* Follow Me Back (Twisted Love series Book 2) by A. Meredith Walters * New Release * Book Review *

Posted June 2, 2015 by Maria in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

* Follow Me Back (Twisted Love series Book 2) by A. Meredith Walters * New Release * Book Review *Follow Me Back by A. Meredith Walters
Series: Twisted Love #2
Published by Gallery Books on June 2nd 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Goodreads
four-stars

The sequel to Lead Me Not, this dangerously sexy second installment in the Twisted Love series continues Aubrey and Maxx’s love story, from New York Times bestselling author A. Meredith Walters—who “writes the most beautifully flawed characters that still have you swooning” (Sawyer Bennett, USA Today bestselling author of the Off series).

Aubrey Duncan has loved…and lost. Should she follow a heart that’s betrayed her or a head that tells her to let go?

Maxx Demelo’s addiction almost destroyed him. It ruined his life and, most importantly, his relationship with the only girl he ever loved.

He has vowed to become the man Aubrey Duncan deserves. Even if he has to tear himself apart to do it. So he enters rehab, trying to fix the parts of him that are shattered as he longs to be healthy and whole.

Aubrey lost everything because she chose to listen to her heart. Now she has sworn to put herself first, to heal in the only way that she can…far away from Maxx and his demons.

But just as Aubrey is starting over, Maxx is released from rehab and thrust back into her world, determined to prove how much they still need each other. And the chaos that had defined them threatens to unleash once again…

But a heart, no matter how broken, is impossible to ignore.

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Maria Thoughts

Follow Me Back is the conclusion to Maxx and Aubrey’s tumultuous story. It picks up where Lead Me Not, book 1, ended. A. Meredith Walters did a wonderful job with the story of addiction and the struggles that come with it. She tells a haunting tale of despair, insecurity, love, and second chances. There’s a twist or two that had me on the edge of my seat wondering if they were going to lose it all.

“It’s easy to be fooled by pretty words and false promises disguised as love.” ~ Aubrey

The characters of Maxx and Aubrey are written honestly and well developed. I felt like they were real, like I could have known them. Their story was raw and realistic in the way they were wrapped up in each other, avoiding the elephant in the room until they couldn’t. Without giving anything away, Maxx has to face his demons. Aubrey has to choose which path to follow, her head or her heart. She knows both will be difficult but she needs to decide which will cause the least amount of heartache. Maxx has to fight everyday to be the man he wants to be, for Aubrey, for his brother and ultimately for himself.

One of the things I liked about this story was that the author didn’t sugar coat the inner conflict Maxx faced. The struggle to stay sober a constant battle. The desire and temptation to use again so strong, it takes over. So many things were stacked against him. It’s a story of inner strength and reaching out for help. One of realization that we cannot control everything but we also cannot let our mistakes define us or keep us from fighting for what we want. A. Meredith Walters illustrates how potent the need can be, depicting the fall into a personal hell that the hero has to claw and scratch his way back with everything he has.

“I always thought about the drugs. The way they tasted on my tongue. The burn in my throat. Those horrible yet blissful moments while I waited for them to take over….if losing Aubrey had almost destroyed me, then losing my drugs damn near ripped me apart” ~ Maxx

Aubrey’s character is faced with the challenge of loving someone suffering with the disease of addiction. The author once again does a superb job illustrating the conflicting feelings of someone in a relationship with an addict. Feelings of doubt, suspicion, fear and mistrust are paramount to the storyline. Is love enough to save someone from themselves?

They face so many obstacles. Their story is gritty, honest and relatable. Having personal experience in this subject, I have to praise A. Meredith Walters’ writing. Ms. Walters utilizes Dual POV, which I love because it allows the reader to get inside both main characters and see things through their eyes. That was really powerful in this story because the reader lives the internal battles of both characters. A thoughtful and true look into the eyes of addiction and the devastation it can cause, as well as, the hope for recovery, second chances and fighting for love and the life you want. Highly recommend this series.

“We can’t go back to who we were. To what we were. But maybe…we could try to be something better.” ~Aubrey

 

four-stars

About A. Meredith Walters

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well Reclaiming the Sand, and the Twisted Love series, Lead Me Not and Follow Me Back (coming June 2015), from Gallery Books.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.

When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two.

A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.

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