Review: If You Love Me by Ciara Knight

Ex-Army sergeant, Drew Lancaster demands order, but when he’s thrust into small-town politics involving crazy elders and a manipulative mayor he finds himself submerged in chaos. His only hope to navigate the strange rules of the town comes from a distractingly beautiful, mess of a woman - Carissa Donahue.

As a small town girl, Carissa lives her life on a whim and a prayer. Even in the kitchen she never uses a recipe, yet her sweets are known as the best throughout the South. She has no desire to be a part of Drew’s show, but she knows it’s the town’s best option to increase tourism during a troubling economic time. If there wasn’t an upturn, she’d have to close her bakery. She can’t lose it. Owning a bakery has been her lifelong dream, and her focus since her best friend ran away with her fiancé.

The icing on the project for Drew is that a colleague has promised him a spot working at a real film network if Drew can spend time with Carissa and not fall in love. Drew isn’t sure he can resist the one person he’d never date under different circumstances, nor is he sure he wants to.

Can Drew convince Carissa she can trust him enough to open her heart?

The minute I saw this cover I knew I had to read it. It just reminded me of small-town fall romance. Both things make me happy. I've never read this author before and couldn't wait to try her. 

Unfortunately, the cover gave me a false sense of happiness.  

I hate writing reviews where I'm unhappy or the book didn't give me total happiness. It doesn't happen often thankfully but it sometimes does. 

Like I mentioned when I saw the cover I just knew I had to give this book a try. One of the issues I had with is that I felt like I was missing something when I started it. I felt dropped into the story. I found myself going back more than once trying to figure out what I missed. I felt like the author didn't do a good enough setting the story up. I couldn't at first out what was going on with the town. It almost felt like it was either missing a prologue or novella to introduce the series. 

I also didn't care for Drew. His attitude sucked and I don't really care that it might have changed as the book went on, it wasn't enough for me to like him. 

I'm one of those people who likes to read romance more from the male perspective than the females. I know more about what a woman thinks. So saying that I can read and enjoy a romance even if I don't like the heroine but there is no way in hell I can like it if I don't like the hero. 

I need a good hero. Not that doesn't mean that everything he says and does has to be perfect, I just have find him down deep to be likable. Drew for me was not. Even when he's around people that he likes he has an attitude. What's with that? 

Now Carissa I really enjoyed. She's so sweet and you want to know more about her. You feel for her because of what her friend did to her (you'll need to read the story to know what that is) but also for the way Drew treated her in the beginning. Like she wasn't that bright. 

Now I hope you continued to read my review because I want to share some of what I liked about the book. It wasn't all dome and gloom Sure (the bad friend & Drew) didn't help the story but like I did mention I liked Carissa. Plus many of her friends. 

I also liked the town and the mayor. Small-town romances need a great mayor. There is enough about this book that I would be willing to try the next one. Or maybe it's the great covers that drag me in. I'm hoping that for me the next one will be much better. 

Have any of you read her before?

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