From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: Review of You're the One I Don't Want by Carrie Aarons

Author: Carrie Aarons
Publisher: Self
Date of publication: November 2018

Love is weakness.

Which is why Annabelle Mills vowed a long time ago to never let it destruct her. A former pageant queen with a bite equally as lethal as her bark, she’s interning at her dream job on the set of the highest-rated home design show on television. Everything in Annabelle’s life, though it may be cold and isolated, is going exactly as she always planned.

Until her ex-high school sweetheart moves to town. The same boy that she cheated on, once upon a time, essentially breaking both of their hearts. But no one knows the full story, and being vulnerable enough to open up about it is not on Annabelle’s checklist.

Hate is fuel.

The kind that courses through Boone Graham’s veins and allows him to shut out everyone around him. As the hottest rookie on Austin’s professional baseball team, he should be spending his days hitting homeruns and signing jerseys. Except he’s seen dreams ripped right out from under those closest to him, leaving them with nothing.

Without a college degree, he’ll never take the risk of pursuing his real dream. But when he runs into the girl who took a mallet to his heart and stopped it beating, attending the same university might just be the biggest challenge he’s faced yet.

As the semester unfolds, the line between love and hate is blurred. And with the amount of baggage stacked between them, together is the last thing they want to be.

That’s the thing about hearts, though. They develop plans all on their own.

My thoughts:

You're the One I Don't Want is a second chance romance featuring Annabelle and Boone. Annabelle broke Boone's heart in high school. Now they are living in the same city and fate keeps throwing them together. Their happiness depends on them being able to heal the hurts from the past.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I love second chance romances. However, I initially had a hard time liking this one. I found Boone and Annabelle really angry toward each other. So, I had a hard time buying into the attraction. I'm not a fan of angry sex scenes in general. Once Annabelle finally apologized for what she did in high school, their relationship made more sense. As adults, they were able to get to know each other better and actually talk. In the end, I had a sense that their communication skills would improve over time. Boone was my favorite out of the couple. I had to admire his willingness to forgive. Annabelle had the most growth by the end of the book and I applauded her decisions in the end.

There were a couple issues that I had with details of the story. Annabelle and her friends are all underage, yet they kept getting served in bars and restaurants. Maybe it's the mom in me, but that really bothered me. I also didn't like how Annabelle disregarded Boone's choice to not consume alcohol and talked him into sharing a bottle of wine with her. I found that disrespectful and dismissive of his reasons for staying sober. But, those are my issues with the story. I would recommend giving this one a shot. It worked well as a stand alone, even though characters from the first book showed up. I didn't feel like I missed anything by not reading the first one.

YOU'RE THE ONE I DON'T WANT by Carrie Aarons is LIVE!

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About the author:

Author of romance novels such as Red Card and Privileged, Carrie Aarons writes books that are just as swoon-worthy as they are sarcastic. A former journalist, she prefers the stories she dreams up, and the yoga pant dress code, much better.

When she isn't writing, Carrie is busy binging reality TV, having a love/hate relationship with cardio, and trying not to burn dinner. She lives in the suburbs of New Jersey with her husband, daughter and dog.