[Book Review] Only For You

Only For You

by Genna Rulon

September 24, 2013

New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Links: Goodreads // Amazon

Book Info:

“In its purest form love is self-sacrificing, eternal, selfless, enduring, truthful, forgiving and indulgent. It also feels an awful lot like a kick to the stomach when you try to fight it!”

All Everleigh Carsen wanted to do was complete her final semester at Hensley University and begin the life she carefully planned.

When a wave of violent crime seizes campus, Everleigh is persuaded to attend a school sponsored self-defense seminar by her best friend, where she meets volunteer instructor, Hunter Charles. After Everleigh’s biting sarcasm induces Hunter to eject her from class, a tempestuous relationship is born.

Everleigh is determined to forget the striking man, but fate—that fickle shrew—continuously intervenes. Unable to escape him, she declares Hunter an enemy combatant. The only complication…Hunter is resolutely pursuing vindication…by any means necessary. Verbal warfare ensues, and despite Everleigh’s ingenious efforts, in Hunter, she has finally found her equal. 

Only For You is a compelling tale of friendship, desire, and redemption—brimming with intelligent characters, witty dialogue, unexpected twists, profound sorrow, unfettered hope, and love’s unassailable perseverance. 

• This story is appropriate for readers 18+• Only For You is the first book in the For You series by Genna Rulon. Each book in the series can be read as a stand alone novel.

Rating:

★★★★★

My reactions while reading Only For You:

Yep, it was THAT good.

Review:
This book is cursed, I tell you! It made me not want to put it down! And I immensely enjoyed it!

I was never one to believe in coincidences but when I get to experience one, it feels really awesome. The night before I picked up Genna Rulon's Only For You, I had a conversation with my younger brother about picking up martial arts again. I was a Taekwondo practitioner before, but had to stop because of academic endeavors. When I had the conversation with my brother, I told him I wanted to learn Krav Maga for no particular reason except that it seemed physically demanding and interesting. The very next day, I picked up Genna Rulon's Only For You and read about Krav Maga. I instantly had a feeling that the world was sending me a message. hihi See? I feel awesome!

But of course, in reading Only For You, the Krav Maga bit wasn't the only thing was awesome. It was the story itself! Let me just say that this book made me snort and laugh-out-loud to the detriment of my sanity. I also had a feeling that while I was reading this story, my parents and siblings were getting worried because I was laughing maniacally by myself. I wanted to reassure them that I was perfectly sane, but the book made me not want to put it down. So there, this story is to blame for how my parents confirmed that I'm a little loose in the head. HAH!

Moving on, to my delight, the plot and story were well-developed. The relationship between Everleigh and Hunter was given enough time to take root and grow so it's pretty believable. I love their chemistry as friends! The verbal jousting and trying to one-up another with wit and sarcasm really made me a very happy rainbow-puking bunny! I especially loved that part about Ever's joke with the professor about Hunter's package that backfired, because it was really brilliant!

I also love the addition of the mystery-suspense element in the form of the series of violent crimes directed at women throughout the campus. It made me just a tad bit suspicious of just about every male that Ever made contact with. To be honest, I was really expecting Ever to be one of the victims! I even wanted her to be a victim, and then dish out some Krav Maga moves she learned to kick the assailant's ass. That would have been a predictable twist, but it would have been epic. Hee.

I also love the side-characters! I love Sam! In real life, imagine five or six girls like Sam and you pretty much have my group of friends. This was also one of the reasons why this story appealed so much to me! Sam's inappropriateness and lack of tact when it comes to things concerning sex reminded me so much of my friends with whom I've shared more or less ten years of my entire life, and counting, mind you. Oh, and let's not forget Griffin! The friendly neighborhood bartender who psycho-babbles Ever to keep her sane! I love him and his little crush for Sam! When I started reading about him in this story, I had no doubt that he and Sam would have a story of their own. Hee. I can't wait to read about them, too!

The only downside I found with this story is its use of big words. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for sesquipedalianism (literary style characterized by use of long words) if it's required for the story, but in this one, the characters are mostly College students. I would have expected Ever and Hunter to use layman terms rather than deep words. But this downside is minor and excusable. It did not diminish my enjoyment in reading the story at all.

All in all, this story was such a delight to read! I recommend picking it up because it makes you not want to put it down, and trust me, you'll enjoy it!