Swoon Thursday #126 ~ Sweet (True Believers #2) by Erin McCarthy

The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme.

Here's how it works. From the book you're currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag#YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog!

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

My Swoon for this week comes from:

Sweet

(True Believers #2)
by
Erin McCarthy  

First - The Blurb:

Jessica Sweet thought going away to college would finally make her free of her parents’ constant judgments and insistence she play chastity club role model for their church events, but if anything, the freedom has made her realize she can’t go home and be a hypocrite anymore. Tired of dodging their questions, she stays at school over the summer and lands in an unexpected crash pad: Riley Mann’s house. 

Sarcastic, cocky, and full of opinions, Riley is also sexy personified with tattoos and biceps earned from working as a roofer all day. Not the right guy for her even if Jessica was looking for a relationship, which she is definitely not. But Jessica knows that Riley hides the burden of having to raise his younger brothers behind that grin and as she helps him get his house in order for a custody hearing, they begin to fall hard for each other, and she is forced to question what she’s hiding herself. 

Jessica has never had a problem getting naked with a guy, but when it comes to showing Riley how she truly feels inside, her fear of rejection may just ruin the best thing—the best guy—to ever happen to her…


Second - The Swoon(s):

I guess we're pretty f***ing awesome, aren't we?" he asked.

I nodded.

Then, without any clear signal from each other, we both went for the kiss, and it was a hot collision of mouth and teeth. It was hot and wet and perfect. Wow. And then wow some more. His stubble was rough on my skin, his hands gripped me tightly, and his mouth fought to dominate mine. It was a sexy, skilled kiss, and I was breathing hard and wanting more when we paused.

* * *

“Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you be okay with it if I fell in love with you?"

My hear squeezed and I paused, my mouth a hairbreadth from his as I took in his words, as if I could breathe them into my mouth, my heart, my soul.

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'd be very okay with it.” 

I first met Jesse and Riley in True (True Believers #1). Jesse is best-friends with Rory and Riley is Tyler's older brother. In True, Jesse and Riley didn't seem to share much of a connection so watching a relationship grow and develop between them in Sweet was both surprising and entertaining.

Jesse is a preachers daughter. Controlled by her parents for most of her life, she has no desire to return home for Summer break and back into the world where she cannot be herself. But with the dorm rooms no longer available, she needs to find a place to crash.

Enter Riley. He lives in a house with his three younger brothers (Tyler, Jayden and Easton). Only... they are away on holiday and so he has plenty of room to spare. 

Coaxed by Rory and Tyler, both Jesse and Riley agree that the best solution to Jesse's predicament is if she moves in with Riley until the others are due to return.

At first they butt heads... a lot. Then, as an attraction begins to grow between them, they discover that their feelings for each other run considerably deeper than either one of them was expecting.

Sweet is a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jesse and Riley's connection develop into something beyond friendship.

My Rating: 5 out of 5

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Okay, so what do you think?

If you liked my Swoon, please leave a comment below!