When I’m with You (Laws of You #2), by Samantha Brinn

When I’m with You by Samantha Brinn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read my first romance novel at the tender age of 43. I had realised I couldn’t claim to read anything till I had tried romance at least once. It was fun, light, spicy, and provided a nice diversion. Since then, I’ve read a lot of the “big names” in romance and enjoyed a good lot of them.

Along on my Goodreads feed comes “When I’m With You” with a mediocre cover by Samantha Brinn — a name that was completely unfamiliar to me. On a whim, I decided to make it my next read, since I was looking for a pleasant diversion. What I got was a novel that actually plays in a completely different league than pretty much any other romance I’ve read so far.

From page one to the very last one, I was captivated: Both Julie (30), a sharp-tongued, quick-witted, strong, fierce, meticulous lawyer, and Asher (31), a football quarterback (don’t worry, I don’t know what that means and still don’t care) have their respective issues — and they both hide a lot; from themselves, the world and each other. Then Asher accidentally discovers one of Julie’s secrets and reacts so spectacularly well that she joins him on a road trip to visit his family.

What follows is an empathic, sensitive journey to the very core of their issues. There are the usual ingredients of a rom-com: banter, hilarious ideas, small mishaps. Step by step, though, Julie and Asher get to know each other and, shockingly, they communicate like the adults they are. Together, they find brilliant solutions to overcome their reservations, fears and inhibitions.

»“I’m afraid you’ll walk away once you hear what I have to say.”
“I won’t.” I’m starting to think there is nothing on earth that would make me walk away from this man. He could tell me he killed someone, and I would grab a shovel to help bury the body, law license be damned. “I swear I won’t. You’re safe with me too, you know. We can be safe with each other.” I feel the truth of those words more deeply than I have felt anything in my life. I want to be his safe place, because he is absolutely, undoubtedly mine.«

It was such a joy to read their well-written, sensitively depicted story, I became worried about my usual gripes: A third-act breakup (usually badly handled, for nonsensical reasons, or just plain unnecessary), communication breakdowns (yes, people can be bad at that but don’t make it a major plot device!), badly presented smut (intimacy is, obviously, an important aspect of adult life so handle it carefully) — in contemporary romance one usually encounters at least one of those.

None of that is here: There is some drama but in the context of the story, every single part of it makes sense. There’s no breakup but “organic growth” with each other, towards each other and independently of each other. It was glorious to read this till the last page — and I’m worried about my next read now because I’m pretty sure it won’t reach this level of greatness…

Yes, there is the usual one-bed-only part — but does it play out the usual way? Absolutely, yes, and absolutely not, no. Even in the small details, Brinn writes so sensitively and empathetically that I smiled, laughed, and cried and experienced everything in between. I have never rooted so intensively for any fictitious couple before.

In a romance, I prefer an open bedroom door — and I got it here. The scenes of their growing intimacy were so tender, empathic, wholesome even, and deeply human — and all the more smoking hot for it.

Not only are our protagonists well-written but the secondary characters – the families and friends – are beautifully depicted as well and I loved reading about the interactions between each and every one of them.

A parent of three amazing adults myself, I also found myself deeply sympathising with these book parents.

»You never know, as a parent, whether you’re making the right decisions at the time, and sometimes you only figure it out years later. I’m sorry for that, Jules. I should have done it differently.«

Maybe this is, in part, a wish fulfilment fantasy (“a man written by a woman” as the novel puts it) but either way: I sincerely wish for every single person out there to find this kind of love. (And am happy to report, my wife and I did 25 years ago.)

Maybe you’re thinking I’m not critical enough now but while the “perfect book” doesn’t exist, this comes pretty close: The pacing is on-point. The usual tropes are skillfully avoided and, if they exist, handled with such almost unprecedented care and in a way that makes them feel entirely different. Maybe there’s precisely one intimate scene too many but I for one can easily forgive that.

I lost sleep over “When I’m with You” and it garners the easiest and most heart-felt five stars out of five in a very long time.


Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam



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