[ARC REVIEW] “Say You Love Me Again” By: Carrie Aarons

Check out my ARC review of the newest book by Carrie Aarons — second chance celebrity romance “Say You Love Me Again” — out now!

What is Say You Love Me Again by Carrie Aarons about?

Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to spend a few months on a concert tour traveling the country? Did I mention that the famous musician headlining it is the ex-husband who walked out on you?

When I met Levi Truin, we were young, rich, famous, and beautiful. Nothing could go wrong, we had the world at our fingertips. Except millions of dollars, marriage and a baby all before twenty two isn’t all fun and games. And when my indiscretion caused it to come crashing down, we were just another Hollywood couple on the cutting room floor.

Seven years later, Levi and I are the poster-children for exemplary co-parenting. Attending red carpet events in support of each other, Sunday night dinners for the sake of our daughter, and her private school functions where we save seats and make polite conversation. The articles paint us in the healthiest of lights, because none of them know the truth.

So when he wants to take our daughter on tour, I have a decision to make. Let her traipse around venues with a nanny, or tag along and somehow survive sleeping in a bunk below my ex for months.

We go on the road, taking our demons and heartbreaks with us. And as we spend nights together with the highway lights flashing past the windows, that familiar spark reignites. Old hurts are discussed, wounds I guard tight are exposed, and my ex-husband makes confessions I’ve been waiting years for. Against all odds, he might just be able to love me again.

But then the dirty details of our long ago breakup get leaked to the press, and the newly fledgling relationship might be doomed from the start.

Lies, silence, and miscommunication are the things that ripped us apart. Can we push past our scars to reunite our family after everything we’ve been through?

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

Y’all, Carrie is back, and she’s done it again! (To be fair, she released a new book late last year, but this is her first of 2023 so…a win is a win, okay?) Normally I’m not the biggest fan of single parent romances (despite what my reading history has been so far this year) but I thought this one worked so well, especially because of Sophie and Levi, and how strong their feelings still were for each other.

Above all else, the two of them staying friends and doing their best to co-parent for their daughter Hart’s sake and best interest was really nice to read. The way they worked together to try to protect her from the pitfalls of their career choices and the positive relationship she had with them both was sweet to read. Even though this book is fictional, you just have to log on to Twitter any day of the week to see how the media takes photos of two people together and creates their own narrative around it, which Sophie and Levi struggle with all the time. It’s easy for a lot of people to forget that celebrities are real humans with real feelings, too, not just props for them to say whatever they want about.

I really loved the charity to support moms dealing with post partum depression and other post-birth difficulties that Sophie created. Definitely something that’s not talked about enough (still!) and it was nice to see that representation in this book. We know that Sophie and Levi (obviously) divorced, and there’s a bit of the miscommunication trope, however it’s also important to take into account the other factors — including their young ages and whirlwind sort of romance at the time — that led to their divorce.

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of celebrity/rockstar romances, and the added forced proximity of being on tour together (Sophie to be with their daughter, and Levi because it’s his tour) made for an interesting mix in terms of getting the two of them back together.

Overall, I think this was an angsty, emotional read, and I recommend it! As with all new adult/adult books, I recommend this one from 18+ due to some of the sexual content. I received an early of copy in exchange for an honest review — but the book is out now, and free on Kindle Unlimited!

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