Lovers like us by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Lovers like us is the second book in the Like Us series.

I was more or less mesmerized by the the first installment, and I read Lovers like us the same way as it’s prequel. I devoured it.

But, like for most series that you read in a short span of time, you tend to learn the author’s writing style. You discover the repetitiveness or the recurring idiosyncrasies of the author. This was very much the case when I read Lovers like us.

Lovers like us is a direct continuation of Damaged like us. Maximoff and Farrow are keeping their relationship secret from the public, but their families and the security team are in the loop now. The damage control after the Jane+Maximoff rumours takes them on a tour across the country, with the extra strain on security that that entails. All the while, Maximoff and Farrow struggles to separate their personal relationship from their proffessional one, and Maximoff is being targeted by a violent stalker. A stalker that seems to know information only people close to Maximoff should know.

Sometimes it’s a steamy read. I like steamy. But I soon got really tired of all the hot stares Maximoff and Farrow was giving each other. It was fuck me eyes, kiss me eyes and instant erections left and right (pun intended). I don’t know the number of times they were panting chest to chest and licking their lips and all sorts of descriptions meant to elevate the temperature. Every interaction started as a freaking wrestling match with them fighting to pin the other one to the wall. All the time. Even when it didn’t go anywhere. If I never have to read another description of Farrow’s tattooed fingers, it would still be to soon. These recurring, supposedly sexy descriptions were exhausting to read about and happened way to often. It lowered the overall reading experience.

Also. First person writing where main characters describe themselves are seldom any good. Both Maximoff and Farrow tended to call certain parts of their own bodies muscular. On several occasions. There were more of those slip ups in the book. I hope they were slip ups anyway. Characters describing their own perfect physiques are just creepy. And narcissistic as all hell.

But otherwise, I truly enjoyed reading this story. I was a bit disappointed by the resolution of the stalker-issue. I thought it was a bit too easily resolved. Both dramaturgically and plot-wise. But in the end I’m so hooked on these two characters that it doesn’t matter. I’ve already started in on the third installment.