Come to Me Recklessly (Closer to You) Paperback – April 7, 2015

I am a huge fan of this series. I have been waiting patiently to get Christopher's story and I was not disappointed. I knew there was more to Christopher. He was a caring brother who loved his sister fiercely, so I knew there had to be a girl out there that he once loved, but he was hurting.When reading Come to Me Recklessly, we get both Christopher and Samantha's POV. Which I have to admit, I loved. We see that Samantha is still in love with the boy who broke her heart. Samantha's heart has always belonged to Christopher even though she has tried to move forward with her life. But it is hard to move forward and try to love someone else, when your heart only loves one person. The person who she feels betrayed her.Christopher has been struggling for years trying to erase the one girl from his life that meant the most. The one girl who stole his heart when he was just a teenager. Jared, Christopher's best friend isn't the only one in this series that is fighting the demons of his past. Christopher is haunted everyday by them. He uses woman to try to heal his wounds, but rather than healing them, they are only making them deeper.Samantha's life is turned upside down when she runs into someone from her past, Ali, Christopher's sister. Could she have a relationship with Ali? Would having a friendship with Ali, stir up her feelings that she has been trying to suppress for years?When Christopher comes face to face with his past, his world comes crashing down around him. How could Ali be friends with Samantha after all these years? Christopher still has feelings for Samantha, that is obvious. She's always belonged him. Not a day went by that he didn't think of her... yearn for her. A few words he said to her years ago has haunted him to this day. "Just you and me and forever." Those words haunted Samantha as well.Samantha is still in love with Christopher, but will she ever trust him again? Will she open herself up to him after what he did to her? Can she give him her heart again, even if he has had it the entire time? She lost him once, could she survive losing him twice."You broke my heart once. You don't get to do it again." ~ SamanthaWhen the two of them seem to be running into each other a lot, things begin to change. Christopher refuses to share Samantha. After all these years, he saw a slight glimmer of hope that he could possibly get the girl who he has dreamed about back."If I take you back to my place, it means you're mine, Samantha. You understand what I'm telling you? Otherwise I'm taking you straight home." ~ ChristopherWith getting each of their POVs, we quickly realize that they both are harboring ill feelings toward each other. We don't exactly know what it is. Christopher blames Samantha for their brake up, where Samantha clearly blames him for shattering her heart into a million pieces. What we have are two very hurt individuals that have been carry a lot of pain for years. Will they give each other the opportunity to explain? Will they continue to push each other away? Can Christopher continue to fight the pull Samantha has on him? Can he continue to resist her or will he follow his heart? Will Christopher open his heart again to the idea of love? Can Samantha forgive Christopher? Will the two of them be able to get past their pasts and have a future together?This is one of my favorite scenes of the book which pretty much summed up the book for me. This is a scene with Christopher and his mom at Ali's house when he sees Samantha."You want to know what I walked in on ten minutes ago?""No, I really don't."Ignoring me, she continued on, "Two very confused, very hurt people. Two people who obviously need to forgive each other. Two people who are trapped somewhere in the past. You think I didn't know you were torn up over her, Christopher? You think I didn't see you change after the two of you broke up?""I changed when my best friend tried to kill himself and got himself sent away."She huffed in disappointment. "That scared you, Christopher. Hurt you. What happened with Jared made you question everything in your life. It did that to all of us. But I know there was so much more to it than that... and I know it had everything to do with that girl outside."This was one of my favorite scenes in the book. His mother knew the heartache that Christopher had. She wasn't pushing her opinion on his, she was simply telling her what she observed. That these two individuals needed to forgive each other in order to move forward. They both needed to let go of the past in order to learn to love again... to feel alive again.

I love a love story that lasts the test of time. The way these two had always known that their hearts belong to each other was a beautiful thing.

Actual Rating: 4.5 StarsFinally, we get Christopher’s story. We first met Christopher in Come to Me Softly and I’ve been dying to know more about him ever since. Come to Me Recklessly is Samantha and Christopher’s story. Christopher gave up on love many years ago. After some events took away everything that he cared about, Christopher went to a very dark place. He spent his years drinking, partying and going through girls like crazy. Never letting anyone get close to him and never opening up his heart. The last thing that he ever imagined was having Samantha walk back into his life.Samantha is just coasting through her life. She’s desperately trying to convince herself that she is happy with the decisions that she’s made and the person that she is with. She’s spent years just trying to move on. However, her heart will always belong to one person, Christopher. Christopher is one person that she does not allow herself to remember. He broke broke her heart in a way that can never be repaired and now she guards her precious heart.Fate, however, has other plans. When Samantha runs into Christopher’s sister, Aly, all bets are off. They have an instant connection, like they are meant to be apart of each others lives. As the days pass, Samantha finds herself more invested in Christopher’s family and then the moment that she has been waiting for/dreading happens. She sees Christopher for the first time in years. All those old fears, doubts and feelings come to surface. A second chance is now being presented to Christopher and Samantha. Can time really heal old wounds? Will Christopher fight for what should and has always been his?“What does it take to delete the past? A thousand apologies?A million regrets?A litany of prayers?If I shouted them, would you hear? If I whispered them, would you believe? If I fell at your feet, would you forgive? If I asked, would you start again?”I am a big fan of the Closer to You series and loved being a part of this world again. Being with Christopher, Jared and Aly again, felt like no time has passed. I was hooked on this story from the first page. The love and feelings that Christopher and Samantha shared were so real, so raw and it was torn away from them so quickly.“Falling in love with you? That was the best gift I’ve ever been given.”My heart broke for them and all the years that they missed together. Their push and pull was so amazing. It was like gravity. No matter how hard you fight it, you just can’t. Come to Me Recklessly is told from dual pov’s and it worked so well with this story. It really helped give me perspective and understanding for all the events that happened in the past and led up to where we are right now.Come to Me Recklessly is a great story of young love, misunderstandings, second chances, fighting for what you want and never giving up. This story was well written, and heartfelt. The characters are real, they are flawed, so perfectly imperfect that you just want to know more about them. I loved the angst/drama, the romance and the friendship. This book made me laugh, brought tears to my eyes, frustrated me and made me swoon. If you are a fan of AL Jackson, you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend checking this one out!*I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*