanket in extremely comfortable armchairs.
There was some non-relationship drama, but there were no real disappointments — just not the kind of sensitivity and other highlights I found in “When I’m With You”.
Maybe I should have expected it since I do love my coloured spreadsheets as well and one of my former bosses (hi, Thomas!) once called a “Methoden-Monster”, meaning “Problem-solving Machine”. I’m less of a people pleaser like Hallie and more of a workaholic and problem-solver like Julie – so how could I not like her book more than Hallie’s? 😉
Either way, if you’re looking for a sweet contemporary romance “Because of You” will likely not disappoint. If you want to read one that’s slightly more evenly paced, fewer sex scenes than in this one (which had more than just one too many), features the most root-worthy couple, and has an ending that even surpasses “Because of You”’s lovely and fitting one, take a look at “When I’m With You”. They can be read independently of each other and in any order.
Four stars out of five.
Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
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